Still reveling in whales afterglow after being back from Tonga for 3 weeks. We were on the very comfortable Nai’a liveaboard for 9 days.
The Fijian crew were exceptional, the food was incredible and really the whole experience was out of this world. I’m still absorbing the enormity (literally) of it all.
Being on a liveaboard definitely had its advantages, no downtime getting from hotel into whale position. We basically woke up every day put on our bathing suits and were on standby from dawn to dusk to leap into action and jump on the skiffs when receptive whales were spotted. As soon as we heard the engine slowdown that meant something exciting was happening or about to happen.
The stars of the show were the playful calves swimming next to their moms and at times another whale escort. The adorable calves would twist and turn around mama and come so close to inspect such crazy looking fish.
From the Nai’a we enjoyed watching lots of fin slapping,full body breaches and heat runs.Heat runs (or bull runs) are super fast- paced events where multiple male whales ram into each other competing for who gets the girl. We even slipped into the water once to observe the rowdy males from a safe distance.
As you can see from viewing the photos and videos, there were some challenges. How the heck do you photograph a 40-ton whale that’s right next to you? Hence you will only see bits of a whale.
One thing that was extraordinary were the beautiful and mysterious whale songs. The vocalizations were so loud and deep that our bodies were vibrating.
The entire group, myself included, felt extremely fortunate and privileged to have such magical encounters with these magnificent creatures. Since our return we learned their are new regulations are in place for Tongan whale swims. Due to the regulations the Nai’a withdrew it’s plans to continue in Tonga. We are so grateful we had the experience with this quality company while we still could.
ONETA RESORT, FIJI!
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- crystal clear reefs
Before the Tonga Humpback whale trip, a number of our group spent a week at Oneta Resort off of Kadavu, Fiji.
Oneta is located on the Great Astrolobe Reef, one of the largest barrier reefs in the world.
Fiji is known for soft coral but this area is all very healthy hard coral. Visibility was outrageous, well over 100 ft. at times. There is a Manta cleaning station just 10 minutes by boat from the resort. Viz was never great where the Mantas were but I’ll take a Manta in any conditions!
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- long nose file fish
The resort is a sweet spot with individual bungalows and a great staff. The Fijians are some of the friendliest, nicest people in the world!
Besides snorkeling the reef we visited a nearby village, went to a bird rookery at sunset and of course had a kava party. We were even treated to a fire walking ceremony.
The water is cold in August/September. We all wore 3 or 5mm wetsuits.
It takes a flight from Nadi and a 1 1/2 hour boat ride to get there but it’s well worth it.
Keep living large!
Wendy
September 2019