Maui Whale Watching

Our extended family enjoyed a Maui Whale Watching activity the day after Christmas during our most recent vacation in hopes of seeing a few humpback whales.

We were very impressed by the knowledge our tour guide possessed. She, along with the rest of the ship's crew, was a long-time member of the Pacific Whale Foundation.

We left Lahaina Harbor around 9 am aboard the Ocean Odyssey, a two-deck boat owned by the Pacific Whale Foundation. We took the two hour tour in the Auau Channel, which is located among the islands of Maui, Lanai and Molokai. This area is the breeding grounds for much of the Pacific's approximately 3000 humpback whale population during the winter and spring months.

During the summer and fall months the humpback whale lives off the waters of Alaska. There they mostly eat and store food. They then travel back to Maui for the winter and spring. The humpback whales love this area because Auau Channel is relatively shallow (deepest part is about 300 feet) and the waters here are warm, and relatively protected.


This photo of Front Street was taken only a few minutes after leaving Lahaina Harbor.


Our boys loved seeing this shipwrecked boat located just outside Lahaina Harbor. We don't know if it was deliberately placed there or was the result of an accident.

Whatever the reason, it added another element of enjoyment during the boat ride out to the breeding grounds.



This photo (above) was taken approximately 20 minutes out from Lahaina Harbor. You can see some of the Kaanapali resorts at the far left.



This photo is a wide view of West Maui Mountain looking east. It was one of those relatively rare days where most of the top of this extinct volcano was cloud-free.

Our tour guides were wise to give a disclaimer up front: They have no control over the humpback whales' activities! So part of the adventure is not knowing what you are actually going to see on one of these Maui whale watching trips.

Our kids (and the nieces and nephews) had a great time trying to spot whales. They were surprisingly patient as they sat on the deck looking through the railings. If you ask the 3 and 4 year olds, they saw hundreds of whales and jellyfish right by the boat! Imagine the rest of us missing that.

While we didn't see any breaching (leaping out of the water) humpback whales on this tour, we very much enjoyed our Maui Whale Watching activity. There's always a next time....


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