A whale of a time in tropical Tonga

Maketu photographer Andy Belcher has dived and taken underwater photos throughout the world but reckons his trip to Tonga last August ticked three spectacular items off his "bucket list".
He was so stoked by the trip he has enthusiastically agreed to accompany another group this August to enjoy and photograph humpback whales and other aspects of island life.
Andy's trip was a spontaneous decision after an old friend, with whom he had photographed orca in Tauranga Harbour, attended his photo workshop at Maketu.
The friend, Brandon Stone, was heading to Tonga to swim with humpback whales and invited Andy along.
They joined about nine others for a two-week trip.
The first week was spent in the northern Vava'u group of islands, with five days of boat trips promising encounters with pods of humpback whales and their calves.
On the first day out, it took about 2-3 hours to find any whales.
"Nothing really prepares you for for your first moments in the water beside a huge 40-tonne humpback," says Andy.
Tourists are only allowed to swim with mask, snorkel and fins - no scuba gear.
"The water is so clear, it's magic. Visibilty under water can reach 60-70m. I imagined I'd only glimpse these creatures but the Tongan boat skipper puts swimmers in the water ahead of the whales so you can experience them swim by."
On the second boat trip, they found whales only 10 minutes after setting out.
"We swam within two metres of them," says Andy of seeing two humpbacks - one very pregnant female in the water with its head down and the other escort male muzzling it head-to-head. "After about 25 minutes, they separated and surfaced to breathe. It was great for us, swimming around them as they were motionless for so long."
Another day, the tour party came upon a humpback mother and calf. The calf started breaching (leaping out of the water).
The guide warned onlookers to get their cameras ready in case the mother also breached. A few moments later she leaped completely clear of the water and delighted everyone with a spectacular photo opportunity.
One day, as they were about to come off the water with no whale encounters, the skipper raced across to where another boat which had called on the radio, and advised everyone "to jump in the water and swim about 20 metres from the boat's port side.
"A 15-metre whale shark came straight towards us. It was magnificent. I couldn't believe my luck. I've always wanted to swim with and photograph the world's largest fish and there it was right beside me," says Andy, still excited by the memory nearly six months after the event.
"We spent about 90 minutes swimming with the whale shark. We'd hop back on the boat and the skipper would move ahead of it and drop us off to wait for it.
"No matter how fast you swim, you'll never keep up with any of these creatures. They look as if they are barely moving but really they are motoring along."
He estimated the whale shark was approaching 15-16 tonnes, fully grown size for the species. "It was my best marine encounter ever."
But there's also plenty to see and photograph above the water. Lots of flukes and tail slapping.
Included in the holiday was a self-drive 4WD adventure through villages and farmland to explore and photograph the wild eastern side of Vava'u.
The perfect white beaches and rugged coastline offer other sights - such as blowholes - to marvel at and photograph.
Another unplanned experience was catching a 188kg blue marlin.
That was the third item on his list of "experiences before I die," said Andy.
He was so enthused by the whole trip that Andy has agreed to return this year to lead an exotic photography and swimming with humpback whales tour.
The Tonga end of the holiday will be taken care of by Mr Stone who operates an adventure tourism business called On the Wild Side.
The trip will run from August 22-31 and cost $4480 per person.
The tour party will be restricted to 14 people. They will fly to Tongatapu and stay overnight before flying on to Vava'u.
*  Bookings can be made with Andy Belcher. Details on the website, www.andybelcher.com. You can also phone 533-2282 or 021 444 830.