Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Molokini

One of our favorite excursions of the trip was going out to Molokini. We highly recommend this to anyone visiting Maui! We started out with breakfast on the boat and then we were on our way! Just a few minutes into the ride we spotted a humpback whale and her baby! It was very late in the season for the whales to still be in Hawaii so we were pretty lucky. That's my first time ever seeing a whale in the wild, in real life! Amazing!
I was dying not having my dslr with me on this excursion! I didn't get very good pictures but oh well. This was the mama whale. I wasn't able to snap any pictures of the baby.

Once we arrived to our destination we were in total awe. Molokini is a partially sunken volcanic crater, and the water in the crater is crystal clear! I've never been able to see so far... it was amazing! It was also freezing cold :) We made a mistake not renting a wet suit! I also made the mistake of not renting one of their underwater cameras. I totally forgot to pack mine and was so bummed because it was so amazing and beautiful in the water!
This is a really bad picture :) The crater is in the background.
You could see 150-180 feet in every direction underneath this water!
I forgot to take a close up picture of Molokini, but here's a shot from far away :)

After snorkeling at Molokini we headed to a spot they call Turtle Town. The water was barely warmer here so I was totally hesitant to get in. I finally jumped in with just a few minutes left to snorkel. I started swimming to find Eric when I saw a shark swimming towards the surface of the water! Ha ha, I freaked out until I realized it was actually a turtle :) Everyone crowded around the turtle so it swam right at ME to come up for air! I was a little nervous because you get a big, fat $10,000 fine if you touch a turtle! But it was so cool to be so close to the turtle. It paid off to wait so long to get into the water :)
After Turtle Town we ate some lunch, and then they took us for a ride along the coast of Maui. We were hoping to see dolphins but no dice. We did see more turtles though!
Acne is so cute.
Can you spot the turtle here?
And here? Sorry again for the crappy pictures! No dslr :(

It really was an amazing day filled with gorgeous underwater life and great weather! Of course the perfect way to end the day was having a flat tire on the rental :) Good thing I married a handy man! We may have dropped the fudge bomb a time or two..... A Christmas Story anyone??

37 comments:

MonicaLeeBlog said...

Ahhhhh this looks like SOOO much fun! I want to go to hawaii SO bad! These pictures are beautiful! And SHUT IT about the acne, If I had been in the water/sun all day I would've looked way worse & I wouldnt have been brave enough to even take a photo, so GO YOU! haha :] Y'all are such a cute couple and it looks like y'all had an awesome trip!! :]

Erin said...

What a FUN excursion!! A turtle-touching fine is crazy/funny!! (But understandable!)

Ashlee @ ashleenikol.com said...

I'm loving your pics! dslr or not! Hawaii has been beautiful so far. And that totally sucks that ya'll had a flat tire. You were so lucky to have a handy man with you, LOL!

Shannon @ Bungalow960 said...

We did the Molokini/Turtle Town snorkel last time we were there but the water was SO choppy. I'm glad you loved it!

Cami said...

Oh my GOSH. I want to GO!!!!!! :) So pretty.
I love the sea turtle picture you caught!!
Glad you had a great time! oxox

courtney said...

what a beautiful place and a fun vacation! i am dying to go to hawaii someday!!

Deveny said...

That's awesome you got to see some whales/turtles! And pretty sure my husband would be cursing at the car too... haha

Alyx said...

What a cool experience!! I so want to go to Hawaii!!

A+J said...

Looks like so much fun. I am craving the beach now.

Pamela said...

Loving the pictures!! Hate that about the car ;/ B would've been mad too, ha! Especially since you aren't at home!

from head 2 toe said...

You look cute and seriously, flat tires are the absolute worst. On vacation, can't even imagine. Don't blame you one bit.

Samantha said...

It's beautiful...great pictures!

And flat tires always require a few 'fudges' :)

Suget said...

Ohh turtles are the cutest, And your trip looks awesome.
That must such about the tire thing. ):
I wish I knew how to swim now... haha

Shaylynn... a girl, a story, a blog said...

Oh, when I was in Hawaii I picked up a turtle and launched it across the ocean. Fine/Shmine.

That blue water is breaking my heart.

But your friend is glad to have you back home.

Ashley said...

I loved Molokini when I went. It has been years though and I would love to go back!

Liesl said...

Oh how I love your fun-filled adventures!!! :) The water looks beautiful...love clear waters! <3

Unknown said...

You got to see humpback whales??

Jealous. Like. Totally.

I need to get out and see the world a bit more. Your vacation sounds like it was fantastic, my dear!

Unknown said...

Wow those pictures are still beautiful! Love whale watching. You guys are too cute. What a story!

Unknown said...

Beautiful pictures and seems like you had a great time there! Although I would've freaked out big time at the sight of the whale, for some unknown reason I am scared to death of whales, I can't even watch Finding Nemo without covering my eyes, hahah!

Katy said...

What a fun excursion! I love going on whale watches in Cape Cod. It is incredible to see such large animals so close. I've never seen a large sea turtle in the wild but would love the chance too. They are my favorites at aquariums.

Content Director - Strong Female Leaders said...

What a lovely place. Look at the blue water.
Seattle Beauty and Fashion Blog

lori said...

looks absolutely gorgeous!!! i hope to see a whale is real life one day... i am sure they're amazing!

Anonymous said...

Great pics! So jealous of your vacay!

Lindsay [Elle Elizabeth] said...

Maui is one of my favorite places to visit! I've done snorkeling to Molokini and Lanai!

Janna Renee said...

Oh no! A flat tire? Well, at least that's always going to be a good story!!

Anonymous said...

Haha! Fudge bomb!!

That Girl said...

I still have never seen a whale in the wild - and I live on the coast!

dreaming en francais said...

Wow, these photos are beautiful. You're making me want to pack my bags and book a trip to Hawaii! xo

http://dreamingenfrancais.blogspot.com

Julie said...

Hawaii is on my to-do list - you look like you had so much fun :)

kyna... said...

So glad you did that tour!! It's one of our favorites!
♥ Kyna

Emily said...

Hiya! Thanks for stopping by my lil blog. I'm completely jealous of your trip. Someday soon I hope to make it there myself!

Katie said...

we went to maui on our honeymoon and went on a boat to go snorkeling there but it was too choppy and windy so we couldn't go! I want to go back!!

Bree said...

Looks like so much fun!! I'm jealous!!

Melanie said...

Oh SO fun!!! Sparkly water is A-mazing! You two will always remember this trip! LOVE you.

Holly said...

What an awesome trip, but that's a crazy huge fine to get for touching a turtle! Lucky it didn't come too close to you!

Crazy Shenanigans-JMO said...

Oh I love sea turtles! How cool that you saw one so up close!

Skyler said...

Loved reading about your majestic underwater experience at Molokini at Turtle Town :) We took the www.prideofmaui.com last Summer for the AM Molokini adventure and ended up snorkeling and snuba diving. It was a blast. Aloha!

Post a Comment

i admit it. i LOVE hearing from you!