Humpback Whales off the Kona Coast

I had never been to Hawaii during the winter until my trip to the Big Island last month.  Of course the Aloha State lies in the tropics so exactly when you visit doesn't matter too much; there's always a pleasant day at the beach guaranteed somewhere on one of the islands.  However since humpback whales only choose the winter season to make their three thousand mile voyage there, you might want to book a February trip if these cetaceans are your must-see.

Humpback whales range all over the world and feed mostly during the summer closer to the poles.  They birth their young and mate in tropical and semitropical waters like those near Hawaii.  This specific North Pacific population travels from Alaska and may number as many as ten thousand in any given season.  Maui claims to be the best island for seeing them, where almost any pull-off along the coastline-hugging highway between Maalaea and Lahaina guarantees a sighting. 

I was destined not to be disappointed on the neighboring Big Island where lots of tour operators on the Kohala Coast will take you on a whale watching excursion.  As my flight from Phoenix descended I gazed at the approaching ocean beyond the plane's window in anticipation of my first sighting.  No luck from a mile high, but two hours later, at the Lava Lava Beach Club on A-Bay, I savored three of the main ingredients to my perfect vacation: a colorful sunset, a potent Mai Tai, and spouting whales off-shore.  Aloha, Hawaii!

The next morning from my nearby hotel, the Hilton in Waikoloa Village, I scanned the same ocean landscape for more whales but failed to see any.  Of course with 62 acres of waterfalls, swimming pools, Asian objets d'art, plus a live dolphin exhibit, there was an overabundance of distractions on my first visit to the property.  Fortunately back at Lava Lava later that evening the stars aligned again with the perfect sunset, more Mai Tais, and additional whale sightings.  

The day after, I drove forty miles south to the heart of the Kona Coast for a morning snorkeling trip to Kealakekua Bay on the Fair Wind II with Fair Wind Cruises.  Once I was aboard and settled on the top deck, my first question to the loquacious captain was whether we might see any whales.  "Sure," he replied, "We saw some on the last sailing right outside this harbor."  I was tingling with anticipation over the idea of two adventures for the price of one: some of the best reefs in Hawaii AND whale watching. 

We were soon heading out of Keauhou Bay, not far behind another tour boat, the Kona Style, most likely also headed to Kealakekua.  The sky was slightly overcast, the air humid, typical for this rainier, lusher corner of the island.  The verdant lower slopes of one of the island's five volcanoes, Hualalai, rose behind us. 

Within minutes the vessel ahead of us appeared to be stopped and facing in the opposite direction of their destination.  The passengers were all standing, peering beyond the boat's bow.  Then suddenly a Wooosh! when a whale breached, heaving its entire body up and out of the water.  Then a Splashhh! when a storm of water erupted from the ocean where the behemoth landed.

A humpback whale can be over 50 feet in length and weigh 40 tons, over six times the size of a mature African elephant.  So witnessing this creature breach is nothing short of spectacular.  One theory is that it may be using the associated sounds of splashes and smacks to intimidate competing whales in the contest for mates.  The louder the sound, the stronger and farther the message.  

I was barely ready with my camera and zoom lens; the sudden breach was the very first whale shot I tried for.  As a result I only got some lucky, blurred photographs of the action.  However more captures were ahead of me because during the next fifteen minutes the Fair Wind II's captain was ready to sail in the direction of the nearest spout.  

Soon a mother and a calf appeared in the distance, the mother periodically diving with a showy display of her tail and its two flukes.  These appendages vary in size and shape in individuals and are helpful when identifying specific whales in a pod.  

We veered close to a large whale, who had a number of bumps and indentations on its back near its exposed dorsal fin, or hump. It's surprising to discover that the surface of the whale's dark skin is not as smooth and unblemished as you might have imagined. 

On that point, one whale and its companion paused nearby us, one of them raising its mouth and blowhole - actually most of its head - far out of the sea.  Was it attempting to look beyond the water?  While I didn't see an eye, I did see knobs covering its two distinct mandibles.   These lumps are actually golf ball-sized tubercles surrounding hair follicles.  They are also found on the leading edges of the whale's pectoral fins, or flippers, and might detect underwater vibrations associated with prey or with sound waves.   

After one of these two whales dove, I got a shot of its flukes, over ten-feet wide, and edged with barnacles.  These hitchhiking crustaceans don't seem to cause the whales any harm. 

We probably saw four or more individual whales in our short encounter, but only that first one ever breached.  Early on, the captain informed us that it was illegal to come closer than one hundred yards to a whale.  If one swims any nearer, he later told us, the boat needs to idle the engine and drift, waiting while being "mugged by the whale," a real term.  The seconds when we were actually approached, forced to bob in the water like a buoy and wait peacefully for the giants to move on, was a blissful pause in our unbelievable morning rendezvous.  

That might have been when the whale I described popped its lumpy head out of the water.  It's possible it was attempting to "spy hop," another real term for when a whale studies its above-ocean surroundings.  Were we in its way, or was it listening to the sounds at the surface of the water?  Whatever the answer, it and the other whales swam away while we made our way down the Kona Coast to Kealakekua Bay.

I almost want to write that snorkeling in the crystalline waters amid colorful coral reef formations and dazzling varieties of butterflyfish - exactly  what all the Fair Wind II passengers paid for - was a bland second act to the morning's auspicious start.  Like many other whales, the humpback has a tragic story of near extinction due to over-hunting, and then a very recent recovery thanks to a global effort to stop the slaughter.  Nonetheless as common as they've once again become -  especially during the winter in Hawaii - every single sighting is the thrill of a lifetime. 

Breaching humpback whale in front of the Kona Style off the Kona Coast on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Humpback whale splashing after its breach.

Calf and mother humpback whale off the Kona Coast.

The two flukes of a humpback whale's tail.

The two fluke's of a humpback whale's tail. Note the barnacles on the tips.

Two humpback whales, one spouting, off the Kona Coast.

Unexplained bumps on a humpback whale's back, near its dorsal fin or hump.

Big part of a humpback whale's head with blow hole out of the water.

Two humpback whale's off the Kona Coast. The one on the left is showing it's dorsal fin, or hump, as well as its dorsal ridge. The one on the right might be spy hopping, trying to peer out of the water. You can see tubercles on its mandibles.