Turtle Bay – place beyond expectations on the fabled North Shore of Oahu

Thundering surf settles into the soul minutes after arrival on the North Shore of Oahu.

Take care as you walk barefoot in the foam at water’s edge to absorb the pounding power of the mighty waves into the bones of your feet. Soon the ear no longer hears the incessant surf. It’s become one of life’s own rhythms – a heartbeat, a breath – a fine and fitting aloha.

No wonder water men and women come from everywhere to this fabled North Shore nirvana for surfing, stand-up paddle boarding, free diving and swimming. The very fabric of existence and culture here – the legendary surf and sun – draw aficionados from around the world.

A view of the sea, its Pacific waves building as they roll all the way from Japan, is the focus for every room at Turtle Bay Resort, residing on a peninsula at the end of what surfers call the Seven Mile Miracle. That’s a series of North Shore surf breaks where giant two-story-high curls of water – called pipelines – carry men and women on surfboards gracefully toward shore or crash them on the coral. The surf breaks on reefs just a few feet below the water’s surface. Flesh impact on the coral can be deadly, while skimming over it is an exquisite ballet – a feat of athleticism akin to skateboarding.

The just-concluded Vans Triple Crown awarded $1 million to champions who came from around the world to challenge huge El Nino-spawned waves in competitions chosen to coincide with the biggest surf.

Surfers mingled and met with guests at Turtle Bay in what is fast becoming a tradition of total immersion in all things Hawaiian at this only North Shore resort. Less than an hour from Honolulu and bustling Waikiki, depending, of course, on traffic, its nearly 1,000 acres gives plenty of space for horseback riding, kayaking, yoga, running, retreats, concerts and blissful time and space away from the fray. Take surfing lessons from the resort’s on-site Hans Hedemann Surf School or book a helicopter – perhaps one for just the two of you to be dropped off with a champagne picnic on an otherwise inaccessible ridge tinseled with waterfalls. Turtle Bay has its own chopper – recognized by some as one used in ‘Magnum, P.I.’ episodes, one of dozens of TV shows and movies filmed here.

A bicycle path runs the length of the Seven Mile Miracle and into the sleepy, very Hawaiian Haleiwa, a village where shave ice at the general store is a top attraction. Typically Hawaiian fruits of an amazing array flavor this slushy-style confection that’s perfect for a hot day.

Step into the tiny cemetery behind the old church to gain an appreciation for the age of this village dating from the early missionaries who came to Hawaii not long after Capt. James Cook to convert and ‘civilize’ the natives.

Now, though, there’s a renewed appreciation for old Hawaiian values that revere the Earth in an attitude of stewardship instead of exploitation. Nowhere is this more true than at Turtle Bay, where all employees begin each day with group yoga – a practice that embodies both serenity and flexibility.

Here the concierge desk in the corner of the lobby is replaced by a pair of Guideposts, where staffers and their computer terminals can easily arrange anything from a bike or a surfboard rental to a massage, dinner reservation, or tee times at one of a pair of championship resort golf courses.

Begun in the ’60s as a grand and gated Del Webb wannabe casino, it changed hands several times as Hawaii legislators refused to legalize gambling

Turtle Bay’s latest incarnation finds it artfully re-imagined and updated into a resort with hotel rooms, condos, and cottage-like lodgings – all sharing considerable amenities in a setting that underscores its unique sense of place. Many employees, including Turtle Bay General Manager Danna Holck, are locals and happy to ‘talk story’ or tell about their lives, Hawaiian lore and their island favorites – an Hawaiian custom descended from ancient oral traditions. Danna, for instance, was raised just a few miles away and grew up surfing the famed Banzai Pipeline. As many young people do, she moved away, went to school and established a high-powered career in the worlds of hospitality and hotel management. Now she’s back home and beloved by staff and guests for her gentle Hawaiian demeanor and hands-on management style.

Even the hotel’s rooftops characterize its newly emphasized sensitivity to the environment.

They’re literally green – meaning they are planted with grasses and other plant materials of different colors and textures. Viewed from rooms they seem almost to replicate the varied surfaces of the water. The living rooftops cool the spaces they shelter and give a pleasing natural foreground to vistas of surf and sea. Out of sight, atop the main building, are 1,500 solar panels that provide 8 percent of the resort’s electrical needs.

When the new Replay Resorts management took over here four years ago, the gates that had excluded the locals came down, and the community was invited to join guests on the grounds. Replay seeks to connect global experience seekers, a demographic called ‘glocal travelers,’ with the unspoiled culture, traditions and cuisine of the North Shore. So at Turtle Bay it’s easy to meet the natives, who bring their families to picnic at the beaches, pull up lounge chairs on the lawns to watch the surfers and make special birthday appointments for the spa and celebratory dining.

Gentle slopes leading to the resort’s mountain backdrop are checkered with farm fields where pineapples, bananas, papaya and cacao are grown among herbs, grains, flowers, lemongrass, sugar cane and multiple fruits and vegetables. Executive Chef Conrad Aquino has first pick from the year-round harvest for Turtle Bay’s six bars and restaurants, but much also goes to a roadside farmers market along the highway at the end of the property. It’s frequented by locals and guests stocking in-suite kitchens. The farmers are resort employees and contractors who work in partnership with the kitchens and its culinary professionals. It’s a win-win scenario for the North Shore economy, the resort and its guests.

The credo of Turtle Bay are core values drawn directly from ancient Hawaiian mores, crafted and fine-tuned by its employees meeting in groups over months as its infrastructure was being recreated. Permeating every aspect of time spent at the resort, it gives each staff person the power and responsibility to insure a positive guest experience.

The values articulate the Turtle Bay culture in Manawa (time), Podon (goodness), Malama (to care for), Hanai (support of family), Aloha (kindness) and Kama’aina (local).

Its expansive 840-acre property assures exquisite solitude for those who want it, with two acres of green space for each guest room. Among its five miles of pristine beach, romantics can find a pocket beach to themselves, transparent bottomed kayaks give paddlers up-close encounters with sea turtles, and bays away from the big surf afford shallow and calm waters for children and newbie snorkelers.

On a guided hike, we learn that one largish tidal pool, created by a 1940s-era tsunami, is where natives teach their own offspring the ways of the water. It’s a surprise to encounter ‘hikers’ astride Segways wheeling quietly through forests overhung by high huge boughs creating a cathedral-like expanse overhead, their fallen needles cushioning the forest floor.

Turtle Bay geniuses have created seemingly endless appropriate ways to enjoy its many areas. More than 12 miles of hiking and biking trails thread around the property.

Our guide shows us a stone marker replicated from ancient times when tribal lands were divided according to where rain water drained into the sea. Those identical principals centuries later likely were used by golf-course architects creating the resort’s pair of 18-hole courses behind us.

Many films have been filmed here, either in whole or in part, and their actors, discovering an accessible paradise at work, tend to return for their personal time.

My own room was delightful, but next time I come I’ll book one of the 42 romantic beach-front cottages shown in the film ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall,’ where Jason Segel romanced Kristen Bell. Turtle Bay is such a sanctuary that folks from Honolulu and Waikiki come for weekends away from the fray. Because Honolulu on the island of Oahu is served by a frequent flights from mainland cities, it’s arguably the easiest Hawaiian destination to reach.