The next group of snaps are of a place we fell in love with on a visit about 15 years ago and I couldn't wait to get back to take some better pictures of it than I got before. However, they had changed the hike up somehow as the boardwalk used to be over a watery area and the bamboo forest seemed thicker and darker than it is now. My old adage of never return to a place you loved as it will be different and not for the better the second time, still stands. I was hoping to record the sound the bamboo made as the stalks clicked together but it was very quiet this time. The pictures do not do it justice though. It is an hour hike uphill in sauna like temps with a rough path filled with obstacles to trip you up if you aren't watching. The reward at the end is a 400 foot waterfall which I will try to get a video inserted of later on.
Our next excursion was up the winding road to Haleakala Crater, the inactive volcano which composes most of Maui, The drive is almost as nauseating as the drive to Hana and I can't imagine driving up that road at three in the morning to watch the sunrise or coming down at night after sunset! It hasn't changed much since we were there before but it is still beautiful and other worldly. Damn windy by the crater though and my hubbie had to steady me while I was taking these pictures. Be sure to click on and enlarge the photos as otherwise they don't show well. Notice the horse riders in the bottom right corner, they are just below me so that gives you some perspective.
Next is the part of our trip that we loved the most and if the weather had been better we would have done more than once. Whale Watching!! At this time of year there are approximately 20,000 humpback whales mating and giving birth in the waters off the islands. Just sitting on the shore you can see them spouting, slapping their tails and fins and if you are really lucky you can see them jump completely out of the water and land with a huge splash. From the shore we felt sorry for them because as soon as they became visible there would be a mass of boats and paddlers rushing towards them and they would disappear until the intruders left then magically reappear in the same spots. However, we couldn't help but be thrilled to be part of the harassment because to be so close is magical.
The above picture is our "sister" zodiac which is the same type of boat we went out on. This is the best size for seeing the whales as you are low to the water and you can see across the boat provided those on the whale side are considerate enough to remain seated .
You have to be quick to catch the picture when they show themselves as it's not for long. Very difficult to find them and focus with the boat rocking and people getting in front of you.
You don't really get a feel for the size of these creatures from my pictures but they are the length of the boat we were in, 40 feet. We were fortunate to come across a male chasing a young female and she didn't want anything to do with him. She was using the boats to break away from him but he was lusty and getting frustrated. At one point he was chasing her directly towards our boat and he made a sound through his blowhole like an elephant trumpeting in rage. That was the only moment of fear I had as I didn't know if he was angry at the boats or her. What an honor to hear that sound though as it's rare to hear and we are just familiar with the "whale song".
The above are the male and female coming by our boat and going underneath it. How exciting that was believe me.
Now I know the above picture is unspectacular but it is a full breech that I happened to catch while everyone else was looking at our whale lovers. My jaw dropped in awe and I swung the camera up and just pressed the button without looking to see if I'd get him so this was a very lucky shot.
Now the next few shots are probably just interesting to me but it's my blog and my photo record so please indulge me.
My fascination with jelly fish continues although they sure are hard to photograph. These were beautiful but moved so fast that it was hard to get them. They are the reason I don't like to go in the ocean anymore. Box jellies have turned up in Hawaiian waters now and they are lethal. I'm such a chicken I know.
No I haven't lost my marbles! There are so many interesting birds in Maui but this one amused us the most. We called them the Japanese birds as they would form a circle of four birds, puff themselves up and bow to each other. Irreverent I know.
Time to go home. My last shot of Maui as we were returning the rental car. It is a color shot but the "vog" (volcanic ash in the air that looks like fog) turned it into a sepia toned picture. I quite like it. Thanks for mucking through this one and hopefully I'll have more interesting ones in the future.
