Yesterday was one of the highlights of our trip so far – we had the chance to swim with humpback whales! It was incredible. Our underwater camera was not, however and these are pictures pulled from our video. It was the best we could do. Sorry.
We wish we had pictures that did this experience justice. We were just ten feet away from a mother and calf. The calf played in the water in front of us, rolling over and eyeing us underwater. It really made eye contact! This is an experience we will never forget.
Here’s a little video. The first part shows junior and the second part shows mom coming up from the depths at us.
One of the best things we did in Tonga was the Whale Excursion. During the winter season, the humpback whales come to the south pacific from Antarctica to breed and to give birth. They then remain here to raise their calves until they’re big enough to make the trip back to Antarctica for the summer (December – March). Tonga is one of their favorite spots, and at the height of the season there are a lot of whales here.
Vava’u has at least 3 outfits that take people out to swim with the whales, almost always a mother and calf. When you sign up for a trip they cannot guarantee a whale encounter; so it’s a bit of a risk. Some mother whales are nervous and don’t want their calf swimming with us human folk, while other whale moms don’t mind at all. They let you know if they’re receptive by “settling,” which means staying put close to the tour boat. We were lucky in that we found a mom and calf who were willing to settle long enough to let both sets of swimmers be with the calf. (There are about 8 tourists on these boats and you go in with the whales only 4 at a time). The calves are curious and love being around the goofy-looking human species: it’s always mom who decides if they stay and for how long.
Rich and I were in the first group, and it was a fantastic experience as the whale calf swam right up to us and stayed with us. After we got back on the boat and the second group went in, and it was a thrill to watch as the calf swam right up to them and rolled over on his back! After all of us got to be with the whales, mom decided that would be enough and swam off with her calf. We followed a little way in case she settled again, but she kept going. I think I can speak for everyone on the boat when I say we were more than satisfied with the time we had!
One nice thing about these whale excursions is that they include at least one snorkeling excursion, and Tonga has some of the best snorkeling in the world. After our swim with the whales, it was time for lunch, which was included in the trip. We had calm seas; so the boat motored over to the back side of an island and anchored, and we all ate our lunch (sandwich fixings and cookies). After lunch we were told we could snorkel right there. I went in not excepting anything special at this spot with no name, but I was wrong: this was the best snorkeling we had seen in the entire South Pacific! The fish and coral were incredible! (Unfortunately our waterproof camera was acting up so we didn’t get pictures.)
After snorkeling and lunch, we headed over to Kapa island to a spot called Swallow’s Cave. That, too, was beautiful but in a different way. There were no fish or coral, just deep, crystal clear water in the cave, but when you look up to the ceiling there is a large hole where you can see sky, green vegetation, and swallows darting back and forth. A bit further up the island is another cave and if you’re brave, you can swim down and through an entry into yet another cave behind it. Since we had a guide with us, we were brave and did it. It was fun to ride the surge up and down in that final cave, which gives it the nickname “The Elevator Cave.”
Around 3pm, it was time to head back to town. It had been an incredible day of snorkeling with whales, tropical fish, amazing coral, and fascinating caves. There was one more benefit I appreciated: getting a look at some of the islands and anchorages we might be visiting in the near future. Already I had an idea of where I most wanted to go and what we could skip. -Cyndi
Note: You can see some photos of the whales in Rich’s post coming up next.
A baby whale lying on it’s back.Water an amazing shade of blue.One of the many islands we motored past on our whale excursion.Our snorkel and lunch stop.Looking into Swallow’s Cave.The entrance to a different cave and its offshoot “the Elevator Cave.”
Being here during the week-long cruiser regatta felt like being at summer camp. Every morning on the net they’d announce the day’s activities. Sometimes we’d participate (we loved going to the talks on whales and on New Zealand) and sometimes we’d opt out (we stayed away from anything messy like the pie eating contest and the egg toss). The week overall was a lot of fun.
