I love to travel and try to do it often. But there is something special that I haven’t had the chance to see exactly the way I dream: I want to see huge marine mammals — whales, in their own habitat, underwater, I want to swim with them. Where on the map? ... Hmm, give me some time to think :) In the meantime, let me tell you more about the story of this dream.
It so happened that at the moment I saw whales only once, in Iceland, going from the small town of HĂşsavĂk to the open ocean on a motor boat. The choice was made in favor of a motor boat (and not a larger and more solid ship) because of its speed — the chances that we will see a whale and go closer before he goes under the water increase significantly. And we were very close to the water, and therefore to the whales. Here, it seems, we could almost touch his tail :)
So, how it was. I sit in a boat and gaze into the distance, hoping to see a fountain on the horizon. I waited for a long time, broke all my eyes, saw and, choking with delight, shouted to the captain: "The whale in the west!" The boat's motor roars, and it turns and rushes forward.
Wow! Here they are, giant animals, very close, their huge tails beat against the water and they go to the depths, leaving me with a desire to see it again, to better see what was happening. So I look into the distance again and wait for a miracle. It’s interesting to look at the backs and tails, I don’t get tired of it. But when they go under the waterand and disappear from the surface, sadness comes. I would like to go there, after them. See them in their natural habitat, entirely. Therefore, I dream of swimming with them!
It's one thing to see them partially and above the water, and quite another thing to see them like I dream:
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After Iceland, I have been to several countries, in places where I also had the opportunity to see whales. For example, in South Africa, the town of Hermanus. Whales come here to give birth to children and stay here until the young whales grow up.
It has its own whale museum, and there are special platforms on the coastal cliffs to watch whale jumps and pirouettes. We were there in May, but whales are there from July to November. Alas, I didn't see them, so maybe it's worth coming back here?
Another place is beautiful New Zealand. Killer whales, humpback whales and sperm whales swim along the shores of the South Island. There is a lot of plankton, currents of different temperatures — an ideal place for whales to live all year round.
I passed both islands from north to south, and even scuba dived one day, but I never saw any whales. Eh! It would be great to visit this hospitable country again.
The cold northern islands of Norway are Lofoten. The warm Gulf Stream works wonders for the climate, making it quite mild, and the waters of these Norwegian islands are full of herring, which whales love. Bowhead whale, sperm whale, Biscay whale, blue whale, minke and killer whales... How tempting!
This photo was taken in Iceland, not Norway, but it fits the topic, because the Gulf Stream also rules the climate there. And I could see this cute whale tail at Lofoten — but no, no luck.
And this photo was taken on Kamchatka peninsula, Russia. A small trip across the Pacific Ocean on a inflatable motor boat along Zhirovaya Bay brought a lot of impressions. In the distance Vilyuchinskaya mount is visible, and a bunch of cormorants sits on the stones and admires the view. I saw a large family of sea otters, but again, no luck with whales. Well, what is it! :( Scientists studying killer whales are based on Cape Zeleny near Avacha Bay every year. I hope that someday I can join them as a volunteer.
But, to be honest, first of all I like to visit various new places, and not return to those where I have already visited. Just because the world is so huge, and few people have enough time and opportunity to see all the countries and their most interesting corners several times. So I want to have time to see more new interesting places.
Therefore, if I had $1000, I would spend this money on a 2-3 day sailing trip with whale watching and swimming in the Kingdom of Tonga! And I would definitely try to photograph them as best as possible for me under water :) What is this — Tonga, where is it and why there? Just look.
The Kingdom of Tonga is a piece of paradise, an archipelago of islands in the South Pacific. There are small coral islands, colorful lagoons and reefs, endless white sandy beaches, sun-drenched and decorated with coconut palms... and all this is certainly beautiful, but not unique. However, the main attraction of the kingdom's islands is the unique opportunity to combine these pleasant aspects of recreation with the opportunity to swim with humpback whales right in the open ocean. Every year, it is here that the migration routes of humpback whales from Antarctica pass — here the females give birth and raise their cubs, and it is this place that is rightfully considered the best in the world for observing humpback whales in their natural habitat.
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From July to October, these giants have offspring, and mothers and cubs remain in the shallow water between the numerous islands of the archipelago, waiting for them to grow up and ready to cross to the other side of the globe. The average body length of a newborn baby humpback whale is 4.5 m, and with such a baby it will be possible for people to frolic together in the water if the female whale, near which he is constantly present, does not sense the danger in us. Can you imagine how it is when a "baby" (three times more than you) is swimming around you, poking his nose, makes it possible for you to touch his belly and back? :) And next to him, his big and beautiful mother is napping, hovering in the water. I'd like to experience it myself! Of course, we can also find males paying attention to females, their potential partners, singing their whale serenades for them. All of this is amazing!
Of course, I can swim with whales not only there, but often it is done in colder waters, and there the water warms up above 22-23C and more and it should be very comfortable to swim. One of the reasons that gave me an idea about the islands of Tonga was featured on Pinmapple post of @narchuk called "To the end of the earth for whales". This is a well-known in Russia and, possibly, the world, underwater (and not only) photographer Andrey Narchuk, and I periodically follow his photos in some social media, and this is always something amazing ...
Yes, it will be very difficult, long and expensive to get to the Tonga: planes fly to the capital of the Kingdom from the island of Fiji, from New Zealand and Australia (another country where I dream of traveling ... but $1000 and not close enough for such a trip :)) — and from Russia it is very far and long to fly there. And then still I get to the island of Vava'u. And the entire $1000 will be spent on 2 or 3 nights on the ship, when in days we will sail and swim with these wonderful creatures — whales. For example, here one night costs $375-550. Expensive? Yes. But then I will fulfill my dream! And full-fledged tours or expeditions for 6-8 days, which I see from time to time, cost, for example, around $4500 and more. Maybe someday I'll go to one of these, and after that I'll do some more diving at the local reefs :)
This is one of my last underwater portraits made by @kibela
This is my entry to the Pinmapple "If I had $1000" Contest. The main thing is to have desire, some money and a bit of luck. May all our dreams come true!
All photos in this post were taken by me, except for those clearly indicated otherwise.
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