My last Hawaii post.....couldn't finish without mentioning the GREAT whale-watching cruise we took during our visit.
We selected Triology Tours for our whale-watching adventure and got on the boat right off of the beach in Kaanapali. It was perfect weather for the 2-hour cruise and we saw LOTS of whale activity.
The water was so choppy that it was tricky to take photos that weren't totally blurry, but I managed to get a few.
We came upon a "mating pod" where several male whales are basically chasing one female, and there was a LOT of activity. The male whales were repeatedly jumping up out of the water, sparring with each other to win over the female. Apparently this can go on for hours before one of the males "win". :) The captain of the ship estimated there were about 15 males in this pod. We watched for about 1/2 hour before moving on to another area.
In the photo above you can see several whale backs just on the water ahead of us. One is blowing from his blow hole, the others are swimming behind. I think that I just missed catching one in midair in this shot.
There were also great views of the shoreline from the boat. I loved the shots of Maui itself.
And to close, this beautiful shot below of a double rainbow that we spotted over Maui. Perfect ending!
Fascinating creatures those whales are. They're massive mammals but they only eat microscopic planktons. That's why they're called the gentle giants of the ocean. It's exhilarating just watching them move. Despite their gargantuan sizes, these animals gracefully swim like underwater ballerinas.
Posted by: Darius Cartmell | May 19, 2011 at 02:13 PM