Today we went whale watching off the coast of Maui! It was absolutely beautiful! We left the harbor in Lahaina at around 1:30 on an ocean raft. We saw whales almost immediately - they breached, fluked, and competed for a mate. This time of the year, the whales migrate from Alaska, along the coast down to California and then across to the waters of Hawaii - however this is all just a theory, because there is no actual documented tracking of any Humpback Whale's migration pattern. The reason for coming to Hawaii is to breed and during this period neither males nor females eat. We learned a lot about how females choose a mate and about how a baby whale survives - how much milk it drinks, how it learns to jump, etc. We saw the beginning of competition pods - group of males that fight to get the attention of a female. These can cause males to get scars on their backs - because a big fighting technique is slamming their gigantic tails - covered with sharp barnacles against their opponent. A whale's tail is the strongest muscle in the entire animal kingdom. We saw babies with their mom's - the mom was teaching the baby how to breach. The crew on the boat explained what possible predators of this gigantic creature could be - they said the biggest are killer whales - which can gang up a humpback and drown it. They, then, break open the jaw to eat the tongue - that's all that they really want from the dead whale.
We ended our tour with a really cool suprise - Spinner Dolphins! They're native to the Hawaiian islands. We chased them for quite a while and they were within an arms length away from the boat. It was a completely amazing experience and will be something I will never forget.
I would recommend doing a whale watching your if you travel to Hawaii in the winter months.
We went whale watching with Hawaii Ocean Rafting - http://www.hawaiioceanrafting.com
If you want an unforgettable experience do this, you won't regret it!