Watch the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle

Aloha Hawaii snorkelers, scuba divers and Hawaiian Sea life lovers,

We are certain you all enjoyed Lisa's 'Dolphins' in Hawaii' story. Dolphins, Humpback whales and the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle are on top of our Hawaii visitors' list when exploring ocean life in Hawaii. The Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle gets many oohs and aahs when discovered basking in the sun for a nap or some rest from all its swimming. No need to get in a scuba diver's suit or put your goggles on. Of course, watching the Hawaii Green Sea Turtle in its element, the ocean, gracefully swimming and floating around, puts an extra thrill to your Hawaii vacation.

When encountering Hawaii Green Sea Turtles in the ocean, divers need to pay special attention to what they are not supposed to do. Bobbie from 'The Right Blue' blog had written about 'Tips for watching Sea Turtles in Hawaii' for our blog visitors. Those Hawaii diving tips are still the same valid right now. If you plan on going diving on your next Hawaii vacation, it's some useful advise which helps to protect our ocean life for many years to come.

Our today's post belongs to 'Best Hawaii Youtube Video' category. Enjoy this Hawaii video from JournOwl.com about the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle. Watch a green sea turtle swim gracefully over a coral reef in Maui.



Aren't those turtles in Hawaii a good reason to bring snorkel gear for a snorkel adventure in Hawaii? Ask locals where there is a good spot to see the green sea turtles and where it's safe to snorkel. Have fun snorkeling and watching the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles. Aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations

Hawaiian Ocean Life Related Stories

Where are the Dolphins in Hawaii?
The Humpback whales are still here
More Hawaii Humpback Whale Encounters
Humpback Whale Season in Hawaii
Whale Watch in Hawaii
Sharks, Rays and Whales on the most watched Youtube Video

Tags: Hawaiian Ocean Life, Hawaiian Green Sea, Best Hawaii Vacation, Hawaii Green Sea Turtle video

Dolphins in Hawaii - A Hawaii Big Island Dolphin Story

Dear Hawaii vacation lovers,

Remember the 'mantra' we have about our Best Hawaii Vacation blog? It's all about sharing our love with Hawaii and its people with Hawaii visitors. It's those unique Hawaii stories which we hope will awaken your curiosity about the Hawaiian Islands, ancient Hawaii culture of its people and flora and fauna.

So meet a new Best Hawaii Vacation blog guest author today: Lisa Weber! Lisa lived in Hawaii for 14 years, mostly in Puna and Hilo on the Big Island. She traveled extensively with her family to every island of Hawaii and talks about her trips on her site andHawaii.com, exploring every beach and waterfall and cool-sunset-viewing-spot she could find. Here is Lisa's story about her personal encounter with wild dolphins in Hawaii:

Kayaking with Dolphins, On Their Terms - A Big Island of Hawaii Story

"Let me tell you a story about one of the most awesome experiences of my life. It happened in 1998 or 1999 at a deserted cove on the Big Island of Hawaii.My husband and I were camping. We had a four wheel drive and we liked to explore the island, so we undertook a several mile trek over old lava from Highway 11 to the ocean on a lava road in the area of Manuka in Kau.

Now, when I say road, I actually mean crudely-beaten-down-path. Basically, there was a huge field of lava, and over several years, slightly-crazy people in lifted, beaten-up 4 wheel drives drove on this lava field to the ocean, taking the way that looked the easiest, and eventually a sort of path was visible to the eye. I know we contributed to the beating down of the path with the bottom of our jeep several times as we bounced and scraped.

So, at the bottom, we had the area all to ourselves. There was a rocky cove area that will probably be a nice beach in a few hundred years, a very large heiau (ancient Hawaiian temple), and a nice grove of Kiawe trees over to the left that made shade for a campsite. This is where we set up, but we had to be careful because Kiawe thorns on the ground were big enough and sharp enough to go through the sole of any tennis shoe or slipper.

Shortly after we set up the campground, we took down the kayak from the top of the jeep and launched it into the water. As soon as we were about 20 feet away from shore we were suddenly surrounded by dolphins. They came from nowhere and literally surrounded us. They were everywhere. My husband and I were actually a little scared, not because they were aggressive, but because they were sooo energetic, and most of their energy seemed focused right on us. This was our first close-up experience with dolphins in the ocean and we weren't sure what to expect.

