Whale of a time...

We took a whale watching tour one morning with the hopes of getting a closer glimpse of the incredible humpback whales. We decided to go with Hawaii Ocean Rafting, a smaller whale watching outfit for the simple reason that their raft only takes out 16 guests max per tour, so you're not stuck on a large vessel with tons of people. Also, what also excited me about this tour is they take you out on a 30ft hard-bottom inflatable motorized raft and so you feel like you are right on the water.  

The morning we went out it was rather windy and the water was quite choppy. We started out nonetheless and at one point our captain said we may have to turn back because the water was only going to get worse, but in the end he decided the heck with it and we continued on. Good thing, because about 5 minutes later we found a spot where the water was a little calmer and pretty soon thereafter we spotted our first whale. Turns out it was a momma whale and her calf. We followed them for quite some time and they entertained us by breaching, slapping their pectoral fins and tail flukes on the water. We learned a bit about  humpback while on this trip. These whales migrate to Hawaii from Alaska in the winter to give birth and to breed. This would explain why as we followed momma whale and her calf we also saw a couple other whales, presumably males, chasing her. 

Most of them choose to hang around Maui and I think this shows their intelligence in picking such a great spot....if you're going to travel thousands of miles why not a beautiful, warm, sunny place like Maui? While in the Hawaiian waters, the whales actually do not eat and just live off their fat reserves. Once they head back up to Alaska for the summer, they will start feeding again, mostly on krill and small fish. They can reach up to 50 feet and weigh up to 50 tons. We had one of the whales swim towards us and right under the raft. Surprisingly no one aboard panicked and we got to see this massive whale up close and personal. It's a good thing it decided to remain under water while under our raft but I have to say I was a little disappointed that when it came through the other side that it didn't come out of the water at all. I guess it must have been aware of our boat and the other one nearby. 

This was the reason for coming to Maui this time. It was really worth it and the tour did not disappoint. And to be able to see them from the beach too was just incredible. What a fantastic once in a lifetime experience. 

To travel is to live....until next time...life is good!