Our February 2014 visit to Maui would not have been complete without taking a whale watching tour. Of the many tours available, we chose the Eco Adventure Cruises of the non-profit Pacific Whale Foundation. Established in 1980, the foundation was established to protect oceans through science and advocacy. Their website states that among other things they will be focused on "pragmatic, critical-thinking, and focused on solutions." We found their employees and volunteers to be knowledgeable and helpful.
Tickets are sold at the Pacific Whale Foundation Ocean Store in Ma'alaea or they may be purchased at many of the area hotels and resorts. After checking in at the store, we waited with the other guests outside until our tour guide led us down to the small boat harbor. Our cruise was aboard the 65-foot long Ocean Liberty. The cruise covered about 20 miles in two hours. As can be seen on the map, we stayed within the sheltered waters between Ma'alaea to the north and Wailea to the south. Our trip proceeded in a counter-clockwise direction along the red track line.
I apologize for the poor quality of the images in this post. I've found that it is a bit more difficult to keep the camera steady on a boat than on land especially when trying to zoom in on fleeting images of distant wildlife.
The focal point of the two-hour cruise was migratory humpback whales. These mammals travel from their summer feeding grounds along the Alaskan and Canadian coasts to their winter breeding grounds in Hawaii every year. While humpbacks can be found throughout the Hawaiian island chain during the winter, a large number seem to prefer the the somewhat protected shallow waters west of Maui.
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