Whale Watching off the South Shore of Maui

Let's get away from the "hiking posts" today and take a trip with the Pacific Whale Foundation out of Maalaea Harbor on Maui's South Shore.  We have been patiently waiting for winter and the return of the Humpback Whales from their 4,000 mile Alaskan migration.  These whales aren't stupid, choosing to spend their winters off the Maui coast in the warm fishing waters. 

I've said it before.  We are not wildlife photographers.  There were so many whale encounters today; I lost count.  That said, I took photos of the sky, the volcano, and the back of peoples heads, all while trying to react to a two second window of opportunity.

For better or worse, here's what we ended up with.  What a wonderful way to finish up our Christmas Staycation on the Kihei Coast. 

We will do this trip again before the whales make their return to Alaska.

Leaving little Maalaea Harbor

Haleakala and our home somewhere in the distance

Before long, we started seeing blowholes spraying water.
Soon, they were all around the boat.

Whale Tail, or is it Whale Tale?

Selfie fail

Finally, I got lucky

Cropped version of the above photo