Explore Vava'u, AX-Factor Dive, Tonga

Dear Fellow Diver,

It's hard to explain the magic of being in the water with humpback whales. Having dived for more than 40 years, I've been within touching distance of sharks, dolphins, giant Pacific manta rays, and even whale sharks, but nothing prepared me for the magical experience of snorkeling so close to these humpback whales and their babies that we could look into each other's eyes.

Each day on the boat, I must have got in and out of the water 15 times, and each time I got close enough to a 50-foot humpback to see it looking at me with its huge eye, or to a massive baby swimming around with its mum. I became very adept at climbing the boat's ladders.

Mothers swim with an escort whale (not necessarily a male), which helps protect their babies from danger. And one day, I inadvertently became that danger. As I snorkeled 20 feet away, the escort, an enormous male, its head bearded with barnacles, shot toward me. My heart raced. For sure, this 30- to 40-ton behemoth was going to ram me to get between its family and me. Thankfully, he had other ideas. With long white pectoral flippers spread like airplane wings and a massive tail fluke sweeping through the water, he managed to swim past with the finesse of a ballet dancer, not even causing a ripple. He showed me his white underbelly as he slipped past sideways, without actually touching me. Visibility was about 30 feet.

My good friend and I had spent months planning for an August week of whale swimming, preceded by diving in the Solomon Islands and Fiji. I wasn't clear about what whale swimming involved -- turns out it's just snorkeling -- or what to expect from the whales. Tonga would be our whale swimming destination, three days with the whales (no scuba allowed), with three days of reef scuba diving thrown in.

Tonga, a hereditary monarchy, comprises 171 islands randomly scattered about the vast Pacific. We landed on Vava'u, one of 36 inhabited islands, and more than 200 miles from its capital city, Nuku?alofa, on the largest island, Tongatapu. After breezing through customs at the modest airport, it was a 45-minute US$50 taxi ride to the Harbourview Hotel in Toula village, near Neiafu, where we dragged our suitcases over rough ground to our basic twin room. Adequate, if a little shabby, it had a nice ocean view from our balcony, and it came with a fridge and an electric kettle, but the fittings and furniture were nearing the end of their lives and showed it.

While AC is optional for $35 per night, we skipped it and found that the fan was more than enough. The Australian hotel owner informed us that we "temporarily" had no hot water -- there were issues -- but she promised it would be fixed soon. It never was (we showered in the main building). The accommodations, set in lush tropical gardens, didn't appear to be much different from alternatives in Vava'u, although I'm sure others might have been more recently updated. We chose it for its proximity to the harbor where our boat would pick us up. The hotel has 10 fales (the Tongan word for house, pronounced far-lay), and can accommodate up to 20 guests, who, during my stay, were from the UK, the US, Australia, and New Zealand. The restaurant and bar were always busy, attracting other tourists and residents.

I find walking is a good way to get my bearings and meet the locals, so once we unpacked, we walked nearly two miles to Neiafu harbor and Explore Vava'u, the watersports business with which we had reserved our whale safaris. They have two boats that each carry eight guests and would pick us up at the jetty below the hotel at 8:00 the following morning.

The next day, bright and early and full of anticipation, we went for breakfast on the hotel terrace. There was nothing -- the hotel kitchen was deserted. I entered the kitchen to search for whatever I could find: a toaster, some bread in the fridge, butter, and jam. (It was the same story every morning, despite promises from the disorganized hotel owner to the contrary. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.)

After a simple, improvised breakfast, we left, undeterred, and carefully walked down 40 steep steps to the jetty for our pick-up. Having travelled to many small countries, we take such travails in our stride. And usually with a smile.

True to their promise, Explore Vava'u's little 29-foot boat, Luminescence, arrived on time and, once we'd collected other snorkelers from various points en route, we left the calm sanctuary of the harbor for open water. It was a speedy 45-minute trip to begin our search for the humpback whales.

Tonga's seasonal humpback population is between 3000 and 4000, and Vava'u is the core nursery and breeding area. Their summer breeding grounds are Antarctica; August and September (winter south of the equator) are the height of Tonga's humpback season, and 50 to 150 whales may be in the Vava'u area on any given day -- mothers and calves resting in coves, male humpback "singers" hovering over deep drop-offs, and competitive groups churning across the channels. Some winter near the Cook Islands and Samoa, as well as other Tonga Islands, but Vava'u is where to reliably see them.

