Evelyn from Homespun Honolulu blog chose the whale motif as her theme for her '6th Carnival of Aloha' of Hawaii Blogs. Please, drop by and pay these blogs of our Hawaii blog ohana (family) a visit. You will be amazed by the huge variety of Hawaii themes and stories blog owners talked about plus by the incredible humpback whale photo.
When I saw that photo my immediate thought was "This should have won a prize by National Geographic!". Well, pursuing the links back Evelyn provided for her humpback whale photo, I just found out that this exciting and unusual photo was shot by Lori Mazzuca on Kauai and won first place 'Mammals - Professional, National Wildlife Awards' by Smithonian Institute! Truly, well deserved! Here is what Lori Mazzuca, the photographer, said about her prize winning photo:
"I was observing a strange interaction between a pair of bottlenose dolphins and a humpback whale, when it became apparent that the two species were collaborating in some way. The dolphin was lying on a humpback whale’s head while it was slowly swimming along. Looking through my camera lens the stunt appeared to be orchestrated by mutual “agreement.” The whale very slowly—and vertically—lifted the dolphin into the air. I expected the dolphin to wriggle atop the humpback’s head to get off, but it just laid still and arched, trying to stay on top of the whale’s snout. In this frame the dolphin was beginning its slippery return to the sea. Once back in the ocean, the dolphin swiftly swam away with the other dolphin, leaping joyfully as if they had just scored a coup!”
This is not all for today. Sometimes the stories we come across on the Internet on blogs and posts are so complex, it makes it hard to sift through to the 'real thing'. Here is one of the most exciting blog posts we ever read on Hawaii blogs. Bobbie from the RightBlue blog posted it. We are still delighted and thankful when she shared some time ago her Hawaii diving tips with our blog visitors. If you are a diver or just interested in the abundance of tropical fish living around the Hawaiian islands, Bobbie is the one who can tell you all about them in an educational and entertaining way. Plus you don't want to miss her ocean life photos! Here is a short excerpt from her recent blog story about her 'Tales of Whales' - close encounters with humpback whales:
"On the day of our first whale encounter, we had completed the deepest part of our dive at Snapper Point, and we were coming slowly up the slope, poking lazily along, looking for shells and little critters on the rocky bank. Just like always.
We were a few meters below the level of the plateau when a shadow passed over us. We both stopped and looked up at the same moment -- just in time to see a full-grown Humpback Whale do a jackknife dive from the surface and glide down toward us. We were stunned." Keep reading, it only gets better.
Let us hear what you think about the gentle giants of the ocean, the humpback whales. Mahalo and aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations
Hawaii Whale Stories
7 comments:
Aloha Pua and Keoki.
Gee, I guess you really DID like that whale story! :-D
Didn't you already notice from our comment on your blog post?! If there is ever a 'whale encounter' story contest, you will qualify with that one for top oposition.
Looking forward to more of those. Mahalo, Pua
Aloha Pua,
Just wanted to share with you that I had joint the Whale sanctuary count, which is on the last Sat of each month around all the islands for Jan., Feb and March.
At my site on Mile Marker 7 toward Hawi, we saw 88 whales between 8 and 12 on that first count. It was stupendous......There were 600 volunteers around all the islands except Maui.
All from the land, on the same day.....The sanctuary has used the statistics to show a growth in the numbers in the last 5 years from 5,000 to 10, 000. Isn't that great! Aloha from Barbara, Kona Oceanview, Big Island
p.s.
Enjoy the whales when visiting the Big Island!
Aloha Pua,
On our last visit to Kona I was taught by a few local friends the wonderful sport of Stand Up Paddling. On my second day out we were at Kuki'o beach and my two friends were about 3/4 mile off shore so I started to paddle out to them. On my way out to them I could see that the humpbacks were close.
I got about halfway out to them and all of a sudden I am surrounded by about 30 dolphins. I sat down on the board so I did not get knocked down and watched these wonderful creatures start to leap out of the water. What an experience to witness just a few feet in front of you.
At this point I see that my friends are right over the humpbacks so I start paddling again. I finally get out with my friends and there are 3 humpbacks around us. One of the larger humpbacks had gone right under my friends board just below the surface.
When one thinks about being in a situation like this, you would think that it would be scary or frightening. It is exactly the complete opposite. It is more of a feeling of peace and being one with mother nature.
It is hard to explain since I am not a spiritual type person. The feeling you experience is one you will never forget and one that leaves you with the sense that Hawaii' is one of the most special places on our planet.
Jon, this is an amazing story, not just a short comment. I was about to post it as a guest post but did not have your blogger information. If you have another of those fantastic Hawaii stories ready to go, please, email it to us. We'd be more than happy to post it as a guest post with link to your blog.
Well, to tell you the truth being on a small surfboard surrounded by 3 huge whales would leave me more than shaky! What an whale encounter! Keep those stories coming. Mahalo, Pua
Pua,
To bad I had to go back to Alaska three days later. It's hard to practice SUP when it's -40 outside.
We did get a chance to swim with a pod of 14 dolphins the first few days we were there when snorkeling at City of Refuge. The dolphins were there most of the day and at one point there were three of us swimming right with them for over an hour.
A few years ago my wife had the chance to swim with 13 of them in the same area but this was my first chance to get real close to these wonderful creatures. Yet another experience from the Big Island that I will never forget.
Lucky you to see and even swim with the wild dolphins when snorkeling at the City of Refuge! It is a great place to see dolphins + turtles!
Keoki got lucky too with the dolphins when he went out with a friend on his boat from Kawaihae Harbor. Some guys were going out on a boat trip and had this magical encounter with a pod of dolphins. Just like you, Keoki swam with them!
Unfortunately, the spell got broken when a shark was showing up in the area. Nobody wanted to take his chances with a close shark encounter!
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