It’s Nice To Meet You Humu Humu!

Location: Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, East Coast of Oahu

Last week, I did something that I consider ‘ out of my comfort zone’: I went snorkeling.  Now, this may not seem like something that most of you might consider boundary pushing, however it was for me, for two reasons.  First of all, and for the most obvious reason : I’ve never snorkeled before.   I really wanted this to work out, however I worried about the whole ‘breathing underwater with a snorkel in your mouth thing’.  And the second reason this had me nervous: I had never swam in the ocean before.  I’ve been in the ocean, but never really ‘swam’.  I know how to swim however would never count myself as a strong swimmer.  In fact, on a rafting trip with friends years ago, I had opted to wear one of those coloured helmets that identified myself as a weaker swimmer, in case of accidentally going overboard – Luckily, I didn’t but my friend flew right off!  Anyways, snorkeling was one of those things that I was really excited about but nervous at the same time.  

I had done my research and Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve seemed like the perfect spot: its bay is relatively sheltered, home to hundreds of species of fish and the reef was close to the shoreline.  

Hanauma Bay is a pretty special Hawaiian spot: it lies a the bottom of a volcanic crater.  After a volcanic eruption caused the collapse of the crater side thousands of years ago, a u-shaped beach was created and still exists today. 

So how did this experience work out, you ask?  Well… it went wonderfully!  Snorkeling was a lot of fun, despite the initial shock of the cold Pacific waters (the water is about 77 degrees!) and I didn’t drown!  I went out twice, and on my last outing, I stayed out exploring the reef for almost 1.5hrs.  I was very fortunate to encounter several species of beautifully coloured fish and one special stand out: a green sea turtle or honu!  Turtles swim relatively close to the shoreline in Hawai’i and I was really hoping to see one that day.  And I did!  I spent a good chunk of time swimming alongside it, watching as it glided gracefully in the clear blue waters.  I actually let out an underwater squeal of joy when I came upon it.  And as there were no other snorkelers around, I had it all to myself.  What a moment!  (which, unfortunately due to the lack of an underwater camera, will forever be captured only in my memory).  I was so enraptured by the turtle that I lost track of time and almost missed my ride back into town!  Luckily for me, my busmates for the day had my back and we all made it back on time.  It was truly an unforgettable experience!

The reef is close to the shoreline and is visible in the photo above (it’s the dark patches in the water).  Despite the park’s immense popularity, the fish are present and numerous, unperturbed by their human gawkers.

The cards show some of the fish I saw while snorkeling.  The one I was very excited about, was Hawai’i’s state fish, humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa.  Yeah, try saying that 3 times fast.  I like to call it Humu Humu for short (otherwise known as reef triggerfish).  I had been looking forward to meeting this fish for quite some time.  At my work, we have two mascots: an inflatable pink flamingo named Floyd (get it?) and a tropical fish named Humu Humu, so named after a coworker’s visit to Hawai’i.  So it seemed like a perfect way to cap off such a wonderful experience, with a face to face meeting with Mr. Humu Humu himself!