Wednesday, March 5, 2008

A Whale of a Good Time!

One of the highlights of my trip to Maui was seeing TONS of whales! Beginning in the fall of each year, North Pacific Humpback Whales migrate to Maui so the females can give birth in the warm, shallow Hawaiian waters. (And away from their only natural predator, the Orca ~ killer whale.) 2008 was a record setting year in Maui, with over 1700 whales counted during the 2008 Great Whale Count. Even though we could see whales easily from land, we wanted a chance to get up close and personal with these magnificent creatures - so we boarded a large catamaran operated by the Pacific Whale Foundation (an awesome non profit organization dedicated to protecting whales and their ocean) at Maalea Harbor (picture above)...and set out to meet the whales!
After only a few minutes, we encountered three whales ~
a mother, her baby, and a male "escort." The curious baby breached again and again right along side our boat ~ ~ and put on quite a show for us! Mama slapped and waved her big ol' tail......and made quite a SPLASH! Even Flipper dropped by to say "hi!"
(Actually, it was more like "Eee-ee-ee-ee-eeee!")
Check this out: Did you know that the adult whales cease to eat during their 4 to 6 months visit to the Hawaiian islands? They live off of their blubber and as a result, can lose up to 1/3 of their body weight. I don't believe any human tourists can EVER claim doing THAT!
Additionally, the mother whales must produce a nutrient rich milk for their growing offspring...who, weighing in at about 1 ton at birth, are steadily gaining about 10 pounds per HOUR! Whoa baby!!!
The male whales spend most of their time following the females around, trying to impress them with their unique singing ability. Hearing the male escort serenade us with his beautiful song was an unexpected treat! (And somehow left me feeling strangely aroused...)
If you listen carefully, you can hear him singing on this video
that was shot by my blog-mistress' son.
(Click here to listen to more live whales singing right now!)

And now...
...how about ending this whale of a day with a little whale humor?...

Two whales, male and female, are swimming happily around in the ocean when they come upon a boat. On seeing the boat, the male says, "Hey, I've got a great idea! Let's swim up under that boat and blowout really hard through our blowholes!"
The female says, "Oh, I don't know..."
"Come on," the male begs, "it'll be fun, come on...just this once!"
The female agrees and they swim up under the boat and blow out, capsizing the boat and sending hapless sailors into the briny blue.
As they are swimming away, the male says, "Wow, that was fun, wasn't it? Hey! I've got another idea! Let's swim back there and eat all the sailors!"
To which the female, exasperated, replies, "Look, I agreed to the blow job, but I'm not swallowing any seamen."

32 Bodacious Comments (so far) ~ Add Yours!:

Anonymous said...

Great joke, but the pictures were even better!! I'm soooo jealous that you got those shots. I particularly like the sunset. It is fantastic!

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

Thanks Lee! Seeing and hearing the whales was an unforgetable experience! The sunsets in Hawaii are THE BEST! :)
~Olga

Jeanna said...

Yeah, I could see where that one was going. How could you ever leave? Did people try to feed the whales anything as if they were harbor seals at the zoo?

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

Jeanna - I haven't really left...in my mind I'm still there! And nah, thankfully nobody feeds the whales...besides, where would you buy plankton anyway? :)
~Olga

The Rev. said...

That is an AMAZING shot of the sunset!

70steen said...

I am so enjoying your travels here Olga keep 'em coming :-)

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

Hello Rev Pete! Thanks so much for stopping by! And as much as I'd like to take full credit for that sunset...I owe it all to a Higher Power! :)
~Olga

Will do 70steen! Cross my heart!
xoxo
~Olga

Anonymous said...

For the love of God! I've got to go back... I'm jonesin!!

Anonymous said...

Jee I thought this post was going to be about Wille and Whalen...:))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))0

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

Diva - I'll meet you on the corner of Mai Tai St. & Chi Chi Blvd! :)
~Olga

Gooooooood one Crusty!
Where's your moustache?????
~Olga

Debbie Dolphin said...

