Greetings from a beautiful humpback whale off of the shores of Maui! Our whale watch excursion was amazing as we journeyed into the protected waters of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary on a 15-passenger raft, where hundreds of migrating Alaskan humpback whales are making their home and propagating their species in these warm tropical waters.
It was the apex of the migrating season! Whales can be seen in these waters typically starting in December. Their numbers increase through the end of February and beginning of March, before the whales and their new young begin the long swim back north to Alaska and the numbers decrease in the waters of the sanctuary as the calendar turns to spring and gives way to the month of April.
Interestingly, while they are here, there is no food for them, so the adult whales lose a considerable amount of weight while hanging out in Hawaii. The calves, of course, are nursing. When I went whale watching in the Monterey Bay back in October, I had learned to look for flocks of birds that circled the whales, right before they came up out of the water. I noticed immediately that while every once in a while there would be lone seabird here in Hawaii, no flocks were gathering. Then I remembered that the reason for the birds to follow the whales in the nutrient rich waters of California was to capture the spoils of the humpback lunge feeding. While the humpbacks retained much nutrition filtered through their baleen, stunned krill that escaped experiencing the belly of the whale were easy prey for the sea birds. With no lunge feeding behavior, the birds in Hawaii, we not interested in whale watching.
Before those mama whales can head back north with their young, they have to teach them many things and build their strength for the long journey. Here, in my favorite photo of our whale watching time, a mama whale is teaching her calf to pec slap.
Our guides, Captain Darryll and Ryan, with Hawaii Ocean Rafting, were great. They used a clock system for spotting the whales with the bow at 12 o’clock making it easy to know exactly where to look. This was easier than using nautical terms like bow or starboard for many of us “landlubbers”. They didn’t really do a lot of talking, but were ready with answers to passenger questions. I appreciated that, because it was easier to be in the moment during the whale experiences. The adult whales’ girth can be 40 feet and they can weigh up to 60 tons. Their fins can be up to 16 feet long and their tails 18 feet long.
Sometimes it didn’t matter where we looked, it was “whale soup” with whales everywhere! There were an estimated 700 whales in these warm, protected waters, so we were fortunate to see a lot of activity. Guide Ryan would holler, “Just look anywhere you want!” Everyone laughed and found a place to view. Speaking of viewing, I have to say that the raft experience is amazing compared to a larger boat. Everyone has a good seat facing out into the ocean. Although the ocean was pretty choppy yesterday, the ride was usually fairly smooth.
But, oh… those whale behaviors! Just minutes into the trip we watched a whale breach in the distance! It was a moment that took our breaths away. Over the course of the trip we saw many blows (including one “rainblow”), pec slaps, backstroke, dives, tail slaps and more. At times groups of males were fighting with each other to impress their desired females. These fights can go on for days punctuated by brief truces in the action. For two full hours we were entertained by these enormous and majestic creatures and their antics.
David, one of my friends I was traveling with, was able to capture this mama and her baby underwater with his GoPro. We saw several pairs. One baby came right up to our raft and swam underneath it. Our guide said that the mama must be experienced and comfortable with her baby near boats or she would have moved him away from us. As federal law dictates, we never approached the whales at a closer distance than allowed by law, but nothing stops them from approaching us!
Of course, all good things must come to an end! The end of this whale tale is literally “the end”!
The “tail end” if you will. As the 15 excited passengers and two crew were headed back to the harbor, we were rewarded with the view of a whale dancing on his head and repeatedly slapping his tail into the water. It was funny and awe inspiring at the same time.
Aloha, Kahola! See you next time! (Saturday). Yep, we booked another excursion!
Retired Girl in a Beautiful World 