After Regatta week was over, people started to leave to go to nearby islands, but the town did not empty out. For every boat that would leave, another boat would come in. We began to see more of our old friends arrive, and the town remained pretty festive. -Cyndi
Every mooring was full during Regatta week.We enjoyed watching the people who singed up for some of the fun, silly contests.One of the New Zealand talks was held at the Mango restaurant.Those funny guys on Gato Go decorated their boat with whatever they could think of.The regatta ended with a sailboat race to another island for a big party on the beach.
Aside from the Big Three (my own name for the favorites I’ve already talked about), there are some other places in town worth mentioning.
The first is the Wine Bar or Rooster Bistro (it goes by both names). It’s the fanciest place in town (although that doesn’t mean much in that no place here is fancy) and owned by a Swiss chef. He makes an amazing blue cheese ravioli, a spicy chicken dish that is actually spicy, and rosti, a traditional Swiss breakfast dish that consists of grated potatoes formed into a skillet-sized patty and fried or baked with onions, bacon, and spices. Gunther tops his version with a fried egg.
The second place to mention is the mysterious Lobster House. It is mostly hidden, hard to find and attached to a defunct hotel. The restaurant is open off and on, no one really knows when, and they don’t advertise themselves at all. We only happened to stumble across it one day. We never did get there for lobster but had a really nice breakfast there while watching a surprisingly entertaining soccer match on their TV.
Next, I’ll mention Mango Cafe. It’s got a great location right on the waterfront and is a lovely place. Sadly, though, they need to work on their food. We only went there once during our entire time there so maybe we’re judging it unfairly, but then again we’ve heard others say the same thing.
Next up is Sunset Grill. This is another place we only tried once. The problem wasn’t the food: we had a seafood quesadilla that was terrific! It was the fact that this quesadilla took forever to get (and the restaurant was near empty) while the owner schmoozed with his buddies at the bar. The Sunset Grill is a good place to go have cold beer (the coldest in town, we were told) but sadly not a place to eat even though the food is great. (Again, it wasn’t just us: the service is notoriously slow).
Finally there is the Blue Lagoon. As the picture shows, it doesn’t get a lot of customers. I’m not sure why as it’s got a nice location. We only had cappuccino here so I can’t speak for the food. –Cyndi
A table at the Rooster Bistro/Wine Bar.A fish sandwich at the Rooster Bistro.Watching soccer at the Lobster House.The deck at Mango Cafe.The Sunset Grill.The Blue Lagoon.
I originally intended to put this into the “Other Neiafu Eateries” blog entry, but as I look at our pictures I realize that although we weren’t there much, we had some special times here. (The reason we weren’t there much is that it was only open for dinner, and we tended to do lunch in town and dinner on the boat).
The Balcony is a fun little restaurant that has very good food and theme dinner nights. Sundays are always Asian feast night. It might be Thai, Indonesian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, or something along that line. There is a set menu and you eat family style, and it’s always good. Our favorite theme night, though, was the weekly Pie Night. Sadly, although we kept hearing Trish (the owner) excitedly advertising Pie Night on the morning net, we thought she meant fruit pies. It took us weeks to find out that she meant British-style meat pies.
Finally, some friends of ours got us to come to Pie Night. She had a beef and mushroom in wine sauce pie, a chicken pie, and a seafood pie. We split the beef and the seafood pies, and I don’t think we missed a pie night after that!
Aside from the theme dinner nights, Trish would host things like the occasional movie presentation and Wii bowling night (Wii is a video game system). It was a fun, festive, special place with (of course) a balcony with a terrific view, and one of the great places in Neiafu. –Cyndi
Looking out towards the view from The Balcony.A fun gathering at The Balcony.Movie night at the Balcony.Beef and mushroom pie with mashed potatoes.Wii Bowling night.Pie night with our buddies Bob and Linda from Bright Angel.Rich, me, Bob and Linda on our final pie night saying good-bye to Trish, the owner of The Balcony.
