Honu (green sea turtles)

     I have found myself enamored with the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle. We have been able to enjoy watching them on several occasions as we ramble about the hawaiian coast line. The best turtle watching was at Kalako-Hanokahoa Historical National Historical Park, which is only a 5 minute drive from where we are staying. I have been to the park several times enjoying the coast line and wading with turtles swimming and sun bathing.We also got blessed and got to watch 2 eating veggitation off some rocks and swishing with the surf, while we were snorkling at Hapana Bay State   Park.
     The hawaiian green turtle is endangered and protected. You are not allowed to harassass them, get to close or touch them (we were told it is a $10,000 fine to touch one!) Hawaiians used to hunt them for food, and use the shell for tools and ornamentation.  The sailors through out the Pacific hunted them to extinction or near extinction all around the Pacific.
     Honu (hawaiian for green sea turtle) and the 4 other native turtles are the islands only naturally occurring reptiles. There were no land reptiles, until the modern sea faring era. The most common turtle in Hawaii. the common name, green sea turtle comes from the green fatty layer inside, not the color of its shell.,

can you see it floating in the water?

Taking a nice sun bath

Turtle in the waves

1. 90% of the Hawaiian turtles breed and lay there eggs in the French Frigate Shoals protected area. These shoals are about 600 miles NorthWest of the Hawaiian chain. They are an atoll area with extensive reefs and very little land (67 acres), left over from a long ago volcano. It takes a turtle about 20 years to reach 200 lbs and breeding size. Then every 3 to 4 years they return to the beach they were hatched at to lay a new batch of eggs. They lay 2 to 3  clutches of about 100+ eggs. Only a small percentage surive to adulthood. They can live for 80 years and become 350 lbs!!

Tahiti!! December 4th

The plane ride on Air Tahiti Nui had all the frills, including little socks.











We were welcomed by song, and we sang a lot!!!

Maeva
Maeva Maeva et  (repeat)
et tara mai te he
Tiare, Tiare Tahiti


- A song taught to us by our hostess, who had the name: " Maeva" which means "welcome" .  An appropriate name- she was welcoming.

Fish! Tahiti Dec. 4-18, 2012

Frank is our host here in Moorea, which is an island 12 miles from Tahiti. I was hoping we could learn from the locals and live like the locals. Well, we got that and more.

First night after changing money and shopping and getting settled in Frank brought us a Bonita. Dark red meat. ZW ate it raw and cooked, with rice and beans. Frank found us Masa Harina, (cause corn tortillas are hard to come by). Avery jumped in and made tortillas for our fish tacos. We had truly arrived.


Owen and I went out spear fishing the next morn with Frank's son Tahiti and his friend Tua. Those guys can fish! They lay on the bottom and spear lots of fish. No SCUBA just holding breath. Owen and I tried to keep up.

They caught maybe 20 fish and an octopus. I counted 12 different species.

They gave us a bunch of fish.

That cabana behind Elizabeth is where we are staying.

We ate this blue parrot fish for lunch.

Must have corn tortillas. Yay Avery!! This is an outside kitchen that we use.

Because we only had 6 fish, (sarcasm),  and two for lunch, Frank rounded up this female Dolphin Fish (Mahi) for our evening meal with his family. We had been hoping to get into some fish, but wow!!! After he filleted one side he let me do the other. The "Nani" in the background is our cabana, we are standing in the ocean!!! Unbelievable location.

Frank the master fish cutter.

First he skins it, then takes off the meat. Very conscious not to waste.

I was honored to get to fillet the other side.

Frank december 4-18 in Tahiti

How could we ask for a better host?




A sting ray getting up on Avery's back.




They really like the fish skin that Avery is holding.




Elizabeth is pretty popular too. (This is after Frank told her that these are the type of Ray that killed Steve Irwin).

Pearl Harbor Visit on Dec. 2nd by Avery

oil still leaks from the Arizona

you can see it all under water

to all those how died on the Arizona

a hug submereen

some big guns that were not big enough

Tahit! Outrigger Canoe December 8th

Tahiti Adventures- Frank's company has been taking a couple about the island, and we... the lucky Mozen Schafers get to tag along. WE have been looking at these canoes in HI and here, and really wanted to try one. and lo and behold!...

Frank's son Tahiti was the captain of our canoe.

He is a powerful man. He steered and gave a lot of forward power. Here, the entire Mozen/Schafer clan is paddling


Elizabeth, Ralph, Avery, Howard, Owen and Tahiti.




Tahiti got his 'boar tusk" necklace Tattoo when he was 16. Done with a homemade gizmo.

Frank ran the support boat. And... put Owen on some fish!


He trolled for bluefin jack (Caranx melampygus) also caught a yellowfin spotted jack. similar fish.

Dolphin Whisperers

This is a journal entry of Avery's that is about swimming with dolphins.

Nov.24,2012

Sandy's house in Hawaii

Sunny and cloudy

    Yesterday we went swimming with dolphins with a lady who is a friend of a friend of my parents.  Her name is Jan and she's really cool.  She is a dolphin whisperer and an artist.  

    First on the trip we drove up to the harbor in Kona were we met the captain of the boat we were going out on, the captains name was Kit.  Then we put the boat in the water because it was on a trailer.  Then we headed out.  Well to swim with dolphins you have to find the pod so for about a half hour we went up the cost looking for them.  While we were looking for them Jan told us all about the dolphins we were going to swim with.  The dolphins we were going to swimming with were spinner dolphin. They have a long snout that is made for spinning when it jumps.  They can spin up to 3 times before hitting the water.  The baby's can start jumping 2 days after birth.  

    Something else we learned is that there are five groups of spinner dolphins in the Hawaiian islands.  The 1 group that belonged to the big island was the one we were going to swim with.  Each group had different DNA but in one group every single dolphin has the same DNA.  Theses groups are split into pods each pod had about 600-800 dolphins.  Recently thou the scientist have noticed that some young spinner dolphins have white spots on the tip of there nose, and instead of spinning when they they jump there jumping hirer then the rest of there group, and there not spinning but when they jump they look like there hovering in mid air.  These dolphins still had long noses and other traits of the spinner dolphins.  This dose not make sense since all the dolphins in a group have the same DNA.  Then science realized that they are mating with the spotted nosed dolphins, and now there seeing  traits of the spinner dolphins in the groups of spotted nosed dolphins.  

    Spinners become old enough to mate when there 6 years old and they live about 35 year.  Those are the facts I can remember about the spinner dolphins but I did learn that the parrot fish eat corral and poop out sand.  That is were some of the sand on the beaches comes from. After learning all about the dolphins we found the pod they were moving in the direction we came from.  After we found the pod they went all around us they were going really fast.  We went up to the front of the pod and our caption dropped us of in the water.  When we were in the water we saw the dolphins under us and around us.  Since they were moving forward in the direction we came from they all past us.  We got back on the boat and the caption brought us up to the front of the pod  again.  We did this 4-5 times then ate lunch on the boat me my brother and a lady who was out there dolphin swimming ate slower then the rest and every one else went in the water.  Well when we were ready to get in the water it was time to head back so we did not go in the water agin.

                                                                                 IT WAS REALLY COOL!!!!!

Jan the dolphin whisperer

Searching for the pod

Dolphins swimming under and around the boat