In August 2012 I flew to the Vava'u Island group in the Kingdom of Tonga to swim with Humpback Whales and enjoy a couple of dives with Beluga Dive Vava'u. I was there as a member of Jon Shaw’s latest ginclearfilm group - Cat Leach, Geoffrey Brown, George Andrew, Sam Gendle and Sarah Alice Lee.
Humpbacks migrate from the cool waters at the end of the Antarctic summer to Tonga to mate, calve and to give birth. Whale watching operators in Vava'u are licensed and encounters with Humpbacks in Vava'u are strictly controlled.
Phil Smith and his guides from our operator, Whales in the Wild, were first class and despite disappointing weather, I enjoyed some close encounters with Humpbacks from our boat Maris King. Phil’s iPhone also had a close encounter - Phil bravely put it in a pint mug. Unusual. It did not survive.
We all stayed at the Mala Island Resort, seven kilometres from Neiafu by boat. When not trying to photograph Humpbacks I photographed Cat and Sarah who duck dived for me in the fabulous Swallows Cave, in Kapa Island. Maybe it was because Cat and Sarah were more cooperative than the Humpbacks but I preferred my photos of them to my Humpback shots.