Imagine ... there were 15 to 25 dolphins, and they were surrounding us. They were obviously Hawaiian Spinner dolphins because several of them jumped out of the water and spun straight up, 5 or 6 feet up in the air. They would dart beneath the kayak, then spin jump up on the other side, and splash us as they came down, then they would turn around and dart beneath us again, and do it again on the other side.

There were two babies in the group that we saw, and the babies would try to jump like the adults, but they didn't have the strength or ability yet, because they would only make it about a foot or two out of the water before splashing back down on their sides. They were very cute, and absolutely wonderful, these baby steps ... or baby jumps.

So, this went on for about 15 minutes, and then the pod made their way out of the cove. It's like they came cruising past the cove, saw us, and said to each other something like "let's go show off," or "let's go say hi." Sometimes I like to think that they were introducing the baby dolphins in the pod to humans, saying "these are humans, that's what they look like, they get all excited when they see us. They are mostly good and fine, just use good judgement about whether to get close to them or not.

We had a camera with us, but it was one of the first digital cameras ever, or maybe one of the first ones we could afford, so it didn't take very good pictures, and we forgot to take pictures for the first 10 to 15 minutes anyway. We just floated there with our mouth open saying "oh my gosh!" "look at that!" "Did you see that?!" "ooooooohhhhh!" "amazing!" and other more colorful things.

It was truly an amazing and awe-inspiring experience that I will never, ever forget. We talked about it long into the night, trying to sustain that feeling of awe and wonder for as long as possible."

Much mahalo, Lisa, for this wonderful Hawaii dolphin story. To everybody of our Hawaii visitors who is wondering whether they can still experience such an encounter with the dolphins today, we say 'Yes, you can'! Maybe not with the first try but with the right preparation, patience, commitment and the right place, our unique Hawaii nature is at your finger tips. Hawaii is full of wonders, like our wild dolphins, waiting to be discovered by you on your Hawaii vacation! Aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations
p.s.
We invite everybody who wants to read more unique articles about Hawaii to visit this month's Carnival of Aloha put together by Evelyn from HomespunHonolulu.com: from 'A Love Letter to Lanai' to 'President Obama's vacation home at Kailua Beach on Oahu and much more.

Tags: Best of Hawaii, Hawaii stories, Hawaii dolphin story, Wild Dolphin encounter in Hawaii

Sharks, Rays, Whales on the most Watched youtube Travel Video

More Hawaii ocean life, you ask, what is that for? Just wait a minute and I will explain.

Actually, the sharks, rays, whales and fish you are about to see are ocean creates also live in Hawaii's ocean waters but these sharks, rays and whales do live in the 2nd biggest aquarium (biggest one is in Georgia, Atlanta) in the world, in Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan

I can't believe this coincidence. One minute, I am writing my blog post about the wonderful book 'Sharks and Rays of Hawaii' and shortly after, when cruising my favorite Hawaii ocean blog 'The Right Blue', I come across this most awesome and amazing youtube video shot by video producer Jon Rowlinson! This is one of those miracle stories which twitter + tweets, youtube and the world wide web can make happen.

I just read on @jonrowlinson the following tweet:

Kuroshio sea is the top rated travel video on youtube...of all time. http://bit.ly/AZhJ9 Wait, it got a higher rating than Matt dancin??

Long story short. Here is Jon Rowlinson's famous youtube video displayed on Best Hawaii Vacation blog for your convenience and of course, for getting you all excited to watch all the fantastic ocean life in real nature on your next Hawaii vacation. Don't know how close you want to be to the sharks though. Watching sharks through the glass walls of an aquarium feels definitely safer.

Kuroshio Sea by Jon Rowlinson - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world



Here is what Jon says about the aquarium:

"The main tank called the 'Kuroshio Sea' holds 7,500-cubic meters (1,981,290 gallons) of water and features the world’s second largest acrylic glass panel, measuring 8.2 meters by 22.5 meters with a thickness of 60 centimeters. Whale sharks and manta rays are kept amongst many other fish species in the main tank." Let's not forget to mention that music is "Please don't go" by the group 'Barcelona'.

So, what do you think about the video, sharks, rays, aquarium, music and all? Mahalo for your comments. Aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations

Tags: most watched youtube travel video, second biggest aquarium in the world, sharks and rays, ocean creatures in hawaii

Ocean Life in Hawaii

Aloha Hawaii Lovers,

After we talked about the big fish in Hawaii's ocean like Ono, Ahi, Mahimahi, Marlin and the big game fishing season, which has arrived in Hawaii, specifically in Kona Hawaii with the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament, we decided to stay in the water, the water of the Pacific Ocean around the Hawaiian Islands. Let's talk more about ocean life in Hawaii.

