Humpbacks! The Whales Return

Every December an amazing thing happens in the waters between Maui, Moloka`i and Lana`i. Thousands of majestic Pacific Humpback whales come home to their favorite winter haven to breed and give birth. With six major whale preservation organizations headquartered on Maui, working in close harmony with a vigorous whale-watching industry, Maui is recognized as the very model of environmentally sensitive self-regulation when it comes to its precious whales and sea life. Good thing too, because the whales, while having made a wonderous comeback from near extinction to a populations now estimated to be near 3000 in the Pacific region, are still an endangered species. These awe-inspiring giants celebrate their 6-month stay in Maui's clear, temperate water with breathtaking leaps of pure joy, and witnessing their exhuberance from shore or abroad a sightseeing boat will tough you in ways hard to describe. But this much is certain: once you experience Maui's whalesyou'll become one of the millions who know we must do everything we can to preserve them.

Courtesy of Maui Visitors Bureau