Capturing the Moment

Most of my job as a naturalist out here in Maui is spent on the whale watching boat Ocean Odyssey. It is a large power catamaran that can hold up to 149 passengers. I am pretty lucky that I have marine biology and boat handling in my background because not only are we leading snorkels, narrating whale watching on the microphone, and giving marine bio lectures, but we are also the crew, handling lines, and helping get the boat on and off the dock. There are lots of other options in the company to do field work and land based work as well. A group called Road Scholars, aka Elder Hostel, often gathers for lectures on Humpback behavior and tide pool exploration programs. I have done both and absolutely love it. They are always so fascinated with learning new things. I think that is a great way to travel, going above and beyond normal tourism. The tidepools are pretty amazing here on the south Maui coast because of the many lava formations that catch and hold water during low tide. You c...

If you have to move somewhere in the middle of winter it should be here. Maui life is treating me well. I am working full time with the Pacific Whale Foundation. The days can be long, 5am to 7pm some days, but very meaningful. It is getting close to the peak of humpback whale breeding season and the density of whales is pretty amazing. I am starting to have some off time to explore the island. This picture is from a beach very close to our apartment. While looking for a good place to take this shot I saw six different pods of whales exhaling and splashing not far off in the calm waters. Like I said, Maui, its not a bad place to be.