Snorkelling
With Humpback Whales Of Vava’u - Tonga
By: Ron Hunter of Dive Forster at Fisherman’s Wharf
Visiting Tonga, “the land that time forgot”, is like stepping back
in time, to a world untroubled by sectarian violence and the social problems
that have come with our “advanced civilisation”.
The Kingdom of Tonga is comprised of 171 islands, of which less than 40 are
inhabited.
The northernmost island group of Tonga is Vava’u, it was here that James
A. Michener wrote his classic saga of the South Pacific, “Adventures in
Paradise”.
The main town on the island of Vava’u, Neiafu is a delightful mix of old
world charm with a waterfront lined with old Victorian style wooden buildings,
palm trees, churches and quaint waterfront cafes.
This is a paradise for yachtsmen from all over the planet; in excess of one
hundred yachts were swinging at their moorings in Port of Refuge, the harbour
that Neiafu abuts when we were there last September.
The nightlife in Vava’u is centred around these waterfront cafés.
The visiting yachties moor their rubber tenders to the cafés’ docks
and dine, wine and party the night away. There are many talented musicians in
the yachting fraternity, and impromptu “jam” sessions with the local
bands occur at the drop of a hat. These visitors produced guitars, mouth organs,
violins and even a trombone. What a great atmosphere this produced, dozens of
friendly, interesting people from all over the world, mingling and enjoying
life in Vava’u.
During August and September the air temperature at Vava’u, in the evenings
is reasonably cool at around 24 degrees C allowing for restful nights, the days
are not oppressively hot either at around 28 degrees C.
Tonga is known as the “Friendly Isles”, and this description is
so apt. The native Tongans are the friendliest, most obliging people you would
ever wish to meet. They have great pride in their land and its’ environment.
Tonga is probably the cleanest of the many Pacific islands that I have visited
and so far removed from the filth and squalor that is a blight throughout parts
of Asia.
Snorkelling
with the Whales
Our trip to Vava’u in 2002 was in September and was organised at this
time of the year, for July through October the Humpback Whales give birth, mate
and socialise here in the sheltered waters that surround the small islands that
extend out from the main island of Vava’u.
Full day trips to swim and snorkel with the Humpbacks is a must on a visit to
Vava’u.
Vava’u in Tonga is the only place in the world where you are virtually
guaranteed the opportunity to snorkel with Humpback Whales.
It is so hard to put into words what an amazing experience this is, but
here goes:
We departed the dock at Neiafu early in the morning onboard the fast, stable
10-metre whale watch vessel. Skimming between the many islands we all marvelled
at the colour of the water that we were passing over at around 20 knots. Tonga
lies alongside the Tonga Trench and the abyssal section of it called the Vityaz
Deep, this is the second deepest trench on the planet. The water here is the
bluest, clearest water that I have experienced anywhere in the world, this is
200 metre, ultimate, in water visibility The trench is also a constant source
of nutrients that well up from the abyss. It is these nutrients that make the
reefs around Tonga some of the most diverse and rich of any in the South Pacific.
About one hour out of Neiafu we arrived at the Humpback Whales’ favourite
area, a sheltered bay next to one of the many islands. The water here was over
600 metres deep right up against the island. Within ten minutes of our arrival
we sighted our first Humpbacks, a mother and her calf. The pair put on a display
of breaching and pectoral fin slapping as we quietly approached. We let them
get used to the presence of our boat for a period, and then they curiously approached
us.
Once they were comfortable being in close proximity to our boat, we quietly,
four persons at a time slipped into the warm, 26 degrees C, blue water and snorkelled
over to near them.
The calf swam up to us less than 2 metres away and inquisitively circled us,
establishing eye contact, puzzling what these puny critters were doing in his
realm. Mum would surface oh so carefully, rolling gently sideways to avoid brushing
us with her bulk, re-establish contact with her calf, then with her calf tucked
under her massive head she would slowly circle the group of snorkellers.
This whale / human interaction was entirely at the discretion of the whales.
They definitely were very curious about us and displayed great care and skill
in such a close quarter’s encounter. Fifty tonne of whale blundering about
can be detrimental to your health after all. I managed to free-dive down to
20 metres beside the pair and swim alongside them for a time with both mum and
her calf establishing eye contact. What a buzz!!!
We spent over 6 hours with these two whales and we lost track of how many turns
each of us had snorkelling with the pair.
Snorkelling with the whales is one of life’s great experiences and was
so unbelievably exhilarating, that we booked another day to do it all again.
That evening back in Neiafu our group was dining out at one of the waterfront
cafes, and there we were sitting around the tables all with silly grins on our
faces, we were still buzzing from one of the best days and experiences any of
us had ever had.
Our second day out with the whales was entirely different to our first encounters.
This time we were out in the deep of the Pacific Ocean in the most amazing cobalt
blue water and we came upon a group of three-quarter grown adolescents.
There were ten Humpbacks in this pod, and after a typically adolescent display
of breaching, fin and tail slapping these 35 tonne youngsters settled down and
curiously approached our stationary vessel. It was then that we quietly slipped
into the water, four persons plus a guide at a time. The whales swam around
and under us to within three metres away.
About one hundred Spinner Dolphins accompanied the pod, a very rare occurrence
according to our guides. The Spinner Dolphins were riding the pectoral fins
of the whales and to our delight and amazement, one of the Humpbacks casually
pushed aside one of the Spinner Dolphins with its pectoral fin. This action
was not aggressive at all; just a gentle reminder perhaps, that life is not
always a “free ride”.
I free-dived down to around 15 metres and had two Humpbacks swimming ever so
slowly beside me on a parallel course less than 5 metres away. One of these
whales was so differently marked being almost entirely black, with just small
patches of white, he was strikingly different to all the other whales in the
pod, which all displayed large patches of white on their bodies and pectoral
fins.
I was intent on getting good photographs of these two whales, when I sensed
something on my other side, turning that way I discovered another of the whales
also swimming slowly on a parallel course to me only 4 metres away. I was so
in awe of the experience that when time came for me to surface, I realised that
I had descended to around 20 metres or so, gee it’s a long way back up
after such a period of excitement and some exertion.
The
best place in the Pacific
All things considered, Vava’u is in my opinion the best snorkelling and
adventure location in the Pacific. It has it all, superb snorkelling in the
clearest blue water. There is no malaria, no insurrections, no rascals, no crowds,
cool nights, the friendliest people, good food, good beer both at very reasonable
prices and best of all the Humpback Whales.
I must make special mention of Whale Watch Vava’u, the operators that
took us out to enjoy the Humpback Whales. They are so very professional and
knowledgeable about the Whales and their environment. They are extremely careful
so as not to stress or harass the Whales and they made each day such a special
and memorable experience.
The Whale Watch operators in Tonga abide by a voluntary “code of practice”,
which is entirely designed so as not to stress the Whales in any way.
Needless to say we are returning to Vava’u in Tonga in 2003 and 2004……