Whale Watch with Alii Nui

My Portland friend, Carrie, arrived late last Wednesday, and I was incredibly excited to host her first trip to Hawaii.

On her first full day on island, we went on a whale watch on the magnificent Alii Nui.  

We launched from Maalaea Harbor which boasted views of the West Maui Mountains and windmills.

Our first up-close whale sighting was this Humpback Whale doing some "tail slapping."

After the tail slapper slid underneath the surface, we came across a mother, her calf and a male escort whale.  The calf seemed curious about us, and swam over to explore the boat.

Seeing these whales up close and personal from the water is incredibly impressive.  They are massive and majestic, and I feel so fortunate to be able to see them every winter as they migrate through Maui waters.

This other whale wagged its tail side to side, as if it was waving hello to all of us.

The "footprint" left by whales after they have surfaced:

The crew of the Alii Nui kept telling us how fortunate we were.  Not every whale watch is like the one we were on.  We were were blessed with tons of action and up-close encounters.

This small pod of whales seemed to really enjoy checking us out.  They swam up to the boat, surfaced, "spy hopped" or poked their heads out of the water to get a closer look at us, and then swam under the boat to look at us on the other side.

Maui is a sanctuary for Humpback Whales, and humans are not allowed within 100 yards of these protected animals.  Motors must be turned off when approaching whales, and all vessels must be well outside the 100 yard perimeter.  The pod of whales shown in these photographs approached us after we had turned our motor off, and while they were under and around us, we were unable to turn on our motors and jet back to the harbor.  Not that anyone on the boat was complaining.

After about fifteen minutes or so of hanging out with us, our pod of whales spotted another group of whales close by and took off in their direction to investigate.

Captain Jim waited for the whales to be at a safe distance before we started the motor and headed back to the harbor.  Only then did I allow myself a glass of complimentary champagne.  An epic whale watch with an old friend is most certainly the best way to start a stay-cation.