Whales
Zepher
Chris & Lyn Darch
Fri 3 Oct 2008 08:09
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Hi Folks,
Sorry its been a day or so since the last blog but
its been hectic, lots of catching up with Gail, Devyn and the folks from New
Zealand , it now feels a lot nearer that before some how as all the yachting
community are talking about the trip from Tonga to NZ and its weather systems
even though we have four weeks to go ...
We had a fantastic day yesterday , we went on
a whale watching trip, three boats, Myself,Lyn,Rob,Ruth, from "Zephyr", Joe,Dave
and Beth from "Seabright",Mike,Iona,Ross,Finn and Lorie from "Summer Wine" plus
Gail,Devyn,Gina,Doug,Morvan,Calum and Katy from hotel Paridiso, we all fitted on
a dive boat from Beluga Diving Co and set off at 08:00 , rain pouring down ,
visibility not anymore than a mile , as we got further out to the edge of the
island chains , spirits began to take a bit of a downer , we stopped in the lee
of a island as the wind had picked up and had a cup of coffee , the rain began
to ease and the visibility cleared, we set of again with everybody looking out
for water spouts, it did not take long before the first ones were spotted , the
skipper manovered near them and the swimmer went over the side to spot them ,
these were humpback whales , they come to Tonga to mate and calf during the
southern winter then return to the Antarctic for the winter to feed , anyway we
weren't disappointed as the whale spotter called all those into the water who
wanted to swim with the whales, about half of the party went , including the
kids, and what a spectacular sight , these magnificent animals
slowly cruising a long there giant tails moving in slow motion and
propelling them along at about 10m below the surface , it was quite a swim to
keep up with them so you only had a few minuets of viewing, this procedure was
carried out for a good two hrs with everybody except me getting a go at swimming
near them.
We then took a rest and pulled off to a few
other spouts that we spotted , suddenly they broke surface from deep and
there whole bodies came out of the water, they call it broaching and it is
rarely seen , the guides said they had only seen it four times that year , this
happened four times and we all felt deeply privileged to have seen
it.
After that spectacular display we went to one
of the sandy Isles and put the hook down, out came the lunch laid on as part of
the trip , surprising good sandwiches, with tea and coffee to wash it down with
.
Off we went again towards the swallow caves,
suddenly we was some spouts to our stern , this I thought might be an
opportunity, in went the guide , and I went straight after him , the whales
passed within 10 metres of the boat , mother and calf , filled my goggles just
like a TV screen with a magnificent view of both of them serenely swimming by
only a short distance from the boat , a view I don't think any of us who jumped
in will forget ..
Well after that we I think were all really
tired, so at about 3 o/c we headed for home after all experiencing a truly
wonderful day and one I don't think anyone will forget , Mike took a camera
with him so we hope that some of the shots will come out ..
After arriving back at the dive centre the
heavens opened up again and more torrential rain came down , we all tucked into
the cafe "Aquarium" and had hot chocolates , the rain passed and we all went our
separate ways , Lyn and myself scampered off to Gails hotel for a long
hot shower , the first since Feb 2008 at my sisters when I went back for our
visas , and longer for Lyn , Nov 2007 , she went the whole hog and had a
steaming bath full ... another luxury is having a dump and just pushing the
flush ! simple things to some , pure luxury to us aqua tramps
Tired, and all whaled
out ....
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