amazing day

Carter finished his school early, changed into his bathing suit and boogie boarded to the beach to play with Finley and Connor. Ocean Breezes, anchored right next to us, has the nicest boys and both of our kids enjoy them. Ellie didn't do so well with school, but after lunch we took our mats, magazines and masks to the beach for a bit of sun, snorkeling and snoozing. Pete and Carter did a dinghy trip to a cave and returned a few hours later to join in the beach fun. We have never seen a higher density of fish in all the snorkeling we've done. Not as many species as in Moorea, but definitely lots. We've discovered that clown fish are not as cute and cuddly as Nemo makes them seem. Several of us have been attached by them as they defend their nests. Pete saw a lion fish and got a terrific picture, which I'm sure will show up on the website next time we post photos.

Just as things were winding up at the beach and everyone's tummies started growling, I spotted whales. Pete had said in the morning that the two things he wanted to do in Tonga were caves and whales. We jumped in dinghies and headed over to the other side of the bay. A mother humpback and her calf put on quite a show for at least 45 minutes. People here swim with the whales and get within a few feet of them. Too many snorkelers were already in the water though, so we just took video and oohed and aahed in amazement. The baby, who is probably 20 feet long, splashed it's tail over and over, poked his nose out of the water, slapped his fins and generally acted like a rambunctious kid. Mom hovered patiently at the surface or just below. Adult humpbacks reach 42 feet in length. We floated in the dinghy about 100 yards away, which is the recommended legal limit. Lots of people zoom right up in their boats, but it is frowned upon. Our respect paid off when they decided to moved away from the group and came right at us. Kelly in Wyndeavor's eyes got so big when the mothers back appeared on the surface like a slow moving submarine headed right for them. Mike quickly backed up, and Pete filmed. They passed within 75 feet of us, blowing, rolling and fluking. Nothing like a 25 ton animal coming at your 10 foot dinghy to get your heart beating. They passed beyond us, and continued to play further down the bay. We'd like to try swimming with them, but only when they aren't so overwhelmed with attention. Lots of our friends have swum with them and rave about the experience.

We finished off the day with a game night on Wyndeavor and caught up on news. What a day!!

The birthday party the other day gave all the kids in Tonga a chance to play together and all the adults a nice visit. It's great to be back in a small island group where everyone is together. Between the Societies and here there are so many choices, we didn't see some people for months. Today we're off to another anchorage around the corner. It's supposed to have great diving and shelling. Hopefully school will go better today and the sun will stay out.

-Kellie