Tonga Whales 1

Destination: Tonga

Trip Date: Jul 29th - Aug 8th, 2011 - Comments

Author: Sam Campbell

Welcome Back: Harry & Caraleen, Alice, Josef & Karin, and Larry & Rosanna

WOW. It’s great to be back in Tonga with the whales! This year NAI’A has returned to the Kingdom of Tonga for four 10 day trips. The annual migration of humpback whales from the Antarctic to the warmer regions of the Pacific gives us the chance to get up close with these majestic creatures.

During their stay in Tongan waters the whales will socialize, mate, and calf. No feeding takes place in Tonga and the whales will fast for over four months until they make the long journey south to the krill rich waters of the Antarctic.

NAI’A is a strong steel hulled expedition ship that gives us the ideal platform for topside whale watching. The whales are here in force and during this trip we were lucky to witness breaching, peck slapping, rowdy groups, peduncle slapping and mothers and calfs. Harry has been to Tonga previously with NAI’A and was fully prepared with his telephoto rapid fire lens. He got great shots of whale behavior from the comfort of NAI’A.

These trips always attract an eclectic mix of people – Israelis, Brits, Norwegians, Dutch, Germans, Americans and Chinese made up this party. From the very first day we had excellent whale encounters and were able to swim with friendly whales each day of the trip. It’s an amazing and serene experience when a 50-ton animal decides to check you out and swim with you.

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