Sometimes its the small things in life....

On our first visit to 'Anini beach we notice about half a dozen people hunched over intently picking through the sand...they all look like they lost a contact lens. Very weird.

After we park our stuff in the rocky sand and the kids jump into the surf my curiosity has gotten the best of me and I go over and ask one of the well tanned and dreadlocked individuals what they are looking for. What I have found most enjoyable about Hawaii, so far, is that everyone is so pleasant....and this guy was no exception. He patiently explained to me that they were all looking for this small shell they call the 'Anini shell.....it is only found in the Hawaiian islands, specifically the north most island Ni' ihau and here in Kauai when during the winter months the rough seas blow them onto this beach.

Now the really interesting thing about this is that the island of Ni' ihau is owned by a single non-Hawaiian family and they do not allow visitors. The island is inhabited by native Hawaiians, about 200 people, but to date not open for shell prospectors. SO if you want 'Anini shells you have to be here on this beach and now during this small window of time. The shells are quite valuable and people sit and collect them to resell...as the man explained to me "It is like picking nickels off the beach...well more like 3 cents. " Which is what the local shell shop will pay.

Prospectors in the Hawaiian sun. The real name of the shell is not 'Anini shell, it is actually called Kahelelani which means "pathway to heaven". Western science nerds like myself would call them:

Class Gastropoda
SubClass Prosobranchia
Order Archaeogastropoda
Family Turbinidae (Colloninae)
Leptothyra verruca (Gould, 1845)

This what Etel and I collected in about 1.5 hours of semi-serious effort. It is quite cathartic to sit on the beach in a single spot, stare at the sand up close and search for these little shells among all the other beach debris and shell bits.

The funny (sad) thing is that once I got home and photographed our shells I realized that most of what we had collected was not very good quality...they had chips, holes, or bad defects.

Close up of the kahelelani...although there are urchin spines (black things), rock bits and other debris with the small shells, you can clearly see their diveristy in color and patterns. They range in color from white to deep red.

This is the work of a jewerly maker named Wilson Simonson a guy I met picking these shells off of a small secluded beach on the north shore. I thought it was really impressive that the guy who makes this amazing jewelry is also taking the time to sit on his butt and pick these miniscule shells out of the sand at the edge of the surf. To really appreciate the process involved in making this jewelry you should go to his website and read about the creation process.

A closeup of strands that are combined to make shell leis. You cannot even begin to imagine how much time and effort went into making these necklace strands. Since they are so valuable, and becoming more famous there has been a rash of imitations being sold on the internet and such. To help combat this, the Hawaiian state government has passed a law (HB 2569) requiring Ni'ihau shells to be documented as the real thing to be called Kahelelani (Ni'ihau) shells.