Heidi Connal

Beautiful weather – again. But this day was very little water time and a lot of boating around the islands. No complaints there; the scenery was gorgeous and the company fun.

We ran across a number of mother/calf pairs out in the blue, but we also had a number of boats cluttering the ocean and aggravating the whales enough so they dove.  We also had a few heat runs at a distance. But everything was fast moving so we had little chance to get in.  There was one set of mama/calf in a little cove that we found, long after lunch, but they were evasive.  Each time we went in the water they went deep. We could see the white of the calf’s belly but it was down, down, down.  And when they came up for air they came up and dove deep again.

We were dry, but happy. We usually returned to the island around 2:30 in the afternoon and spend the rest of the day snorkeling, napping, and reading – in no particular order. This day was sand dollar hunting with Serene and Eck, then reading until the sun went down.

Dinner was sashimi from the fresh catch the night before, followed by the lobster tail and our (now traditional) tequila shots.  Lots of laughter at the table tonight, sharing stories about each others’ children and teasing Gary about some cartoon character named “Peggy Pig” or something. Then we discovered he has a collection of children’s stories in his head.

The evening was closed up with a rousing crab-hunting round with the ever-ready Otto. He found a few and took his frustrations out on the crustaceans – having been spurned by his doggie girlfriend that day in town. Poor pup.

I woke early to enjoy a quiet coffee in the dining area with my journals. Mounu was a peaceful, lovely place. With really delicious coffee.

After breakfast was served we loaded up the Phoenix and took off for a day of whale-watching and – hopefully – swimming with them.  The process involved Allan driving the boat with his head out the top; and Tony, Emi, and Ma’ata on the top level watching for the slightest glimpse of activity.

Very soon they spotted something Tony said he’d only seen once before: about 4-5 whales breaching over and over again. All that activity turned into a heat run: the female expresses interest by slapping the water with her pectoral fins over and over again. Then the males come running.  What’s next is a pursuit in the water as the males give chase and she breaches over and over again.

The water was rough and rocky, and there were 2-3 other boats out there with us.

Next we headed inland to calmer waters and to search for a mother/calf combo.  What we found was a “singer” – a whale sitting still, upside down, and singing. He flapped the surface a few times with its fluke. When we got in the water it stood still for a moment then slowly moved down and tilted horizontally. Out of nowhere another whale showed up and the two of them disappeared off into the blue.

We arrived back at the island around 2PM (lunch was on the boat) – which gave plenty of time to nap, snorkel, or both.  I opted for a snorkel out in the shallows.

Dinner was a re-cap of the day, and how well we did (or didn’t) swim.  And also a very in-depth conversation of how the academic community publishes papers and studies, and yet doesn’t spend any time out or in the water with the whales.  They come down for 2 weeks, take photos of flukes, and consider that a study. They don’t use the resources of operators or the people who are out there every day.  And wouldn’t it be interesting if they did?

Mika picked me up at 6:20 and we moved to another hotel to pick up 2 more passengers (a young couple from the UK) and took us to the domestic terminal.  I’d learned from the prior day’s flight that I should consolidate back into one piece of luggage, and my overage charges were only about $20 USD.  To pass the time until the flight, I went to the little cafe next door to get a cappuccino.

I met three of the other six travelers: Gary and Indra from Singapore, and Laura from the US. We boarded our little plane for our 45 minute flight to Vava’u. Tony met us at the airport with Allan Bowe, the owner of the Mounu Island Resort, who gave us beautiful leis. We hopped in a little bus, stopped by a bodega and a market, and climbed into the boat – the Phoenix – for the 30 minute ride to Mounu. It was a grey, cloudy day – which was perfect for the beautiful boat ride.

 Mounu Island

Mounu Island Resort is a tiny, private island owned by Allan and his wife Lyn Bowe, who moved here 17 years ago so they could be closer to the whales. They have a few tiny cottages and one main dining area – with trees and sand in between. It’s lovely.  Laura and I were roommates and settled right into a normalcy which we’d perfect over the next few days. Starting with my unexpectedly long two-hour nap that afternoon.

There are eight of us total:  Tony and his wife Emiko, Gary and Indra, Serene and her friend Eck, Laura, and myself. We’re a group who’ve traveled far to get here and are passionate to see and learn about whales. Tony used dinnertime (delicious!) to brief us on our whale encounters.  There will be lots of swimming, and lots of boating, and occasionally executive decisions by Tony/Allan to move on from one whale and try for another.  Tony summarized our most likely encounters in three scenarios:

1) Heat Run – a single female slapping the water and calling the males come mate. This is a fast-moving, frenetic activity.

2) Mama and calf – a mother whale with her baby calf, sitting on the surface and breathing

3) Singer – a single whale, hanging horizontally upside down in the water and singing

For each of these, Tony advised us to “match the mood of the whale”. Meaning that some will be curious or inquisitive, some will be uninterested, and some will be unfriendly. This follows the same logic as any other mammal – elephants, gorillas, anything – is just to maintain awareness and enjoy.