Whale Soup!!

No - I'm not referring to the latest fancy-pants restaurant I went to in Maui, but instead the local term for how chock-a-block the ocean gets with humpback whales this time of year!  I hadn't been planning on doing any whale-watching while I was here as I've done it several times before in various places (saw Right Whales in P-Town, humpbacks in Peninsula Valdes in Patagonia and eff-all in Iceland) but after having seen the crazy number of mother and baby whales out of the helicopter window the day before, I thought it was an experience I really shouldn't miss.

My boat.  Just me and 5 other peeps.

The other boat.  With LOTs of peeps.

So, after returning from my triumphant conquest of the dawn, braving the "This is what happens when an artist designs bathroom fittings" shower (more on that later) and dressing in long sleeves and a long dress to cover the THOUSANDS (ok, slight exaggeration) of mossie bites that I totally hadn't been expecting (see, I did end up getting eaten alive in the library after all - just at a slower pace!), it was time to head out to Lahaina for my raft trip with the Pacific Whale Foundation.
The drive to Lahaina took about an hour and a quarter and took me to the same part of the island that the helicopter had flown over the previous day.  Driving along the water's edge on the coastal road to Lahaina was lovely - again, with the top down on the Mustang, it was a glorious afternoon.

The town of Lahaina itself is very pretty - touristy with lots of shops selling Hawaiian souvenirs Made In China, but it had a pleasant, relaxed vibe to it.  I lucked out (again!) with finding parking, so managed to find a spot just behind where i was due to go and check in for my trip.  If you do ever go whale watching in Maui, then consider going with the Pacific Whale Foundation - they are a not-for-profit organization so all the proceeds from the tours etc goes straight back into conservation and research.  They also have the most knowledgable guides and set the standard for professionalism for other tour operators - here's their weblink:  http://www.pacificwhale.org

I seemed to be on a winning streak as I'd booked the tour on a whim the day before and had randomly chosen to take the "raft" trip rather than the regular boat.  The lady on the phone said it was a smaller boat so fewer people, which sounded good to me (35 people vs 200 on the boat) - when I actually turned up for the tour, though - there were only SIX of us!!  Our tour guide said it was very rare for it to be so empty and that six was actually the minimum number they would allow to actually run the trip, so it was absolutely perfect!  Having so few people meant a completely unimpeded access to move about the boat, from side to side as the whales popped up - different to other tours i've been on where you are constantly jostling for position to try and see (and are invariably on the wrong side of the boat when the whale finally does appear!).  I saw the hoards of folk getting on the other boat and was very very pleased with my decision!!

So, off we set and we'd be going for less than 3 minutes before we saw our first whale.  Right there, in front of us, blowhole a-tooting and tail flipping as he dove.  And then another - and another - and another!!  They were EVERYWHERE!!!

According to our guides, there had been a lot of activity in the morning - basically all the male whales are there trying to compete for the attention of the female whales (the few that are available and interested in breeding).  This meant lots of racing, butting of heads, and general malarky - most of which we, of course, can't see from the surface.  But it was incredible to see these big gangs of 6 or 7 humpback whales, all trying to out-do each other and - while I didnt see a whale in full breach (when they leap out of the water), I did see more than i'd seen on previous whale watching trips, so it was certainly well worth it.

We also saw plenty of baby whales (though when they are born, they are already 15ft long, so they're not exactly tiny!) and their mothers, and as an added bonus, just as we were heading back into shore after the 2 hrs, we also saw a school of 50-60 spinner dolphins!!!  AMAZING!!  Leaping and playing, right in front of the boat - i managed to get a couple of good shots, but unfortunately missed the one where a dolphin did an incredible pirouette right in front of us.  Absolutely brilliant.

Also, another fantastic moment was listening to the sound of this single male whale singing.  Apparently, all the males sing exactly the same song and that they sing different songs at different times of year and there are geographical variations too.  Fascinating stuff.  Our guide said it was unusual for us to be able to isolate the song of a single whale and to hear the changes in song and sound but, because this one male whale was apart enough from the rest of the whales, that's what we were able to do.  I took a couple of videos so you can hear them - its the same whale making radically different noises - just brilliant. (sorry the videos are sideways!!)

Ever wondered what seven whales racing looks like?
 You're welcome....

Adorably cute spinner dolphins

In full mid-leap...

 After that, we then headed back into shore and I disembarked and then really discovered just how sunburnt i'd gotten (I'd forgotten to bring sunscreen), but it was absolutely worth it and a great way to spend an afternoon.  And so, for my final Maui act, there was nothing left to do than to go and visit a Top Chef for a Top Dinner....