Granite Cliff Studio

When people talk about seasons on the mainland they usually refer to fall and spring. Those are the pleasant times, full of flowers in bloom and bountiful harvests. They don’t talk about the humidity and mosquitoes in the summer or the the snow and gray skies of winter. Obviously seasons are great, you can get your boat out and spend time on the water in the summer. Winter is full of fun activities, skiing, snow machining and ice fishing. Our favorite season is upon is in Hawaii; whale season!

For most of the year Hawaii is pretty constant. We have seasons where certain fruits grow (mango, banana, lilikoi, guava, ulu, taro), different flowers bloom (jacaranda trees, monkey pods, hibiscus, pukinikini, silverswords), and different species migrate here (ua’u, plovers, Canadians and humpback whales.). All these things bring excitement for many different reasons.

We all want to be the first to see a whale and when we hear of the first sighting our eyes turn to ocean. With so much science, technology and awareness, humpback whales truly own the waters around Maui. Between conservationists, photographers and just avid ocean lovers, whales bring so much joy to the people who live here or who are just visiting. In life, we have so many priorities, our jobs, family, politics, religion, hobbies and health. Nothing matters when you see a whale. You could be in the middle of a traffic stop by a police officer and you would both stop and say, “whoa, look a whale just breached over there!” That moment is so special! We all feel a little more humble and connected when we can share a whale encounter.