God’s Artistry in Giant Sea Turtles

By Randy Alcorn

April 5, 2011

“O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” Psalm 104:24

Yesterday we looked at reef fish. Today it’s turtles. Tomorrow I’m going to share an amazing ocean surprise God shared with me on our last day in Maui.

As you know if you’re a snorkeler, it’s always a delight to be around honu, green sea turtles. I love both hovering over them, and swimming alongside them, and following them wherever they lead me. (Occasionally that's far out to sea, which isn’t generally recommended!) This time I was on the far side of Black Rock and was following a turtle, paying no attention to where he was taking me. When I finally lifted my head, I was shocked to discover he had come all the way around to the beach side and was headed to the shallow waters. He joined up with another turtle in the shallows. (The two of them are in one of the videos below.)

I take a waterproof bag with a radio in it to stay in touch with Nanci so she doesn’t worry about me when I’m out in the ocean for three hours. This inexpensive radio set has been good for our marriage. :) So I called Nanci to say I was headed to shore with a turtle, and all she had to do was come out in the water to hang out with us. She did and we had an absolute blast with a couple of turtles. Someone had some kelp or seaweed, and we hand fed the turtles. (I wouldn’t recommend this unless you’re very careful. They could bite off a finger.)

Here are thirty or so turtle photos from a half dozen locations. The blonde swimming above and behind one of the turtles, in the tenth picture, is Nanci.

Here are some fun videos. Here are the two turtles feeding off the rocks at Black Rock, two minutes:

People feeding turtles at Black Rock, 45 seconds:

Sea turtle in the ruins of Mala wharf. The ruins have turned into an artificial reef. It was a beautiful place to hang out with turtles. I love this two minutes, takes me right back there: