Hawaii Tourism Officials: Stop Stealing Our Rocks And Sending Them Back With Apology Notes

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HAWAII (CBS) - Tourism officials in Hawaii are reminding visitors not to take lava rocks home with them.

Taking things from National Parks is against the law, so taking volcanic rocks from Hawaii's volcanoes is illegal.

But apart from being illegal, legend has it that taking volcanic rocks from Hawaii is bad luck.

Because of the myth, many people who take the rocks end up shipping them back to the island with notes of apology.

A Hawaiian cultural expert explains the belief behind the legend.

"Hawaii is indeed a place full of mana. Every object, the rain, the wind, the stones, the plants and animals, the people who are here, so when you do frivolous things with that kind of power, you're bound to pay for it," said Hawaiian Culture Practitioner Sam Ohu Gon.

Officials say putting the rocks back where they came from costs time and money.