Life is a breach... and then you dive!

We have safely arrived in Sydney and look forward to exploring Australia's biggest city during the days to come. So far it looks massive, almost indigestible after tiny Tonga, so let's return to our three week holiday in the South Pacific:

The Vava'u group lies about 315 km north of Tongatapu (the capital island of Tonga) and consists of about 40 rocky islands densely covered by tropical trees and plants. We arrived on the main island - also called Vava'u - by airplane on Saturday 25th July. There is much to see and do on Vava'u and we ended up staying there a week, accommodated in the main town of Neiafu.

The harbour of Neiafu: the Port of Refuge.

Neiafu is located in the Port of Refuge, a splendid protected harbour which attracts more than a hundred yachts year round. We even saw an anchored catamaran flying a Finnish flag, but weren't able to figure out whose it was. Fridays are a good day to head to one of the waterfront cafes, bars or restaurants to watch the traditional yacht race in the harbour at 5 pm (the Giggling Whale has the best view of the harbour). The half an hour race is short enough to stay interesting even to laymen, but still long enough to provide a thrilling competition. Of course it's all just for fun and every participating sailing boat gets a price. Naturally the best price falls to the looser: a bottle of rum.

A Friday afternoon spent watching the yachts in the harbour, the 5 o'clock race, and knocking back an Ikale.

Neiafu doesn't have any beaches, however, there are plenty scattered around the main island as well as on the numerous smaller islands. We got mesmerized by the secluded beach next to 'Utula'aina Point in the far north of Vava'u Island. We hired bicycles twice and biked the 12-odd kilometres to the breathtaking lookout above the Point, before descending to the adjacent beach for some excellent sunbathing.

The best part with the beach was the fact that we were there all alone - for a few hours we had our private corner of paradise (conveniently forgetting about the mosquitoes).

'Utula'aina Point.

Neiafu also provided us with an interesting cultural experience: watching a fakaleiti show. Fakaleiti - or just leiti (meaning lady) - are men dressing and behaving as women. These drag queens live all over Tonga, but the group on Vava'u only puts on the show from July to September. The show was all about entertainment. The mock-singing fakaleiti imitated famous female artists and acted outrageously femininely. Their body language and facial expressions were spot on. The audience, us included, roared with laughter. The locals probably found the traditional Tongan and Polynesian dances more hilarious than us foreigners, but it was still terrific.

The main attraction of Vava'u, and the reason we wanted to go there, is whale watching. From July to November Humpback whales come to the warm waters of Vava'u to breed. There were just five people in our group on the six hour tour, not including the two Tongan guides. On the way to the western part of Vava'u we quite quickly spotted a Humpback on a collision course with us. It was swimming very fast and dived almost straight under us. Soon afterward we lost track of it. For me seeing this first Humpback whale was a completely different experience than watching the Sperm whales in Kaikoura, NZ. Whereas the Sperm whales just floated motionless on the surface preparing for the next lengthy dive (they were feeding), the Humpback whale was swimming like a huge dolphin (lacking a dorsal fin) and didn't dive for more than about 30 seconds before surfacing again for one single breath.

Two Humpbacks in a group of three that we saw later in the afternoon.

An hour later we spotted a mother and a calf swimming at a slower speed. It was fascinating to watch their synchronous progress through the undulating sea and we were thrilled to see one of them breach (whale terminology for jumping)! Unfortunately it was so unexpected (and rare!) that we didn't have our cameras ready, but trust us when we say it was a wonderful sight. At the time our boat was on a parallel course with the whales, and the one breaching showed off by turning away from us so we saw its white belly before it landed with a huge splash. The level of excitement among us immediately increased a notch.

The highlight of the tour came about an hour later, following the sight of a flying fish - easily mistaken for a bird - swooshing over the ever changing aquatic landscape.

Another whale watching vessel reported that there were three Humpbacks - two adults and a calf - swimming lazily in the shallow coastal water. Our skipper turned our boat around and approached the three gentle giants once the other boat moved away. Here we were able to parttake in an activity which is only possible in two places on this Earth, Vava'u and the Dominican Republic.

Swimming with Humpback whales.

Having donned snorkeling equipment, the skipper dropped us in the water about 30-50 metres in front of the approaching whales. Seeing the whales in their natural element was simply indescribable. Just watching surfacing whales pales in comparison. We could see over 30 metres in the crystal clear water and had fabulous views of the three Humpbacks as they swept past. What beautiful creatures they are, and how gracefully they move. They were almost close enough for us to touch them, or so it seemed. Smaller fish could clearly be seen hugging the sides of the whales, cleaning them from barnacles and other ocean parasites attached to their skin.

The two adult Humpbacks lazily swimming away.

When the whales had passed us, we swam back to the boat for another run. All in all the skipper dropped us in the water about five times, so we had lots of time to watch the whales, who weren't bothered at all by the tiny creatures peering at them. After the last run, when the whales surfaced to exhale and draw breath, the biggest of them put on a show for us by repeatedly slapping the surface with its flukes (lobtailing), generating great splashes. It then turned on its side and did the same with the exposed flipper. It was like it was applauding us.

On our way back to Neiafu in the afternoon, we stopped for snorkeling at Swallows' Cave. It was a fun and fascinating extra to a perfect day out on the sea.

Up to the surface for a breath.

For both of us, snorkeling with the Humpbacks was probably the most amazing experience in our lives. We were very lucky to be able to swim with them this early in the season, because the calves are usually too small for the guides to let people in the water with them. Furthermore, fortune favoured us with the company of a young lady with an underwater camera. It is only thanks to her that we are able to show you these wonderful underwater pictures of our encounter with the Humpbacks.

For the picture gallery, go here.