Those of you who have been following our Best Hawaii Vacation blog since we started this blog in July 2006 - Oh my, it's another blog anniversary, the 3rd! - have seen lots of great Hawaii photos taken by our friend Jennifer Crites, renowned Oahu Hawaii photographer and travel magazine writer. However, when Jennifer needed to have foot surgery after a hiking accident on Oahu, she was not able to continue to follow up with more Hawaii photos or guests posts like '5 Best Photo Tips for Your Hawaii Vacation' for our blog. We had to fill in the blanks with Kawika's beautiful and sexy Wahine girls of Hawaii - I am sure the guys did not mind - and our own amateur photos of Hawaii.

Today's blog post is about catching up with our dear friend, Jennifer Crites. Good news is that she is back to her busy schedule taking photos of our beautiful Hawaiian Islands, writing interesting articles for travel magazines, and now listen, she is also in the midst of writing a mystery book, which picks up the strong spirituality of native Hawaiians for 'weaving' the story. When the book is on the shelves of the bookstores, we will let you know.

Speaking with Jennifer about her latest book project, reminded us that this is not Jennifer's first book. Her first fiction book, yes.

Jennifer actually wrote together with her partner in life, Gerald Crow, longtime manager at the Waikiki Aquarium, a fascinating book about 'Sharks and Rays of Hawaii', which was published in 2002. If you can get your hands on this book, you won't be disappointed. Amazing, there are 40 species of sharks and 9 species of rays living in the ocean around the Hawaiian Islands, yet, little do we know about them. There is so much in the book that is fascinating. Here are the reasons why we, Keoki and myself, love this book.

5 Reasons why 'Sharks and Rays of Hawaii' belongs on the best seller list of Hawaii books

1.

There are about 400 photos in the book. There are NO all-text pages. About 60 % of the photos were taken by Jennifer Crites. Other photos were contributed by underwater photographers and scientists from all over the world.

2.

There are exciting stories from people who've had unusual encounters with sharks and rays.

3.

There's also a chapter on the early Hawaiians, their shark gods, how they used shark teeth for weapons and shark skin on their drums, how they co-existed with sharks and rays, and some of their legends.

4.

There's information about staying safe from sharks while swimming in the ocean, and how to recognize the different types of sharks, which ones might hurt you and which ones you don't have to worry about.

5.

There are a lot of "Wow, I didn't know that about sharks!" facts in the book. Kids like to read that sharks, when they have a tummy ache, can push their stomachs out through their mouths, wash them in sea water, and pull them back in again. It's called "gastric eversion."

Now, you can understand that 'Sharks and Rays of Hawaii' does not only attract the adult audience but kids alike. It's educational and entertaining at the same time. This is definitely a book which will keep your and your kids' attention on your next flight to Hawaii.It makes a great gift too.

Well, you may want to own your own copy of 'Sharks and Rays of Hawaii' and peruse through it with your kids leisurely. Amazon makes it possible with used books as low as $4.49 a book. We'd love to hear from our readers who have read the book and tell us how they liked it. Mahalo and aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations

p.s.

Last but not least, here is a short bio about Gerald Crow who co-authored the book "Sharks and Rays of Hawaii" with Jennifer Crites. Jerry is a well-known science researcher who has been interviewed for many TV programs and has appeared nationally on the Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" and on Animal Planet. He's also featured in the Discovery Channel's book, "Sharks." He's currently doing research on jellyfish.

Tags: Sharks and Rays in Hawaii, Hawaii bestseller books, Hawaii photographers, Jennifer Crites

Hawaii Game Fishing A Hawaii Story

Dear Hawaii visitors,
First things first, the Kona Ironman condo (sleeps 6) at the best rate for Kona Ironman accommodations, is still available at this moment. What do realtors always say 'Hurry, this won't last long'. Well, we are not realtors but definitely would like to help those Hawaii visitors who still want to visit Kona for the 2009 Ironman and were just not lucky yet to find a Kona vacation rental for the price they can afford.

We are also happy to welcome back Bill for one of his fantastic stories about Hawaii and island life. His story fits right into the time frame of the First Hawaiian Storytelling Conference with people from Hawaii and from around the world. Story telling starts today in Honolulu 7/16 - 20. There will also be a continuing part on the island of Maui on 7/23/09. We are so happy to hear about this new event to keep Hawaiian traditions not only alive but further support the tradition of storytelling in the Hawaii's culture. Let's get right to our today's Hawaii story about Hawaii Game Fishing.