About 25 eight-passenger boats from a dozen or more operators have licenses, all operating under strict government-enforced rules for finding the whales and swimming with them. Before we set off, we were briefed about the permissible behavior etiquette around the whales. We were banned from duck-diving to get closer (boat licenses are at risk if anyone does that), but we could slide below the surface and swim.

With so many boats dotted about a vast area of sea, the captains of each continually communicated with each other. As the rules allowed, only one boat at a time may get close enough to any whale for its passengers to snorkel with them. The captains remained vigilant, constantly watching for whales surfacing to breathe and keeping their boats from obstructing any whale's path. It would be impossible to estimate how many whales there were in, say, a square mile.

The captain, a young man who spoke several languages fluently, divided us into two groups of four. The boat's mate, a tall, good-looking local lad, ironically named Tonga, acted as whale-spotter and would jump into the water first to ensure we were in the right place for a whale encounter. When we were, he'd raise his arm to signal, and the designated group of four would slide quietly into the water and swim to him. The ocean was calm, and the whales were "logging," which meant they remained static in the water at around 50-foot depth, only coming up for air every 20 minutes or so. So, a typical dip lasted around 20 minutes until we climbed out to let the other group in the water.

The other group didn't stay long in the water, so it seemed that our group was no sooner out of the water than we were allowed to go back in. The boat was well designed so that we were ready to jump in and subsequently climb back into the boat via its twin spine ladders on either side of the outboard motors. One needs to be fit to get in and out of the boat expeditiously and often, but the amount of swimming is up to you.

As the day progressed, the weather turned cloudy; it became a bit cool, and the breeze was not conducive to being out of water long in a clammy wetsuit. Some passengers in the other group got cold and declined to go in, so my buddy and I were happy to take their missed turns in the water. It's a long way to travel to stay on the boat and miss the humpbacks below.

During our two other whale-watching days (we alternated these with scuba diving days), we practically had to follow the whales all over the ocean. They were incredibly playful, coming to the surface, giving us a wave with their enormous flukes, then slapping the water, and generally providing a show. When we went into the water, we were either looking at their broad backs or they effortlessly swam past us too fast to keep up with them. We contented ourselves by floating and watching them from above until they eventually came up to breathe. It was brilliant when they swam around us, especially since we had no currents or difficult seas.

The strenuous swimming tired me, but I couldn't wait to get back in and take the place of anyone who decided to sit out. The water was a cool 75°F, but I was warm in my full-length Sharkskin suit. I took lots of photos with my housed iPhone, but I was disappointed in the clarity; I had to be too far away to capture all of such a large creature in the frame and needed a camera with a super-wide-angle lens.

Explore Vava'u was well-organized and provided neoprene hoodie jackets to keep us warm between swims. They prepared a nice packed lunch consisting of a big bread roll with fillings such as rice and chicken, meatballs, or sausages. There was fruit, a brownie, and an endless supply of warming hot tea or coffee, so we didn't go hungry during our seven hours at sea. The deck was shaded, and there was a cramped toilet below.

Each day, we returned to the Toula jetty around 3:00 P.M., and after climbing up the rough steps to our hotel, we hung out our suits so they'd drip dry before the next morning.

On Sundays, nothing happens in Tonga apart from churchgoing. In this traditional Christian country, everyone goes to church, beautifully dressed in all their finery and make-up. All shops are closed, and the whales and reefs get a rest. I'm glad I traveled with a friend because otherwise it would have been a lonely day. With nothing else to do, we went to church, a pleasant experience with the very welcoming locals singing familiar hymns. Afterward, we climbed up "the mountain" to soak in the beautiful view.

Between each whale-watching day, we went diving with the AX-Factor dive center, run by a handsome German, Axel Passek. Based a short distance inside the harbor from our hotel, the SSI dive center appeared to have all new gear, and we rented BCs, having toted the rest. Axel checked our logbooks and let us skip the checkout dive. They offered plenty of help with our gear, with full European courtesy.

The same went for Axel's guiding. He escorted us to a cave called The Tunnel, about 50 feet deep, which was thick with spiny lobsters. We were sworn to secrecy about its location since he didn't want locals taking the lobsters. On another site close by, appropriately known as Clownfish City, we saw a magnificent carpet of anemones full of clownfish and domino fish. We saw no big fish or schools.

