Maui - Winter in Hawaii

Winter in Hawaii. Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? The most exciting part of winter here for me is the return of the humpback whales. Alaska and Hawaii share in the natural cycle of the whales. They spend half their time in the nutrient rich waters of Alaska getting their fill of krill and other goodies in the waters there and then they make their trip south around December and begin their stay in Hawaii where they mate and give birth to the babies that were conceived almost a year earlier. Quite a trek to the delivery room I’d say.

Our Maui condo at Kaleialoha Resort between Kaanapali and Kahana sits on the shoreline and faces Molokai and Lanai and the triangulation of the three islands forms a natural preserve the whales seek each year. From our lanai (a Hawaiian balcony), we can look out and see all sorts of puffs of water or spouts as whales surface. With a pair of good binoculars, we can watch as they perform their mating rituals—tail thwacking, pectoral fin smacking, and the ever popular breaching, all of which create quite a splash. Literally!

This trip, the trade winds have been quite strong so we will wait a few days to go out on the whale boats that cruise the preserve and bring you closer to the magnificent creatures we’ve come to see. For now, we’ll enjoy our coffee on the lanai and watch from a distance. Take a walk to the farmer’s market and check out the local produce and, as the Hawaiians say, hang loose.

The pictures I’ve included are from some of our walks. And of course, a beautiful sunset.