|
SNORKELING
WITH THE HUMPBACK WHALES OF TONGA
AUGUST 1-12 AND 15-26, 2000 |
|
| Two of our groups just returned from a great snorkeling safari to the island of Vava'u in the Kingdom of Tonga. These images are just a few impressions of what we saw and did. | |
| An amazing
sight: a Humpback Whale drifting upside down in it's own watery realm.
Just 15 feet below the surface. |
The highlight of the trip and a very memorable experience for everybody in the group: snorkeling eye to eye next to a 40 feet-long Humpback Whale, playfully floating on its back, looking at the strange creatures snorkeling on the surface. |
| Meeting
a whale face to face. Instead of chasing whales, they just swam towards
us. Who's looking at who? |
A Humpback Whale doing a so-called spyhop and posing for the camera(s). |
| 5 juvenile
whales playing around the boat. Lifting
their head out of the water, jumping, tail-flapping etc. Whalewatching can be as thrilling from the surface as it is under water. |
|
Humpback Whale at an arms- (or flippers ?) length distance. |
The
reefs on Tonga were among the healthiest in the world with an abundance
of marine life: fish, coral and invertebrates. This
was a very friendly moray eel. |
Anemonefish (Amphiprion sp.) guarding its own protective anemone. |
One
of the many angelfish that we encountered on the reef. This particular
one is the Bicolor Angelfish (Centropyge bicolor). |
| An adult
of the Indianfish (Xyrichtys Pavo) The juvenile looks and behaves
just like a floating leaf. We found these and many more interesting
fish right in front of the resort. |
All the wonders of the sea were just a few feet below us. Gardens of coral sheltering amazing numbers of fish in various colors and sizes. |
Visiting a local market, always a good place to sample some of the everyday life and culture of a destination. |
The
children and teachers of the local school came to visit and demonstrate
some of their beautiful dancing and singing. |
|
All the photography and text on this site is by Joel Simon, and
is © 1990-00 copyright Joel Simon Images. All rights reserved. |
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