Sea turtles have returned to Poipu Beach

[DeniseM]

Emotions run high as sea turtles take over popular Hawaii beach

Tourists are losing their minds over Hawaiian green sea turtles on Kauai's Poipu Beach.

www.sfgate.com

 

[slip]

I had Wisconsin friends staying at the Pono Kai this week and they had a blast hiking and checking out the beaches. This was their first trip to Hawaii.

They sent me some pictures of their favorites, the Turtles and Monk Seal on Poipu Beach.

 

[artringwald]

Saw plenty of turtles when we were there in February. Usually just 1 or 2 monk seals. If you want to see turtles swimming in the water, you can always find them at a small cove near the public parking between The Point at Poipu and the Grand Hyatt. In the past 20 years, I don't remember a time when we haven't been able to see them there.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

… In the 1990s, turtles began coming ashore to rest on beaches across the Hawaiian Islands, including some often frequented by people, such as Oahu’s Laniakea.

Two years ago, around when the pandemic led to the closure of many beaches, turtles began coming ashore here at Poipu Beach, one of the most visited beaches on Kauai. The phenomenon hasn’t stopped since restrictions were lifted, leading to the nightly ballet between eager tourists and volunteer protectors, who keep a watchful eye over as many as 100 turtles a night, the first time anyone can remember a time when turtles have arrived in these numbers, each and every night, on such a popular beach.

The article makes it seem as if turtles seldom, if ever, basked at Poipu prior to the pandemic. This is not true. We have seen turtles basking at Poipu for years.

What would be new is the numbers reported in the article, and the regular appearance just before nightfall.

 

[magmue]

We are at P@P this week, and walked down to Poipu Beach Park across from Brenneke’s yesterday afternoon - looked for the orange cones, and found them surrounding a group of 11 turtles. Moderate number of onlookers at about 5:00 pm that escalated significantly closer to sunset.

 

[jrb916]

Watching the sunset from the beach after the turtles made their nest for the evening was one of our memorable moments from our 2022 Kauai trip. Thanks for sharing this info!

 

[artringwald]

Watching the sunset from the beach after the turtles made their nest for the evening was one of our memorable moments from our 2022 Kauai trip. Thanks for sharing this info!

We also enjoy sitting on the wall with the rest of the sunset groupies in front of the Nihi Kai Villas. On a nice evening the wall will fill up early.

 

[Timeshare Von]

We are at P@P this week, and walked down to Poipu Beach Park across from Brenneke’s yesterday afternoon - looked for the orange cones, and found them surrounding a group of 11 turtles. Moderate number of onlookers at about 5:00 pm that escalated significantly closer to sunset.

View attachment 85282

We were there too that week (on 12/6/23)! Spent the afternoon enjoying watching the turtles come & go . . . and when we left there were 11 on the beach.

 

[Timeshare Von]

And yes, we too saw the monk seals on the Salt Pond Beach on 12/7/23.