I love it when people visiting Hawaii are surprised to find out it is one of best place to see whales. Humpback whales migrate here during the winter months from their feeding ground in Alaska. Right now we are in the peak of the migration. There are thousands of humpbacks around the islands, but the true epicenter is located off the west coast of Maui. These whales are here for two reason, to mate and to have their babies. And while you can see whales right from your lanai (porch), there is no better way to experience the sensation of whale watching than from a boat. So today I went out all day, looking for different whale encounters, behaviors, and anything else of interest. It was a good choice.
You can be here all season and not get a great breaching whale photograph. Today was just my lucky day. I already had the camera up and ready, and managed to snag this beauty just in time.
This was a wild encounter. These two whales were giving us all kinds of behaviors. They were breaching, tail slapping, pec fin slapping, and this incredible behavior, called peduncle throwing. It is like a reverse breach, where the latter 2/3 of the body comes out in a violent slashing method.
This brown booby was the only bird we saw. It was looking for small fish right at the surface.
More breaches caught in the act. What a great day.
This was actually a baby humpback whale. It is less than a month old, but obviously full of energy and mom's milk. I'll have to look for this little one up in Alaska this summer.
I don't think I've ever seen two whale synchronizing their tail slaps, but that happened today.
I like having the small whale watching boat in the background. It is a good size reference to show just how big these whales are. They are about the size of a city school bus.
Maui is sometimes called the Rainbow Isle. It looks like even the whales breath rainbows around here.
There are two harbors on Maui where you can find whale watching boats. Maalaea is closest to Kihei and Wailea, while Lahaina Harbor is over by Kanapali area. The whales start showing up in November, but really January thru March is the best time. Don't pass up the opportunity... it might just be the best place in the world to see humpback whales.
And the mai tai's aren't bad either.
-Dai Mar
Check it out on pinmapple here:
[//]:# (!pinmapple 20.86004 lat -156.73842 long Whale Watching in Maui d3scr)