Whale of a Tale

Whales are, in my opinion, one of the most majestic and awe-inspiring creatures on earth. They have long been my favorite animals, and I have been blessed with many opportunities to witness them over my short 27 years. I have been on many a trip to SeaWorld as a child, and adored getting to marvel at killer whales, beluga whales, and pilot whales up close. I remember wishing with everything in me to swim with the orcas when I grew up someday! As an adult, I love seeing these amazing animals in their natural habitat, and have been able to admire several grey whales, humpback whales, and massive pods of orcas on whale watching tours on a couple of occasions in Alaska. These have been absolutely unforgettable experiences that I will forever cherish!

Hearing that Hawaii was near the end of its humpback whale watching season this year, we jumped on the opportunity to go, as Danny had never been on a whale watching boat tour before. Usually, humpback whales spend the winter months in warmer waters, like here in Hawaii, before migrating back up North toward Alaska during the Spring and Summer. We booked the last weekend day they had available on the Atlantis Cruise whale watching tour, and cast off in search of these ocean giants!

We had a spectacular view of the shoreline of Honolulu as we made our way out to deeper waters.

All at once, we saw everyone rush to one side of the boat where a whale was spotted fairly close to shore. Not long after, a second, much smaller, dorsal fin was seen breaking the surface of the water right next to the other! The guide informed us that this was a mother humpback whale and her calf who could not have been more than a few weeks old. It was likely that these two were the last whales still so close Hawaii that had not already begun their migration toward Alaska, as this calf looked so young and probably had to finish nursing close to shore for a while still before they were ready to start their long journey. They were so entrancing to watch as they continually came up for air and dove down again. They mostly stayed in shallow water so they did not breach much other than their dorsal fins and an edge of one of their tails now and again, but were beautiful to witness nonetheless.

In these next few pictures you can see mama and baby humpback whale swimming side by side with their dorsal fins just above the water.

If you look closely below, you can see the newborn humpback whale peaking its tail above the water after diving!

After several memorable hours on the ocean observing these heart warming creatures, we took a short walk around the pier and spotted what seemed like an abandoned ship from afar, so we decided to check it out.

Turns out, it was museum that had shut down within the past year, with two historical ships on either side.

Up close this ship seemed sort of eerie, I was half expecting ghost pirates to start swinging from the rigging! (That or Jack Sparrow.)

Before we went home, we took a quick glance over the side of the pier into the water, and lo and behold, more ocean life! These patches of coral, urchins, crustaceans, and tropical fish stretched on for several blocks between piers, each literally swimming with life.