Kingdom of the Whales

Tim Rock · Issue 48, May/Jun 2009 · pp. 44–47

Products mentioned: Aquatica D200 Housing, Nikon D200, Tokina 10-17 lens, Sigma 10-20mm lens, Sigma 18-200 OS lens, Sigma 80-400mm OS lens, Kenko polarizer

The last Kingdom in the Pacific. And one of the last places on Earth a person can meet, face-to-face, one of the ocean’s largest mammals. Tonga. Sailors come to sail and party. Others drop out and drink kava. Locals live to praise the Lord with hauntingly beautiful choirs. Some come to stay in tidy lodges and wander deserted beaches. And whale lovers make the annual pilgrimage to see humpbacks. Tonga’s claim to fame for those wanting to be in the water with a whale is that its one of the few places on the planet where it is still legal to snorkel with these gentle giants. Various laws in other whale grounds around the world like Hawaii and South Africa allow for whale watching, a fascinating experience in itself. But that way you only get to see a fraction of what’s going on. In Tonga, you can watch above and below. It’s an exciting and often humbling experience. I was amazed at my first…