Mentor Trek Day 2 – Whale Watching

After a lunch break, we boarded the bus once again and headed up the road to Auge Bay, where our group would split up and board three small whale watching boats. It was an overcast, semi-cool day, damp but no rain, and we all had our long lenses on and were all anxiously anticipating whales, whales, and more whales! It was my first whale watching trip, I haven’t even done one here in Hawaii, but I’m guessing they are all kind of the same. The boat captains immediately head out to their lucky spots, or maybe just a location where they had good sitings earlier in the day. They’re in constant communication with other boat captains, who are also on the lookout for the best sitings. Within about a half an hour, we spot humpback whales! Unfortunately, they weren’t very active, and not breaching, just popping up and down, showing a bit of fin and the traditional blow spouts.

So, the captain being bored, speeds off in another direction when he hears the news that Orcas (killer whales) are spotted in another cove. After a little cruising and circling, we spot them, too. Nothing dramatic, but I was lucky enough to be on this boat, because from what I gathered, the other two boats would only see humpbacks. The pictures from the day therefore are just so-so. Of the entire group, only one or two people got a picture of a small breaching (think tail standing up in the water) and I don’t think they were on my boat. As we headed back to the dock, the captain took us by a buoy that seals and sea lions lounge on. Again, I was on the only boat to cruise past it while a bald eagle was perched on top.