9.'eiwa

Leaping whales and horse tales!

Wow what a winter! It's been truly incredible these months to be able to witness one of nature's wonders -the humpback whale- from the catamaran deck. Words do no justice, so my pictures can hopefully tell a story. One whale is worth a thousand pictures, so here are a couple of my better shots when I wasn't so overcome in my excitement and able to focus the camera.
They can grow to 50 feet in length, so to be so close to one is a wonder. Mind you, it doesn't happen out here like this every day...


















This mother and
her calf came right up beside us,
the calf swimming above the mother,
riding on her back.
The huge mama kept pushing the
calf over to us, ...it was the most
remarkable thing. And the baby would
roll over on it's back, unafraid.


... yet another beautiful breech...















two photos downyou can see the large pectoral fins as the whale swam near our boat....

























one whale "spyhopped" for a better view and yes! was actually that close!!! He was looking at us all as he swam the boat's length. Truly amazing gentle giants, these keepers of the sea.
















Back on dry land, I was driving up to Holualoa, and this fellow in the last picture was having a good chuckle ...aww...horsefeathers! Whales, indeed...








life is 'bout a dream...
aloha, lynn


All photos are copyright 2007 L.Capell and may not be reprinted without permission.