Honeymoon in Tonga

After a relaxing and amazing honeymoon to Tonga and Australia Blue Abaya is back in Riyadh and back to blogging!

So why did we choose Tonga for our honeymoon? The Kingdom of Tonga has not been ruined by mass-tourism and there is lots of authentic culture and uninhabited islands left to explore which is my kind of destination. Also we wanted to see the humpback whales that come to the area around a certain time of year to give birth to their calves. Mother humpback whales can be seen nursing their young and frolicking in the shallow waters. Currently Tonga is the only place on earth where it's allowed to swim and snorkel with whales, if you're lucky to get that close. Humpback whales can often be seen breaching out from the ocean resulting in HUGE splashes and amazed spectators. The male whales sing beautiful songs which we heard when snorkeling. It was truly magical.

The island we stayed on was very private and romantic. We had a traditional Tongan chalet with a private beach and at times we were the only people staying on the island. We fell asleep to the sound of the waves and woke up listening to birds singing on our porch. Our days went by with snorkeling, kayaking, reading books and walking on the beach looking for seashells. One morning a mother and calf humpback whale were breaching right next to our beach.
Here's some pictures from these beautiful Pacific Islands..

 Male singer whale..

 Whale mom breeching! I was lucky to catch it on camera. After a while the baby and the mother came up at the same time.

 View from our Tongan chalet.

 Like a post card!

 Mom and baby on the go.

 Snorkeling on our private beach.

 Private beach and honeymoon chalet, paradise :)

Notice the little newborn calf next to the mother? So cute!

We went on a few boat trips to search for the whales that can often be found nursing the young in the shallow waters. It was incredible how many whales we saw in just a few hours! They didn't seem to mind the boats at all. I got a chance to snorkel next to one mother and calf. You don't realize how big they are until you feel like a tiny ant next to them. Even the fins seem like airplane wings underwater. Truly breath taking.

The experience of seeing a whale and calf so close by was one of the best moments of my life! My dive camera did a trick on me and the few photos I got from the experience were ruined. But the below pics are from the same place taken by a snorkeler:

They are such graceful gentle giants

I will never forget the magnificent Tonga and the warm genuinely friendly people, the pristine beaches and clear waters and of course, the wonderful whales!