Bill picks up Big Game Fishing in Hawaii which experiences a high season during Hawaiian summer. If you are interested in fishing, not just the little fish but big game fishing, check out our article about 'Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament July 20 - 24, 2009'. or visit their site about the Kona Billfish Tournament.

"As the summer blooms full and broad across the boundless Hawaii sky, days are long and lazy, and the nights are brightened by a zillion stars. The sun baked land seems to sigh as the cool evening casts welcome shadows across the brilliant flanks of towering Mauna Kea. The daily flock of trade wind clouds now gathers in the lee of Hualalai, and the reaching leaves of the high forest embrace soft rains at Kukuiohiwai. We see these things, and our hearts rejoice that we are among the luckiest to enjoy this wonderful natural theatre each day.

While the shimmering summer air sweeps and swirls around our towering mountain peaks, lacy patterns of bright daylight and racing shadows play over the vast stretches of pasture and forest, lava and sun beaten coastline. This is the sea of air that we live within, the vast atmospheric ocean of north Pacific breezes with their rich currents of oxygen and cooling squalls, while just below us the deep currents of the sea itself surge and grunt against the incredible bulk of the Island. Summer in the off shore waters has a story of its own to tell, and we big game fisherman listen very closely.

Game Fishing for Ono Ahi and Mahimahi on the Kona Coast with Bill on his boat 'Kakalina'



Far below the marching waves, where the rough skin of the Island stirs dark currents of rich, cold water up into the warm surface layers, great plumes of kailua stretch up and down the coast, attracting hundreds of schools of opelu and young aku with a swelling banquet of shimmering nehu and clouds of plankton and algae. Pelagic hunters migrate across the endless expanses of ocean to feast on this rich gift. These oceanic hunters arrive as schools of giant ahi, packs of high speed ono and the always terrifying Pacific Blue Marlin. Few people know that the Pacific Blue Marlin was not documented as a separate species until Captain George Parker, of Kailua-Kona, caught one in November of 1954. That fish weighed 1002 pounds, and Captain George caught it single-handedly from the Mona H on his way to Honolulu for dry dock.

While the ahi and ono provide wonderful meals to friends and family, the marlin provides the most hair-raising episodes a fisherman or woman will ever experience. We don’t hang those fish much anymore. On our boat, Kakalina, we tag our marlin and send them on their way instead of killing them just to weigh. It is good to know that same fish may come back to wrestle with us another day.

Going fishing is the sort of thing that occupies the mind during the soft summer months in the world’s most beautiful place to live. Aloha, Bill"

Thanks Bill for this wonderful story about fishing big fish in Hawaii ocean waters. Not to forget the fun youtube video of your fishing tour in Kona with family and friends. What do you think of big game fishing in Hawaii on vacation? We'd love to hear from you. Mahalo and aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations
p.s.
Bill has been living on the Kohala Coast for most of his life and has helped many people in the past to find their Hawaiian dream home. Also visit Bill's other Hawaii blog stories on our Hawaii blog guest author page.

Tags: Big Game Fishing, Hawaii fishing, Hawaii game fishing, sport fishing in Hawaii, Kona fishing tournament

Humpback Whales are still in Hawaii

A warm aloha to all our Hawaii visitors,
Happy to hear that you like your new Hawaiian T-shirt from Crazy Shirt and even bought several Hawaiian shirts for family and friends as an aloha gift from Hawaii. Believe me they will the shirts. Maybe you even bought a shirt with a Hawaiian humpback whale - or should I better say Alaskan humpback whale - on it, which is a favorite theme for T-shirt makes in Hawaii. Especially the kids love those.

What better experience is there to see the gentle ocean giants, not just on a Tshirt, but in true nature on a Hawaii vacation! It's amazing how many Humpback whales we spot recently and it's already middle of March, time to go home to their Alaskan cold waters. I have a feeling they are gathering for getting ready for their big journey home.

If you have never seen the Imax movie 'Whales', which includes the many dangerous encounters Humpback whales with their new babies are facing on this long trip from Hawaii to Alaska, do it next time you are near an Imax movie. It's a whale experience I will never forget.

