TONGA AND THE ROYAL HUMPBACK WHALES

Lat: 18 29.8S / Long: 174 00.6W

We had a fast crossing from Samoa with average winds of 20 knots. We had one reef in the main, partially sailed with a reefed staysail and later with a full genoa. Easterly from Tonga we had to cross the Tonga Trench, with 6,761 miles under our keel, its one of the deepest ocean valleys in the world.

When we arrived in the evening after one and a half days and passed the small islands, which are flat, green and covered by dense vegetation, playful humpback whales gave us a royal welcome: With their massive bodies they breached out throwing two-thirds of their bodies out of the water then splashed down on their backs. What a show! …And where was the boat’s photographer along with her camera? She was on hand, but due to the distance and the light conditions a perfect snapshot was unfortunately not quite achieved.

Humpback whales migrate up to 25,000 kilometers (16,000 miles) each year. Humpbacks feed only in summer, in polar waters, and migrate to tropical or subtropical waters to mate, breed and give birth again in the following winter. In the winter months, humpbacks fast and live off their fat reserves. The species' diet consists mostly of krill and small fish.

After we dropped anchor in Neiafu at Vava'u, located in the central part of the archipelago, we celebrated Regine's birthday.

The Kingdom of Tonga, formerly called The Friendly Islands, is an archipelago that comprises 169 islands of which only 36 are inhabited.

According to archaeological theories the first settlers who came to Tonga around 3000 BC in the course of migration not only came from Southeast Asia but also from Micronesia (Taiwan and the Philippines). The oldest findings of this so-called "Lapita’’ culture discovered in Tonga were ceramic articles, dated back 800 to 750 BC. The members of this culture lived, sailed, traded, fought and married between the islands, which now belong to Samoa, Fiji or Tonga, for about a thousand years before other explorers and settlers eventually departed to the Marquesas and Tahiti, and then to other islands of the South Pacific. Therefore anthropologists describe Tonga, Samoa and Fiji as the cradle of Polynesian culture.

We found small, uninhabited islands with beautiful white powdery sand beaches.

Tonga has about 101,000 inhabitants, 98 percent of them are Polynesians. The remaining inhabitants are mostly Europeans or Chinese and Indians. A large part of the Tongan citizens live (in the absence of work, habitable and agriculture land) permanently abroad, especially in Australia, New Zealand and the USA.

The people of Tonga like to eat a lot and traditionally food which is very high in calories (including the fattening yam and coconut oil). 

Although in Tonga fat people are still considered beautiful, the state introduced a program for nutrition counseling and encouraged the population to more sports. This was necessary because some 58 per cent of men and 75 per cent of women had a body mass index, which was well over 30. At the time King Taufaahau Tupou IV (1918 -2006) initiated a national competition in which the Tongan with the greatest weight loss won $ 500. The king himself succeeded to reduce his weight by 70 kilograms from approximately 210 kg.

The men wear a toavala. A woven mat held together at the waist with a woven cord. It is a sign of being „dressed up’’.

This young woman is wearing the national costume, an ankle-length wrap skirt, called tupenu. She fastened it with a black cord around the waist, which means that a close relative has died. We met her in a mobile shop and asked to be allowed to take a photo. So the caption should read: Tradition and Innovation or Tupenu and Telecommunication - like Laptop and Lederhosen...

The toavala and tupenu are made in a complex process from the leaves of the pandanus plant. The women wash the leaves, which were soaked earlier, with sea water and then bleach them in the sun.

We learned a lot about the local flora by visiting the Eneio Botanical Garden. It is the pride of Haniteli its 66-year-old founder, who gave us a tour. He had studied in what was then West Berlin and later became the head of the Ministry of Agriculture. In this role Haniteli traveled the world, was even received by Pope John Paul II . Wherever he was Haniteli collected many plant seeds in order to later fulfill his dream of an own botanical garden. His relatives and friends called him crazy to invest his money in "weeds''. He was not discouraged and on the day he retired, he was able to open the garden to the public.

Haniteli adorned the tour of his little paradise with amusing anecdotes and told us proudly how he collects donor funds....

... whoever donates an amount of several hundred dollars, will have a path in the garden named after him - but only for three years, then new money has to come in...

As part of a friendship treaty on 18 May 1900 Tonga became a British protectorate. On 4 June 1970, it received its independence and is now a member of the Commonwealth and since 1999 and also a member of the United Nations. It is still the only (constitutional) monarchy throughout the Polynesian area and through all the centuries was able to resist successfully all colonization efforts.

Therefore the small kingdom has not been influenced by the outside world. Which accounts for its charm. Consequently, it has not received much outside support either, so Tonga is still very much a developing nation. And that shows. The people seem poorer than the Samoans or French Polynesians. They live a subsistence existence in small villages and near their bush gardens.

The economy of Tonga is largely derived from land and sea. Seafood makes up 23 per cent and farm products 72 per cent. Pumpkins amount for over 50 per cent. A small percentage goes to vanilla.

Whaling was once popular but when no longer allowed, Tonga has turned to the new industry of whale watching.

As we had already done some whale watching, we joined a local tour operator to go ‘swimming with the whales’. And indeed it was an incredible experience: We were able to come very close to a mother humpback whale and her calf as well as some other adult whales.

At birth, calves measure 13 feet (4 m) weigh about 2,3 tons. The mother, by comparison, is about 50 feet (15 m) and weighs up to 32 tons. They nurse the calves for approximately six months, during which they grow to 24,6 feet (7,5 m). The milk is highly fat and has a consistency like cottage cheese. We were told that the mother while feeding its young loses up to one ton of body mass a day!

The humpback social structure is loose-knit. Typically, individuals live alone or in small, transient groups that disband after a few hours. The whales move through the water with great elegance. Because they are curious, they look at you. Some divers say that looking into theeye (it is located at the end of its jaw) of a whale, had changed her life ... 

Humpback whales can reach a length of about 13 meters to 18 meters (42,6 - 59 ft). They weigh 25 to 36 tons. The injuries that occur when rivals are fighting, are mostly superficial, but leave significant scars on the back skin of the animals.

Characteristic the humpbacks diving behavior, is that he first makes a hump before diving – therefore the name. While descending it raises the tail out of the water

Tonga also has beautiful diving and snorkeling availabilities.

In Tonga we had a boat-rendezvous with the motor yacht Calliope, which is following the same travel route as the Zefiro.

We are expecting to meet Calliope and our American friends Leslie and Angus Littlejohn (here with their relative Carol) again in New Zealand.

Our next stop is New Zealand. Gerhard and Regine will disembark and fly back home. Zefiro and part of the crew will be waiting in Auckland for their return.

See you soon!

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