Diving in Vava’u ticked lots of boxes for those of us who love to escape a soggy NZ winter. Warm sea temps – 25 degrees, clear blue water, beautiful underwater structures and plentiful coral and fish life. Add to that, with it being whale season, abundant Humpback whales. From individuals, mother/calf/escort groups, to heat runs all making for some very special moments for us to take home the memories of and savour for months to come.
Diving with Tongan Dive Expeditions proved to be a really enjoyable experience with our lead dive guide being two of our former students – the lovely Shona Whittaker and her partner Ash Lambert. Shona took our group with its range of abilities, to explore some of the nooks and crannies of Vava’u. We experienced some nice coral reefs, explored caves, dived Shark Tooth cave and Pelagic Pinnacle with its pelagic fish life were some of our highlights. Sea temps in late July were a lovely 25 degrees and visibility ranged between 20 and 30 metres. This is Tongan Expeditions web site: http://www.tonganexpeditions.com
But we have to say for us the highlight of the trip was the Humpback Whales. Every year from July to November the whales complete their migration from the cold feeding waters south of New Zealand and Australia, to the warmer tropical waters of Tonga where they give birth to calves and perform courtship readying themselves for the next season.
With wonderful displays of activity – breaching, spy hopping and fin slapping were encountered on the surface of the water. Throughout July to November the waters surrounding Vava’u are filled with music as the Humpback Whales sing their hearts out. If you want to enjoy an experience of a lifetime, book yourself a dive trip to Vava’u during whale season. We used Dolphin Pacific Diving for our whale trips and this is their web site http://www.dolphinpacificdiving.com
And if you want to join us at Dive Zone Whitianga on one of our fab dive trips then keep an eye on our trips page here: http://www.divezone.co.nz/whitianga/trips