Eye to Eye with Sea Turtles

We decided to get out on the water for a dolphin cruise with Ko Olina Ocean Adventures. Could these kids be any cuter in their wetsuits?

This was the kids' first time swimming out in the deep ocean and I have some advice at the end of this post, if you're planning on snorkeling at some point with your little ones. The captain said we were very well prepared.


Our first snorkel was along an underwater pipeline that shoots out warm water, which the fish love. It was alive with colorful fish, but getting there and staying put was tricky business. Oh, the current!

The captain gave Tomcat a huge boogie board for Doodle. She did great swimming until she saw a fish. Go figure. Maybe it was the pig nosed humuhumunukunukuaapuaa?

I took Peanut and Little Man and practically dragged them over to the reef by their life jackets. It was incredibly exhausting, but we still managed about 15 minutes in the water; it was just enough time to thrill and terrify them. We hadn't prepared them for the depth of the ocean and it made them very nervous.

Back on the boat they seemed done with snorkeling...forever. Tomcat, ocean enthusiast that he is, refused to let this be a negative experience for them. So when the captain said we had another opportunity to snorkel -- with sea turtles -- he was all set to get them below sea level one more time. Apparently, the turtles have a little ocean spas down below where they get picked clean, etc. by other critters. We'd found such a spot and were allowed to go down.

Tomcat took Peanut back out alone and she returned beaming and full of stories! This got Little Man energized and out he went. Doodle joined them and they both came back thrilled with snorkeling. Persistence pays off once again.

(I have to credit the on-board photographer for the incredible under water pictures -- mahalo!)

Alas, we never found a pod of dolphins, but a mama humpback whale and her baby surprised us with a little show on our way back. It was fantastic -- we'd just seen these creatures in June up in Alaska! They'd had their feast and were now here for the winter to birth and feed their babies. Such marvelous creatures; I never tire of seeing them.

TIPS FOR SNORKELING WITH WEE ONES:
1. Get good snorkel gear and practice in the bathtub for about a month. The hardest part is getting them to cope with the rubber strap that pulls their hair when you're putting on the mask!
2. Just use good goggles on little ones like Doodle. When their nose is covered, they drink more water and do better just holding their breath.
3. Either practice with fins in a pool beforehand or skip them in the ocean. They help with swimming, but are really hard to maneuver when trying to "stand up" in the ocean, which kids want to do all the time (to talk to you mostly!).
4. Get prepared to swim harder than you've ever swam in the ocean. When helping little kids, your own snorkel experience becomes an endurance test rather than a "float".