Humpback whales
Breaching and blowing.
Boris T. Johnson — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Peter Gill / UK — CC BY 3.0 · Sylke Rohrlach from Sydney — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Sylke Rohrlach from Sydney — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Peter Gill / UK — CC BY 3.0 · Peter Gill / UK — CC BY 3.0
The Port of Refuge is a deep, sheltered bay on the south coast of Vavaʻu in northern Tonga, with the town of Neiafu on its shore. Calm blue water holds many yachts, with small green islands around and tree-covered hills. Vavaʻu is a group of one large island and about 40 smaller ones. The first European to arrive was the Spanish captain Francisco Mourelle in 1781, who named the bay Port of Refuge after finding a safe anchorage there. Neiafu is Tonga's second-largest town, with about 3,800 people, and above it rises flat-topped Mount Talau. From May to October humpback whales come to Vavaʻu's waters, and trips go out to watch them and swim with them. You walk the Neiafu waterfront, seeing yachts on the water and green islands on the horizon. In whale season you go out by boat to watch the great whales breach and blow, or swim with them with a guide. Vavaʻu is about 304 km north-east of Nukuʻalofa, reached by plane or ferry. Walking is free and whale trips cost extra. Choose a licensed operator and do not get closer to the whales than the guide allows.
Breaching and blowing.
Yachts on calm water.
Flat top above town.
Port of Refuge, Neiafu, main island of Vavaʻu
May to October.
By plane or ferry from Nukuʻalofa.