The view we woke to each day

My last dive trip was to Tonga in September 2008.  There were four of us on the trip – Megan, Simon, Jeff and I. To get there we flew from Brisbane to Sydney to Nuku’alofa and finally the next day up to the Vava’u Group. The air travel was not without its problems but we did all finally get to Neiafu, which is the Capital in the Vava’u islands. It was here we were to spend 8 exciting days of diving and whale watching or should I say swimming.

 The islands of Vava’u in Tonga are considered a humpback-whale nursery. Every year between August and October several hundred humpbacks make the annual migration from Antarctica to these warm waters to breed and give birth. Tonga is one of only three countries in the world where it is possible to swim with these mighty mammals. It is, without a doubt, the most awesome wildlife experience I have ever had.

Most tourist come to Vava’u to swim with the whales but trust me the diving too is really very good. The visibility was generally 25m to 30m and there are many dive sites with a mixture of hard corals, brightly coloured soft corals and some with huge sea fans. The wall dives are impressive and then there are heap of magnificant caves filled with small fish and reef sharks.

We had one day of swimming with whales planned however managed two other sightings while out diving. Our last day was the rest day from diving so this was the swimming with whales day. What an experience! 

I was standing on the back of the dive boat and feelings of both excitement and trepidation were sending butterflies into my stomach. It was time to go. Our dive guide/skipper yells “Go, go, go”.
The four of us have waited for this moment for a couple of hours, but now it was about to happen. I wonder if the others are thinking the thoughts that were going around in my head, like…. What if the whales bump into me, do they see me or go right over me? What happens when a 40 tonne whale slaps its tale beside me?

Swimming with whales

Maccie instructs us to enter the water as quietly as we can and swim on on our sides so that there is no noise or splash. Led by Mary (that’s not really his name, the boys love to tease each other with girls names) our experienced guide swims like an Olympic swimmer with his arm in the air pointing in the direction we should look for the whales. Then he points underwater. Cameras at the ready we all look with peering eyes through the vast blue . As soon as their immense shape appears, all my fears vanish, to be replaced by an overwhelming sensation of calm and awe.

Our first sighting is of two males, a female and her calf. The scene under the water is spellbinding. Gracefully and effortlessly, they swim on regardless of weather we are there or not.

They seem indifferent to our presence, but their eyes keep a close watch on us. I watched them as they came towards us, then duck dived down to madly take as many photos as I could. These guys are as big as a bus, actually three buses and are at least 15m long. I kicked to the surface gasping for air and just know that conventional whale-watching has been ruined for me forever

Swallow's Cave