HUNAUMA BAY

Hanauma Bay is a marine embayment formed within a volcanic cone and located along the southeast coast of the Island of Oʻahu (just east of Honolulu) Hanauma is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the Island and has suffered somewhat from overuse (at one time accommodating over three million visitors per year).















In the 1950s, dynamite was used to clear portions of the reef to expand the area available for swimming. There are some 650 spies of fish and water wildlife in this bay. Specifically Hanauma Bay is known for its abundance of Green sea turtles, Chelonia mydas, known as Honu. Hanauma is a nursery ground for the immature turtles, which have their nesting grounds at French Frigate Shoals It is also known for its abundance of parrotfish.









We parked above the rim of the crater and took a shuttle down a steep slope. We viewed a mandatory 10 minute film educating us on the dos and don’ts of the reef swimming. We spent an afternoon waking in the warm shallow waters with the colorful fish swinging around our feet.