Whale Watching in Maui in January

 

What a time to be in Maui! The whales continue to amaze me. You can literally sit on your balcony, sipping your coffee in the morning, and watch whales splashing all over. I can't believe that this is not more well known. It should be a must-visit destination for wildlife enthusiast. The sheer density of these humpbacks is something to wonder at. Not to mention all the acrobatic, surface behaviors they display.

While watching the whales from your balcony can be a fun story, there is nothing quite like getting on the water and seeing them close up. We had multiple encounters today where the whales came closer than the 100 yard approach limit. Even at 100 yards, you feel very, very close since these whales are about the size of a city school bus. This stuff never gets old.

One whale starting a breach, where they leap out of the water, while another whale swims very close by.

This behavior is called a peduncle throw. It is often seen as an aggressive behavior in a competition pod. This is when multiple males and fighting over a female. These whales are here to breed, so we have been seeing a bunch of competition pods. There must be some pretty good looking female whales out there to incite all this competition.

Another peduncle throw from a different angle.

One of my favorite angles to photograph whales is to get as low, and as close to water level as I can. I can make for an amazing shot if you are looking up at a whale. Being out in a kayak can make this possible. Just be careful you don't splash your camera.

Here is another shot in the series from the first breach pictured in this post. This whale had some serious hangtime.

And a serious splash down. That is an 80,000lbs splash.

Collision course for these two whales.

Whales gliding by the backside of Molokini Crater.

Hope you enjoyed coming with me on another ocean adventure.
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-Dai Mar