We dived a wreck within the harbor twice because the seas had become too rough and a tsunami warning had been issued (although it didn't transpire). The steamship Clan McWilliams, loaded with copra, caught fire one Sunday in 1927, and because everyone was in church, it was left to burn. It's a big wreck, encrusted with marine growth, 423 feet long, so we made two dives, one on the stern and one at the bow. It lies a mere 250 yards offshore. Axel discouraged penetration. We saw lots of assorted nudibranchs, turtles, and bubble coral, and investigated the deck paraphernalia. It was a great dive. The water was quite choppy even in the confines of the harbor, and this affected visibility a little.

He offers three dives a day, plus a night dive on the house reef. The diving was very easy, but having just come from diving in both the Solomons and Fiji, I can say that our dives here didn't measure up. But if you come for whale swimming, they're just fine, and the Clan McWilliams is certainly worth two tanks.

Axel tried to persuade us to make a night dive on the house reef, telling us how he used an ultraviolet light to illuminate nudibranchs and cowry shells so that they glowed luminescent. He calls it his Disco dive. While tempting, we eschewed his offer as the wine we'd brought from Fiji, waiting in our room, called.

AX-Factor's primary dive boat was small but fast. Lavinuella looked nearly new with a well-designed ladder at the stern. Travel time to the dives was short, and there was plenty of space for the four divers they take. He used a stable and smaller pontoon-style boat called Red Dog for dives within the harbor. It was specifically designed for easy entry into and egress from the water. Most of the boat journeys were within the protected waters of the lengthy harbor entrance. (See map.) We came back each time for lunch, and I had made sandwiches for both myself and my buddy after we made ourselves breakfast, which we ate in the dive centers. We alternated scuba diving days with whale swimming days, so that we off-gassed, swimming with the whales, on our last day before we flew out.

Dinners at the Harbourview Hotel were filling and simple, with plenty of choices like fish tacos, burgers, curry, etc., with either fries or rice, followed by ice cream, cake, or fruit. Meals were very inexpensive, and we were agreeably surprised when we got our charge card bill in our own currency. The rooms at Harbourview are serviced daily.

We also went once to the Kraken restaurant for lunch, an hour's walk away at Neiafu, which has grilled fish and home-made burgers, but we settled for tasty ham and pineapple pizzas. Walking was enjoyable and saved waiting for a taxi; we might have tried the hotel's complimentary bicycles, but we learned about them too late.

During our penultimate evening on Vava'u in Tonga, the hotel staff dressed in traditional clothes, shared Kava, and re-enacted a charming traditional story in dance and song, making it sad to leave. I surely would return to spend a few more days looking into those soulful humpback eyes.

Before you go, it's worth doing some research. We've seen a travel operator market five whale swimming days at $6500 per person, more than twice what I paid for three days of whale swimming and three diving. But they do offer the nicer Mystic Sand Hotel. For me, three days of whale swimming and three days of diving was a perfect balance. It's not difficult to book your own trip or have a dive travel agent take care of it, but act soon to reserve, as July and August boats are booking up.

-- F.M.

Our undercover diver's bio: A mother of two, I've been diving since 1979, but after a hiatus, became enthusiastic in the mid-'90s, visiting cold water sites such as Scapa Flow and the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, Iceland, and Vancouver Island, as well as the Caribbean, the Galapagos, Cocos, Egypt, Yemen, the Philippines, and Chuuk. Nowadays, I often travel with friends, leaving my long-suffering husband at home tending the garden.

DIVER'S COMPASS: We flew from Fiji (Nadi) and paid US$2450 double for seven nights at the Harbourview Hotel . . . Three days' whale swimming with Explore Vava'u costs US$335/person/day. Our four dives with AX-Factor cost US$350 (10-dive package is around $600). Car rental is available . . . Flying from LAX to Vava'u required a change of planes in Fiji, then a four-hour flight. Total flight time 15-21 hours . . . the local currency is Pa?anga (T$); credit cards are accepted . . . Harbourview has fast and free Starlink internet access . . . Tonga uses 240v electricity with Australian-style plug sockets . . . Tonga islands are malaria-free, but other insect-borne diseases (such as Zika) pose a risk . . . the climate is warm, but year-long ocean breezes are cool in the morning and evening . . . The nearest hyperbaric chamber is in Fiji . . . www.harbourviewresort.com www.explorevavau.com www.axfactordive.com