You released me from my L.O.S.T. Bottle in Mimi's Ocean! :-)

Miss Moneypenny is grateful for your uplifting service to free HMSS Dolphins everywhere!

Thanks to Blogger Comment and Redirect issues, my real address is
New England Lighthouse Treasures

Debbie Dolphin L.O.S.T. at Sea

MYM said...

Wowser! Excellent photos! I love that whale tale and then the splllllash! Very cool shots! :)

I'm so jealous...it looked like a fantastic vacation! :)

Loved the joke tooo, LOL.

Jeanna said...

At the plankton feed store by the Cenex?

Speedcat Hollydale said...

Olga, I'm so glad I stopped here today from the office ... the video was fantastic!! I would love to see the whales in person, but the Blogger V Logger was great too. Ohhh look, Debbie Dolphin as well ...

That joke will be good for the next family dinner!!!!!!! (J/K) :-)

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

Hi Debbie - Thanks for confirming that change of address...I wouldn't want to loose track of you!
~Olga

Tnak Drowsey - I had a whale of a good time! :)
~Olga

Speedy - I bet your family dinners are HIL-AR-IOUS! :) Roasted Loin, I presume???
~Olga

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

PS: Jeanna - I checked, but they were fresh out of plankton...some dood in a Loin Cloth cleaned 'em out the day before! Go figure!
~Olga

Anonymous said...

Hysterical Joke, I never heard that one before.

These are such amazing photos. I am so jealous. I would LOVE to be that close to a whale. That is AWESOME.

xxoo

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

Hi Meleah! Yeah, har-har on that joke, eh? Seeing the whales as toadily awesome...and hearing the male singing gave me goosebumps! Well, a couple of big ones anyway! ;)
~Olga

darlene said...

i love the whales!!....what a funny post!! the swallow part!!...lmao!

Speedcat Hollydale said...

Family dinners??? yep, here is an example ....

The Christmas dinner prerequisite is always the pan parade, "everyone banging on pots with wooden spoons". My brothers boy loves this part of the holidays - so do I!!! LOL

We have a whale of a time 8~)
...still on topic!

I still laugh out loud every time I see the mag shot below (BRA-WK!!!) You really did some great photo-shoppinzz. Hiooooohhhhhh hi hoo , on with my loin I go, with hand granades and Hawaiian oils - on the cover of a Rolin` Stone ...

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

Glad you enjoyed it Darlene! :)
~Olga

Speedy - You are a cocoNUT!
xoxoxo
~Olga

Anonymous said...

I can only hope to be able to do that one day / vacation in this life!

here is hoping! xxoo

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

I have my fingers, ummm...I mean STRAPS crossed for ya Meleah!
xoxoxo
~Olga

A New Yorker said...

This sounds like it was so much fun. Have ALWAYS wanted to go whale watching. I did get to swim with the dolphins. Next best thing! The bra is one lucky gal!

Anonymous said...

Hey girl. Do you have any idea what's up with Robert? I'm not trying to pry or be nosy, but he's just gone. And that worries me.

Julie said...

You keep torturing me with Maui pictures! I soooo want to go back!

And what is up with Robert? I hope that everything is OK....I couldn't get his blog up at all today.

Anonymous said...

ok who ordered a cheeky reneck..???

Speedcat Hollydale said...

ROBERT!!!!!!!! I have had my 007 sonar out looking for you ....

Hi Olga :-)

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

I ordered a BIG TALL one!!!
YAY! :)

Fanton said...

Egads! I haven't seen anything that large in the water since I accidentally walked in on my Aunt in the bath.

Glorious shots, my dear!

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

Is your Aunt a HumpBack, Lord Likely?
~Olga

Mauigirl said...

Wow, you had some great views of the whales! Thanks for posting all these great pictures and the video! We took the Pacific Whale Foundation whale-watching trip a few years ago - a great tour.

I'm wondering if any of these whales are the same ones that were cavorting in the water out in front of our condo last week - we were in Maui for a week and could watch them from the lanai of our condo, which was on the 6th floor and gave us a great view. One time there were a whole bunch of baby whales out there blowing their spouts at once!

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