Laniakea, Oahu:
Paradise for Turtle Watchers
also known as
Turtle Beach
and
Honulani

Laniakea, Oahu, Hawaii, is without question the best place in the world to see marine turtles up close. Hawaiian green turtles crawl ashore almost daily to bask amid crowds of tourists and surfers, providing a unique turtle experience and unmatched photo opportunities.

Getting there (click on the map for a larger version) 54K JPEG Map courtesy of Google Maps

In most parts of the world, sea turtles are shy, elusive creatures. This is partly because we humans have a long history of hunting them.

In Hawaii, however, this has been changing for several years now. Hawaiian green turtles have become more and more accustomed to seeing humans who won't harm them. This has led to exciting underwater viewing, as we have documented all over Turtle Trax, but these experiences are limited to SCUBA divers and snorkelers.

Not everyone can engage in these activities, yet anyone visiting Oahu can see a honu! That's because at various places around the Islands, the honu have been coming ashore to bask. Most of their basking beaches have few if any people around, but Lanikea is an exception.

A basking honu is perfectly happy to be the subject of photographs. To ensure that the turtles are not bothered, volunteers at Laniakea use red rope to mark off a "no-go" zone, and place signs to keep visitors informed. The turtle in the foreground doesn't get a red rope because even though it's a pretty good sand sculpture, it didn't fool the volunteers. 63K JPEG Photo courtesy George H. Balazs

Laniakea has always been pretty busy with crowds of tourists and surfers. The honu don't care, they crawl up onto the beach anyway. Tours busses stop and disgorge literally hundreds of tourists a day, all eager to see the turtles, snap pictures, and record video of their amazing experience. While this has resulted in thousands of thrilled turtle lovers, it is not without its down side.

Most people respect the turtles and admire them from a distance. Some, however, cannot resist getting too close and even touching the honu. People have even been know to sit on the turtles!

The increasing interaction between the honu and humans has prompted George Balazs, Leader of Marine Turtle Research for the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Protected Species Division, to create a campaign that he's called:

Show Turtles Aloha

Objective of the Show Turtles Aloha campaign: "To enhance public appreciation and conservation of the recovering Hawaiian green turtle (honu) population through respectful wildlife viewing that promotes the Spirit of Aloha to both sea turtles and people."

Banners in both English and Japanese inform everyone visiting Laniakea Beach about the "Show Turtles Aloha" campaign. 68K JPEG Photo courtesy George H. Balazs

This campaign educates people about the basking honu and how to behave around them. The idea is to maximize the turtle watcher's experience while minimizing the effects on the turtles. Some of the campaign literature is available here in PDF format. (You'll need the free Adobe Reader to view and print these documents.)

• Hawaii Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Viewing Guidelines
• Feeding Causes Aggression
• Did You Know...? (Facts about the Hawaiian green turtle)
• Did You Know...? (Japanese) (Facts about the Hawaiian green turtle in Japanese)
• Honu & Coral Reef brochure

Turtle fans demonstrate the perfect way to "Show Turtles Aloha" by admiring from a distance. 48K JPEG Photo courtesy George H. Balazs

Turtle Guardians

The "Show Turtles Aloha" campaign already has shown great results, but it needs your help. They're looking for volunteers to spend time at Laniakea handing out literature, educating the visitors, and making the Honu experience a positive one for people and turtles alike. Susan Scott, the noted marine science writer, described the program and her intention to volunteer in her Honolulu Star-Bulletin column of December 2, 2005:

"A few North Shore residents already volunteer in the "Show Turtles Aloha" program, but they need more helpers. I will soon be one of them. Please join me.

"I know. I'm busy, too, and it's a long drive to the North Shore. But our dear, gentle honu have learned to trust people now, and it's up to Hawaii residents to safeguard that trust."

If you live on Oahu, please consider giving some of your time to help the honu at Laniakea. If you're planning to visit Oahu, you can still volunteer to spend a day at Laniakea, or as many days as you'd like to spend with the turtles. For detailed information, be sure to read the campaign description.

Related Links

• Conservation at work on North Shore (Ocean Watch column by Susan Scott, December 9, 2005 Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
• Turtle trouble (Story, August 14, 2005 Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
• Police should bring order to beach popular with turtles (Editorial, August 16 Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
• Comeback (Story, January 5, 2004 Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
• Hotel's turtles stir memories of isle friends (Ocean Watch column by Susan Scott, May 5, 2006 Honolulu Star-Bulletin)

A Laniakea Photo Gallery

Click on any image for a larger version. All images courtesy of George H. Balazs and the "Show Turtles Aloha" campaign.

Basking turtle showing the red rope 45K JPEG Photo courtesy George H. Balazs

Photographer gets excellent honu photo opportunity 53K JPEG Photo courtesy George H. Balazs

Two baskers sharing the red rope 49K JPEG Photo courtesy George H. Balazs

Two young honu fans pose with one of the "Show Turtles Aloha" signs 49K JPEG Photo courtesy George H. Balazs

A family posing with two baskers 53K JPEG Photo courtesy George H. Balazs

Basking honu with informative "Show Turtles Aloha" sign in the foreground 51K JPEG Photo courtesy George H. Balazs

Please take one: Show Turtles Aloha information brochures 47K JPEG Photo courtesy George H. Balazs

The Laniakea Show Turtles Aloha campaign visitor's log 45K JPEG Photo courtesy George H. Balazs

Some comments from the visitor's log 46K JPEG Photo courtesy George H. Balazs

More comments from the visitor's log 57K JPEG Photo courtesy George H. Balazs

The MTRP PIFSC Honulani Visitor's Logbook at Laniakea Beach on Oahu's North Shore
359 Days of the "Show Turtles Aloha" Campaign
7 July 2005 - 30 June 2006

These documents are PDF files.

• 1151 Primarily Favorable, Non-Negative, and/or Neutral Comments
• 48 Primarily Negative Comments

Slides from a Presentation by George Balazs
Explaining the Show Turtles Aloha Campaign
and Correcting Common Misunderstandings

"Show Turtles Aloha" campaign description

Turtle Trax home page

Last modified 13/09/12
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