Can you remember the last time you saw a whale, surplus belly hanging over the outside, throwing itself completely clear out of water. That is a “you’ve-got-to-be-kidding” feeling very hard to beat. A little weird: whales aren’t fish, but their large leaps from the sea seem like miracles. Part of the year Lahaina, on Maui’s west coast, plays host to these big visitors from the ocean beyond. For ten months of the year, from December to April, the migrating humpbacks bring their magic to strip life of the everyday and turn the sea itself into something downright marvelous – continue.
Imagine yourself on a whale watching boat, the breeze in your hair. Jackpot! A whale suddenly soars into the sky, wings all along its lower edge expanded. Then all is silent except for water trembling slightly under a heavy weight landing itself in a crash of grace only tempered by noise. This is a moment which you must record and savour, for it reminds you of the titanic wonders of the sea that you rarely encounter on any ocean or completely calm in front an audience.
Here there are all kinds of tours, each of them promising to be a feast for your senses. With ecological-minded cruises, a rich learning experience is on offer that will also inspire you to protect the environment. Play out a scene in an television nature documentary? Here, dine soulfully in a piano restaurant. Redline Rafting & Tours and other small companies are also available–boats that move faster. With these a passenger can become more engaged in personal experiences far fewer people are on them for greater sense of adventure. Just once in a while, things become even more exciting!
During that time, almost three hundred whales will stop over. “Whales–Nature’s great entertainers” – if life had any poet in its depths, this was him speaking. Their grand performances are proof that even in all the infinite chaos which lies around us, there is still beauty.
Before going out to see the sea on a voyage, I have everybody get ready; so I remind each person. Don’t come back looking like a boiled lobster. A little protection from sunscreen will keep your skin okay under the sun at least. Now with binoculars, you are about to play THE game of the ocean. One point left: patience. This is not a rush event – watching whales out there requires taking your time and enjoying every bit!
The next time somebody brags about their “paradise” vacation suggest they have a whale to watch at Lahaina. That might give them ball envy.