Our Hawaii adventures had just begun as we headed to our next island and port of call, Lahaina on the island of Maui. When the day started we didn't quite know what we wanted to do. Beaches and snorkeling were recommended, but were a taxi ride away. A passenger had tipped me off, though, that the whale watching in Lahaina is second to none and that I should take the chance to do it. I wasn't sure. I've never gone whale watching because it seems to me that if I pay money for something I want to be sure I'll get what I pay for and with wild animals there is no guarantee of what you may get… unless you're in Lahaina. We looked around at different companies for whale watching and they all guaranteed that we would see whales. I had never heard of such a thing, but I decided to take a chance and a few of the singers and other crew joined in for an afternoon of whale watching after lunch.
We went out on our small boat that held around 20 people. It was a combination sort of raft/pontoon with a captain and one other guy working. The views were stunning as we headed out into the bay and were informed that of the 12,000 humpback whales that migrate from Alaska each year, one third of them stop for the winter in this one bay. That's around 4,000 whales in a 5 mile radius. No wonder they were guaranteeing us whales! Once we got out into the bay we spotted our first whale, a baby, and as we approached the captain got so excited. He saw scratches on the whales belly as it was swimming around and he realized he knew this whale. He had spent 2 hours cutting this whale out of a net just a month earlier and had since seen this same baby 3 times. By now he was convinced that the whale must recognize his boat and have good associations with it. Eventually momma whale and her "escort" came over as well and we had a full-on half hour show of 3 whales swimming around and playing around our boat for half an hour. These whales were so generous and gentle around our boat. They were no more than 15-20 feet off the side of the boat coming out, showing us their fins and tails, and even coming out of the water where we could see their eyes. It was truly stunning. The water was clear enough, also that we could see under as they were swimming right under our boat and you could see the magnitude of these creatures. It was, honestly, a life-changer. I had never seen an animal so large and so powerful in the wild and to see it so close and being so gentle and kind with this boat was amazing. I also think I was moved by it after seeing the documentary "Blackfish."
The whole crew was cracking up at me because I was just so excited. Every time a whale surfaced I was just shouting and laughing. The captain turned to me at one point and said, "I just LOVE when someone has the reaction that you are having to this. It's how I feel every time I see the whales." I just couldn't help it. I was truly amazed. At one point on the boat the first mate dropped a microphone down into the water and we could hear the whales singing and clicking. It was a National Geographic moment if there ever was one. Awestruck is the only description I have for it. These animals were communicating so clearly with one another. After that great show we still continued around and found a "competition group" of whales, males fighting over a female. Again, we were beyond lucky to see the power of these animals, they would swim really hard and come splashing out of the water, competing to get close to the female. They were stunning. I just couldn't believe our luck. On board the boat with us were some locals who live in Maui exclusively for the whale watching and we were excited when they told us we picked the best boat and company. One woman who I was chatting with said that she comes out to watch almost every day and at the end of our time in the bay she said that this was the best whale watch she had been on all year. The captain reiterated that comment and said he wished he could give that experience to every whale watch group he took out on the water.
What an awesome time. My friend, Craig, who was also on the tour cut together some footage from our time on the boat. I took lots of pictures that I will post, but they really don't capture the experience at all. The video is much better at showing the proximity of the animals and the experience as a whole. Plus you can enjoy the number of times I scream, "Oh my gosh!" Enjoy!
Live rejoicing, y'all.
Tripp
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