TRAVELTRAVEL ++ LEISURE LEISURE / JANUARY 2017 / JANUARY 2017 103101
outreach the whales have been doing on their own behalf. “I always
hope people are going to get the experience of looking into the eye
of a whale and understanding that they’re ancient creatures,” Annah
said. “I’ve seen it so many times, people being touched or moved
in so many ways.”
Every Saturday, the Tongan whale-swim boat captains get together
to share a meal and talk shop, as part of a conscious commitment to
maintaining a cooperative bond. “It’s good for us if every swimmer sees
a whale,” Po’uli Tongia, our skipper and a fi rst cousin of Nisi, told me.
“We try to help each other.” The skippers keep in radio contact
throughout the day, pooling intel about whales’ locations and behaviours.
If one boat isn’t having any luck and another has found a whale amenable
to encounters, the two boats might take turns dropping swimmers.
On an afternoon when the whales were giving us the cold shoulder, a
small boat of day-trippers off ered to share a mother-and-calf pair with
us. The other swimmers wore blocky orange life vests and held on to a
fl oat while their guide towed them. Such arrangements weren’t
uncommon, Annah said, as some tourists who couldn’t swim still wanted
to see whales. This elicited a few derisive snickers on our boat, but Annah
said she admired the day-trippers’ bravery. Then Po’uli learned over the
radio that the group was a Japanese ambassador and his family. Japan,
we all knew, is one of the few nations that has persisted in commercial
whaling despite international censure. We fell silent, watching the
orange dots on the water. “Let’s hope they have a wonderful, awe-
inspiring experience,” Annah said.
In my seven days on the water, we found whales every day, but
every day—and every encounter—was diff erent. We fl oated for 45
minutes above a male as he sang to attract a mate, the water coming
alive with whistles, chirps, trills, moans, and groans that rattled my
ribs. We dropped into a group of fi ve males on a heat run, all chasing a
female, and found ourselves immersed in whale chaos. The boys,
unafraid, spiraled around us, grunting. As one slid by just under my
fi ns, another passed within arm’s reach to my left, and a third came up
from the deep. Gliding and gigantic, they seemed always to be watching
us, always careful to arc their fl ippers over or under us and not to
whack us with their tails.
We drifted on glassy, calm water above a placid mother and calf, their
bodies dappled by sunbeams slanting down into the indigo water like
light in the nave of a cathedral. We rocked and rolled on fi ve-foot swells
as a diff erent, feistier calf shot up from below and fully out of the water,
breaching just yards away. Its mother followed, rocketing up like a
missile, water streaming off her as she arced against the sky, fi ns
outspread. As the splash rained down on us, we cheered, exhilarated by
her magnifi cent exuberance.
If there was time after lunch, we might go for a non-whale-related
snorkel. Near the end of our trip, one such excursion brought us to
Mariner’s Cave, on the island of Nuapapu, where we dove down alongside
a sheer, coral-encrusted drop-off and through an underwater tunnel into a
black hole of rock, a humid air bubble encased in limestone. Such a place
was once the stuff of my nightmares, but I fi nned into the darkness
without hesitation. I wish I could say that my swims in Tonga were acts of
courage, but my fear of the deep, which had seemed like a part of me, had
turned out to be nothing at all—a coward that turned tail as soon as I
looked right at it. I hadn’t been afraid, not since my very fi rst drop, when I
found myself surrounded by a blue so intense that the sensation was not of
dangling above an abyssal depth but of being suspended in light, cradled
by color. Wonders are waiting on the other side of our fears: singing
whales and hidden caves, the bluest of blues.THE DETAILS
GETTING THERE
Fly from Sydney or Auckland, New Zealand, to
the Tongan island of Tongatapu. From there,
Real Tonga Airlines flies to Vava’u twice daily,
except Sunday. Fiji Airways also offers a direct
flight to Vava’u from Nadi, Fiji, twice weekly.
HOTEL
Mandala Island Resort A boat transfer is
required to get to this small private island,
where you’ll find eco-friendly accommodations,
excellent food, and tropical serenity.
Bungalows from US$320; mandalaisland.com
ACTIVITIES
Nai’a Live aboard this 18-passenger boat, which
takes you from Nuku’alofa to the Ha’apai island
group for snorkeling with whales and scuba
diving on coral reefs. You’ll have to book way
ahead, as the next available slot isn’t until 2019.
From US$6,186 for nine days; naia.com.fj
WhaleSwim Adventures An experienced and
conscientious outfitter offering a variety of
multiday whale-swimming trips in Vava’u and
elsewhere. From US$4,375 for eight nights with
six days of water activities; whaleswim. com