Whale Swim - Vava'u, Tonga - Pacific Jewel - Bounty Adventure - J232

[Debsta]

Swimming with the Whales on the Pacific Jewel Bounty Adventure in Vava'u, Tonga was the highlight of my trip. I hope you enjoy the video I put together!

 

[Debsta]

We had one day in port on the cruise on 17 October 2012. We chose to book with Dolphin Pacific Diving & Whale Watch http://www.dolphinpacificdiving.com/index.html. Booked via email, easy peasy. They were sensational and took us out, searched and searched and finally found the whales (the ship's tour didn't even see a whale!!!!). We then went back to Swallow's Cave before heading back to the ship. The whale watch crew were outstanding, lunch was yummy and it was an experience of a lifetime! It's the end of whale season so we were very lucky. The water was pretty choppy so it was difficult to get good shots, but I did my best! Sensational day and I would highly recommend booking privately with these guys.

 

For size reference. The mother whale was about 15-16 metres long, the baby about 5-6 metres and the male escort (the white spotty one) was about 10 metres! AMAZING!

[Forever dreaming]

Thanks Debsta for uploading that absolutely fantastic video. Amazing just watching the video never mind you actually doing it. :D You have made my day as I was pretty bored at work and needed some cheering up. Thanks:)

Was the young whale suckling as it stayed in the same position for so long?

 

Fiona

:)

[Debsta]

Thanks Fiona. It was great doing it and reliving it again.

 

Baby whales don't actually suckle! They nudge their mums tum tums near where her nipple is and she actually ejects the milk (thick yoghurt consistency) into the water near the baby's mouth. Pretty amazing!

 

Also the male escort is not actually the Daddy. He just hangs around to make sure everything is OK. The male escorts change places. Daddy has already racked off LOL

 

It was the end of the season so many of the whales are already on their way back to cooler waters. In peak season (last week of August and through September) you could be in the water with 18 whales at a time. We were really lucky to find these ones.

[Sandielle]

What a fabulous experience, Deb. :eek: