Although we have seen humpback whales nearly every day from the road and the beach, we wanted to see them up close and personal. There are lots of whalewatching tours that leave from Lahaina. Some are on large boats that can take a hundred or more people, but we noticed that one outfit, Hawaii Ocean Rafting, took small zodiac-type boats with less than 20 people. So we decided to try their tour, hoping to get some really close up photos.
We did get very close to a group of three whales (mother & calf, and a bull) but none of them spontaneously breached or jumped or anything so all you can see are their backs/dorsal fins.
Later we found a group of spinner dolphins that were a little more active.
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| We tried to take a photo of the dolphins in action underwater but they were too fast for the camera |
After whalewatching, we stopped to do some snorkeling in an area known for the sea turtles.
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| Amanda with turte |
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| Coral |
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| These blue fish were very curious and were unafraid to let you swim along with them |
Our guide, Noni, was a fantastic free-diver and she spotted an octopus hiding in a nook in the rocks.
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| Noni diving for the octopus |
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| At first the octopus inked and tried to get away, but then he settled down for everyone to get a look at him |
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| Once he grabs on it is hard to get him to let go |
Hawaii Ocean Rafting
Lahaina Harbor Slip 8 | Reservations and information 888.677.7238
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