Snorkelling with Humpback whales from 'Eua Island in Tonga was a real adventure
Island Hopping through Oceania - Adventure in Tonga and Fiji
As the airplane descended towards Nausori Airport, Fiji looked continental in scale. Its mass of land, with meandering rivers and rolling hills, was a stark contrast after Tuvalu’s thin strip of palm-tree-green surrounded by endless blue.
A rough start in Fiji
With the flight slightly delayed, we were relieved to reach Suva’s central bus station just in time for the last bus to Nadi, where we were meeting our good friend Maggie for a five-day trip to Tonga. The plan was to swim with Tonga’s famous humpback whales. But before that, we had a catamaran excursion planned with her for the following morning that we didn’t want to miss.
However, our relief gradually fizzled as her messages about bedbugs in the hostel in Nadi started to trickle through. A quick look at the recent reviews suggested this wasn’t an isolated incident, and we discounted the staff’s reassurances to Maggie that sleeping on the top bunk instead would be fine.
By the time we reached the hostel, we’d already agreed to find somewhere new. It wasn’t the best start to Maggie’s trip. Thankfully, the catamaran excursion to a sand bar in the Mamanuca Islands the following day, replete with an open bar, snorkelling, and a sumptuous lunch, at least somewhat made up for it.
Relaxing with Maggie on our catamaran in the Mamanuca Islands
Fiji has some fantastic snorkelling
In Tonga, everything shuts down on Sunday
We landed in Tonga on Saturday evening, and it was a race against time to organise something to do the following day. Everything in the country, bar a handful of tourism-related businesses, is closed on Sundays. And Sunday was our one day to explore Tongatapu Island (Tonga’s cultural and political centre) before catching a ferry to ‘Eua to snorkel with whales. The hostel we had booked had to rank as one of the Pacific’s dirtiest and dingiest, so we all agreed that the more time we could spend exploring the island, the better.
Facilities at The Village Backpackers in Nuku'alofa were limited
Thankfully, despite the challenges of needing to return the car with a full tank and the fact that no petrol stations are open on Sundays, we managed to arrange a car hire for the day. Tongatapu’s sights are somewhat limited, and after iced lattes at the only cafe open in Nuku’alofa, the squat capital of Tonga, we pootled out of town to our first stop: the three-headed coconut tree.
Things did improve from there, and the Mapu’a Vaea Blowholes were particularly impressive. We stood on the cliffs as 30-foot-high water spurts shot skywards with every wave. The reef along this coastline is riddled with holes, forcing seawater overhead in powerful jets as the waves hit the shore. All it needed to become a proper fountain show was some classical music and colourful lights.
The surprisingly impressive Mapu'a Vaea Blowholes, on Tongatapu's west coast
Our first sight of Tonga’s famous whales
Halfway around the island, we stopped at one of only two Sunday lunch offerings. Oholei Beach Resort promised a pit-roast hog alongside other classically Tongan dishes of raw fish, shellfish, taro, yam, cassava, and a moreish sweet pudding made of caramel, flour, and coconut. As we sat half comatose and overfull after the meal, we watched the humpback whales we’d come here to see breaching and tail-slapping offshore.
It was reassuring to see that the whales were present; we just had a slight issue with how to get to them. Having booked to swim with these large cetaceans through Kiko’s Swim with Whales on the neighbouring island of Eua (pronounced ay-wah), we had a 47-kilometre body of water to cross before we could start our swim. There was just one problem: the ferry.
Transport between islands in Tonga can be unreliable
Ferries between Tongatapu and ‘Eua are frequent but irregular, and the timetable is only released at the start of each week. It’s a lottery. One that, with our tight timeframe, we were losing. The ferry wasn’t running on Monday, meaning we would miss our whale swimming on Tuesday. So, as we tootled around Tongatapu (next stop, Ha’amonga ‘a Maui trilithon, the Stonehenge of Tonga), we liaised with Tina from Kiko’s trying to find an alternative mode of transport to ‘Eua.
The 'Stonehenge of Tonga'
It took all of Sunday, and the plan wasn’t confirmed until 7:45am on Monday, just an hour before departure. But in the end, we managed to piece together a ride in the back of a pickup across Tongatapu, followed by a charter boat to ‘Eua, splitting the cost with a Kiwi couple in the same predicament. Unfortunately, our friend Maggie’s seasickness tablets didn’t kick in in time. She barfed half the way to ‘Eua as Rico and I watched the humpbacks surfacing in every direction around us.
Tonga is one of the best places in the world to swim with whales
Thankfully, Maggie’s seasickness tablets worked when it counted. The following morning, after cake and coconut for breakfast, we slipped out of ‘Eua’s sheltered harbour on the lookout for whales. It didn’t take long to spot them, and after 30 minutes the first group of us were already face to face with the gentle giants. Three fully grown 30-ton humpbacks swam directly towards us, looked us in the eye, and dove beneath us at the last minute. It was mesmerising, and as we clambered back into the boat, I breathlessly exclaimed, “If we don’t see any more whales all day, it’s still exceeded my expectations”.
But the day was just getting started. There were seven of us on the tour, and with a maximum of four swimmers and a guide with the whales at any one time, we took turns. The team at Kiko’s are reassuringly professional, and we only got in the water if the whales were interested in us.
Swimming with humpback whales was the absolute highlight of our time in Tonga and Fiji
The ‘Tonga Tribe’
The humpback whales in Tonga migrate to the warm waters of this South Pacific nation to give birth and mate. They arrive in June after a 6,000-kilometre journey from their feeding grounds in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. Known as the ‘Tonga Tribe’, the same whales migrate back to Tonga each year, and the population of 1,500-2,000 individuals has gradually increased over the years since commercial whaling was banned.
Luckily, the whales of the ‘Tonga Tribe’ were very interested in us. It’s hard to know what to do when an ocean giant is languidly swimming directly at you, and there were times when our guide bodily dragged us out of the path of an oncoming behemoth. It seemed like the whales were as intrigued by us as we were by them as they circled back repeatedly for another look at these strange, beflippered creatures.
Humpback whales from the 'Tonga tribe' coming in for a closer look
Unfortunately, one of our group was having a less-than-stellar time. Sam, a usually bubbly Kiwi lady, had been hurling over the side of the boat since her first (and only) swim. So, by 11am, after we’d all experienced multiple wondrous encounters with the whales, the skipper took pity on her and headed back to shore as more whales frolicked in every direction.
Fiji is a great place to enjoy some tropical luxury
An afternoon baking on the beach, a serene ferry ride back to Nuku’alofa, and a quick peruse of Nuku’alofa’s central market the following day filled our time before we flew back to Fiji. Our accommodation in Tonga was far from luxurious, so when we checked into The Sheraton in Denarau, Rico and I couldn’t contain our excitement. Our expansive two-bedroom villa, courtesy of Maggie’s points (thanks again, Maggie!), even had a washing machine AND a dryer. For once, we didn’t have to hand-wash our clothes. Pure luxury!
Fiji is a great place to enjoy some tropical luxury
So we spent the rest of our time in Fiji living the resort lifestyle, even after Maggie left and we checked out of the Sheraton. Instead of camping in the Yassawa Islands, we checked into a cheaper hotel near the airport in Wailoaloa. There, we made the short daily walk to The Crowne Plaza to chill by the pool and sip iced lattes overlooking the ocean. It wasn’t our usual style, but at roughly the halfway point of the trip, we needed it.
This Leg
Days: 15
Flights: 2
Boats: 4
Islands: 3
Countries & Territories: 2
Total
Days: 49
Flights: 13
Boats: 20
Islands: 18
Countries & Territories: 6