Ka Honu Kai ( The Sea Turtle ) by Kahuna Don

12/2000


Queens Bath, Princeville, Kaua’i



Ka Honu Kai - written by Kahuna Don

(The Sea Turtle)

Sea Turtle — Sea reptile having a horny, toothless beak and a short stout body enclosed with a shell.



Last year, In December of 2000, I was vacationing with friends in the town of Princeville on the Island of Kaua’i. The “Garden Isle,” very beautiful and majestic. I was there the year before and visited “Queens bath,” a tourist scenic spot which is located on the North shore.

To get there, you must navigate a very slippery treacherous foot path that winds down from the road to the rugged lava rocks at the waters edge. No place for the “faint of heart.”

When the tide is in, the waves pound against the rocks spraying foamy salt water high into the air filling the many tide pools that pocket the beach. No sand, only coarse, sharp black lava rocks.

While standing at a vantage point overlooking the “Bath” and the open sea, I caught a glimpse of something in the water just beyond the rocks. It was a very large, mature “Sea turtle.” WOW! I said to myself looking right at the “turtle,” “The sea water is rough and choppy here — the waves are crashing on the rocks. It looks dangerous for you to be here.

S.T. -- Why? I am happy and comfortable. The sea water knows me — the waves know me, the currents know me and I know them. We are in harmony with each other. What you see as danger is only an illusion. Do I look as if I am in trouble? Look how effortless I swim! I can move my flippers with ease — I do not crash on the rocks. Sometimes life can look like this — rough and choppy, with waves crashing around you. Why are you afraid for me? I am not afraid! See! I swim with effortless grace — watch me and learn — I move with the current.

ME — But I can see that the water is very rough and looks menacing — very powerful, too powerful for you perhaps?

S.T. — I am here for you — to see. I am on the surface to take a breath, to rest a bit, then I dive and work my flippers to get to the limu (seaweed) that is attached to the rocks below. Does the limu run from me? No! It lives its entire life in the same place. Is it afraid of me? No! Is it afraid of the current? I know limu and limu knows me. Together, we are links in the chain of life, supporting each other.

ME — You are alone — I see that you are all alone.

S.T. — Why? I am with the waves, the current, the rocks, the sky, with you. I am not alone!

If I were in any kind of danger, would you not help me? Of course you would. That’s why I chose you and that’s why I am here. You are at one with the sea — you were born and grew up here in Hawai’i. You also know the waves, the current, the rocks. We — are not alone! I am an animal. I listen to my instincts — DO YOU?

ME — Ae! Mahalo a nui loa e ka Honu kai! Yes! Thank you very much, Sea Turtle for teaching me. Mahalo!