Dolphins, Whales, and Turtles

Finally the highlight of our trip to Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii for me was the ocean life we were able to see. On Monday we snorkled in a spot where we saw a couple turtles.

Then on Christmas day we rented Kayaks and paddled out to Captian Cooks Monument which is an incredible snorkling spot on the Big Island. The down side here is that I happend to remember my camera but forgot the battery back at the resort on the charger so I have no pictures from my camera this day. And what a shame it turns out as on our way out in the Bay we spotted a pod of Spinner Dolphins playing and jumping. We paddled closer and watched in awe as they glidded all around us. Soon we had Dolphins breaking the water within 5 feet of our kayak. WOW! Finally we decided we needed to head on our mission and we had some excellent snorkling. I borrowed Kyla's Mom and Dad's camera for a few shots there and got some pictures of a large eel. Then on our way back we decided to see if we could find those dolphins again. We paddled into the same area they had been on the way out and sure enough they were still there. This time I decided I needed to jump in and snorkle with them to see if I could get a look at them under water. I was. It was incredible as I glidded over the top of them as they swam and then they began to rise up to the surface to breath and soon I was surounded as I kept pace. I couldn't hold their pace long though but it was amazing as they had several babies in the pod that were especially playful. It was one of the neatest things I have ever done. Here are a few pictures that Kyla's mom took of the Kayaking trip and then some snorkling pictures I took out at the reef.

The Eel

I think this guy was in "Finding Nemo"

Then on Wednesday we took a Whale watching excursion where we again got to experience an up close encounter with Dolphins. This time we saw both Spinners and Pacific Bottlenosed Dolphins. The Bottlenose are a much bigger species and are shier so the fact that we got to see a pod within 2 feet of our raft was a big treat. We also did see a couple Humpback whales. Here are the pictures I got during this excursion:

Spinner Dolphis right in front of our raft (the water really is that blue this is not Sea World)

A pod of Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins

A Bottlenose Dolphin swims right along with our raft just under the surface.

A Humpback whale waves "goodbye."