Guide to Whale Watching in Waikiki

Waikiki is a popular whale-watching destination. Many tourists go to Waikiki to watch the Pacific Northwest humpback whales. Every year, the humpback whales from the Pacific Northwest Ocean will migrate about 3,100 miles to the water near Waikiki. The season for watching the humpback whales is from November to May.

Humpback whales travel at about 3 mile per hour. Normally, tourists can see the whales traveling in a pod. The whales will travel slightly apart from each other. You can hear the humpback whale song while in Waikiki. The whales will sing incredible songs when swimming under the water. The whale song will lasts for 10 – 20 minutes. The whale may repeat the song for a few hours. The male whales will sing the song during the breeding season. The male whale will sing the same song every breeding season. If you pay attention to the whale songs, you will notice that there is different variety of whale song. Scientists haven’t find out the meaning of the various whale songs.

Tourists can watch how the whales feed on the small school of fishes. You will also be able to watch the whales catching the krill for food. The humpback whales will show off all kinds of behaviors including lob tailing, pectoral slaps and etc. To watch the whale, you need to launch a boat further into the water. If you don’t want to rent a boat, you can participate in whale watching tour. During the whale-watching trip, you can watch the whale performing spectacular movement such as breaching the surface of the water. In whale breaching, the whale will jump out of the water and then jump back into the water with a loud splash. Whale breaching is done to eliminate the parasites on the skin of the whales. Some people believe that whale breaching is a social behavior of the whales. Tourists have the opportunities to watch the calves breaching the surface of the water along with their mothers.

If you plan to participate in a whale watching activity, you should bring along a camera. The camera you use to shoot the whale watching activity must have a fast shutter speed. It is important to use camera with fast shutter speed. If the camera has a slow shutter speed, you won’t be able to capture that quick moment when the whale performs a special activity. It will cause your photos to show only the plain ocean. When taking a photo, be sure to stand at a steady spot. For example, you can stand near the railing of the boat when taking photos of the whales.