Sunday Photo: Swimming Honu

Swimming Honu
Taken by Kris Nelson on April 22, 2008
Location: Sheraton Maui Resort, Ka'anapali

As I mentioned yesterday, we're headed back to the Sheraton for the fourth year in a row, come February. Although there was the thought of using my aunt's timeshare or even looking for somewhere else to stay, we would have missed out on our almost daily greetings from the honu (sea turtles) near Black Rock.

You see, we save up and splurge on the ocean front rooms at the Sheraton Maui Resort, and not only do you get views like this one from your own private lanai, you get to see the sea turtles that swim near Black Rock in Ka'anapali.  There will also be the occasional snorkeller swimming nearby as well (and the ones that decide to where their white T-shirt in the water, we call those albino sea turtles) since the area is often regarded as one of the better snorkeling areas in West Maui.  And while we aren't water sport people ourselves, we have the next best thing from the vantage point on our lanai.

Almost everytime we're out on our balcony, whether it's first thing in the morning, coming back from breakfast, or stopping back to our room after time at the pool, we'd take a moment to see one of these fun creatures poke his head out of the water.  In some cases, we've seen two and even three turtles all nearby in the same place, and they'll even stay near the surface for a good minute or two before diving down back out of sight.

Now, since we're not sea people like I mentioned, I had to use my 300mm telephoto lens to get this close up.  Even then, this photo is cropped to get a better view.  The only time we've gotten super close is at the Maui Ocean Center and their Turtle Lagoon exhibit.  As you can see, they look a little less friendly up close.

---

If you'd like to see more photos, you can check out our Sunday Photos category here at the blog, featuring a new photo every week. Our website also features daily photos on the Today's Photos page, and if you're Flickr fans like us, you can check out our Ka'anapali Dreamin' collection.

What to own or use any of our photos? Check out our new photo store, Maui Wall Candy, for purchase info and ideas on what you can do with them. Both print and digital formats are available.


Also, subscribe to our blog to get the latest updates throughout the week.