Yes, the Humpback whales are everywhere around the Hawaiian islands at the moment. Beach visitors don't just pack towels, beach chairs and sun screen these days but a pair of binoculars belongs to beach equipment in Hawaii for many people as well. It's a funny thing to watch: as soon as one lifts his binoculars, everybody follows with pointing and screaming. Beach visitors get totally excited when seeing a pod of whales or 'just' a whale mama with her newborn calf.



The Humpback whales seem to enjoy the warm Hawaiian ocean waters just as we humans do. It's so much fun to watch the Humpback whales to splash their fluke, blow theirs spouts or even do a breach, the ultimate joy for us people, and I guess for the whales too. If we only could manage to get a photos of the whales! We bought a new fancier digital camera in order to catch more Hawaii photos for our Best Hawaii Vacation blog visitors, according to the motto 'A photo speaks a thousand words'.

But I tell you it's so hard to take a photo of a Humpback whale because you never have the camera ready when they suddenly start performing their 'magic tricks'. I admire everybody who has taken a decent Humpback whale photo from shore. I guess from a whale watch boat is somewhat easier but I have to admit I don't go on boats as I get terrible seasick. Well, if your belong to the lucky Hawaii vosotors or residents who have a great Humpback whale photo. please, share with our Hawaii blog visitors.
Mahalo for your photo and comment. Aloha Pua Hawaii Vacations
p.s.
I can't believe my luck when I searched youtube for Humpback whale videos 2009 and found the one above from Paul Hugel Humpback Whales from The Frogman 2 charter boat in Maalaea Maui. Hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. Mahalo Paul!

I was also totally captivated by the this story 'Whale watchers witness possible birth in Kohala' which was published yesterday in West Hawaii Today. Several Big Island residents claim they have witnessed a humpback whale give birth Tuesday morning! A Humpback whale story worthwhile reading!

Related Articles Hawaii Humpback Whales

More Hawaii Humpback Whale Encounters
Humpback Whale Season in Hawaii
Whale Watch in Hawaii
West Hawaii Today Whale Story
Humpback Whales are back to the Islands

Tags: Humpback Whales, Whales in Hawaii, Whale watch Hawaii, Hawaii winter vacation

What is the Hawaii State Fish?

Mauna Kea beach on the Big Island has a great reputation not just for the whitest white sand beach but also almost perfect coral reefs for beginning snorkelers. I myself mostly enjoy the clear warm waters for an early morning swim, which I combine with watching the tropical fish in the reefs, as I swim across from one side of the bay to the other. On either end, one finds great coral reefs with an abundance of tropical fish. When you are new to the ocean, we recommend you snorkel on the right side when facing the ocean. This area is covered by Mauna Kea Beach hotel life guards.

When recently snorkeling the coral reefs at Mauna Kea Beach, I spotted several of my favorite Hawaiian fishies: the spiked puffer fish (can blow himself up by swallowing lots of water to a huge size, so he won't get eaten by the sharks), the yellow tang, which are a favorite by lots of Mainland visitors because of their strong yellow color and last but not least, the popular Humuhumunukunukuapuaa, which is really a cutie because of his colors and shape. Of course, there were many more fish to admire and Bobbie from the Right Blue, who wrote our guest post about Diving and Snorkeling in Hawaii would be able to name them all, with common and Latin names.

When preparing this post about the Hawaii state fish, which I was convinced was the Humuhumu, I came across the controversy and the statement that it was 'dethroned'. Well, I had not heard about that in all my years living in Hawaii and Wikipedia had not heard about it either. No one told the public that the Humuhumu's reign was over, so few knew anything had changed. Problem seems to be that the Humuhumu 'only' got chosen by the public through projects by the University of Hawaii and the Waikikia Aquarium in 1989. So lawmakers decided to make it the Hawaii state fish only for 5 years.

I can't even imagine that anyone would not want this fish to be the Hawaiian state fish. Opponents say the humuhumu is not unique to Hawaii. There is no lack of fish species specific to the islands. Thirteen species of wrass alone are found here and nowhere else in the world but none is as cute as the Humuhumu plus has this great Hawaiian name, which any tourist has a hard time to pronounce.

No wonder that we see the cute fish and its long name on T-shirts, cups and in TV commercials. Let's have some fun! Gov. Linda Lingle refused to give the fish the state title back and instead said that decision should instead be left to the public. If it ever comes to a new 'vote', let's vote for the Humuhumunukunukuapuaa as the Hawaiian state fish, or what do you think?
Aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations

Tags: Best of Hawaii, Humuhumu