WHALES

Seems a bit dramatic, but this was easily one of the top ten days of my life—and Aitutaki is probably the nicest place I’ve ever been.

It’s hard to put my finger on exactly why, but there’s something extraordinary about the vibe here. The people, the sense of community, the cruising lifestyle, the island itself… and of course, the whales. Where do I even begin?

After a great night’s sleep and of course, coffee and morning dip, I walked up the road to rent a scooter. One of the dive instructors I’d met the day before happened to be heading out for a private tour. She saw me and said, “Why don’t you join us? We’re heading out to swim with the whales.”

Heck yeah!

I sprinted back to the boat, grabbed my freediving gear, and made it back just as they fired up the engine.

We motored out through the pass and, almost immediately, found a pair of humpback whales. The skipper shut off the engine, and the four of us slipped into the water. Suddenly, I was just 10 metres away from a pregnant female and a male, calmly resting beneath us. They were hovering at about 10–15 metres deep, their tubercle, their head, almost touching, completely relaxed and seemingly unfazed by our presence.

After about five minutes, the female slowly rose to the surface for a breath. As she floated upward, she kept looking directly at us. It felt as though she was completely aware of where we were and had chosen to come up right beside us.

As she approached, I was convinced I was in her way, so I swam off to the side. She adjusted ever so slightly and still surfaced right next to me. Her eye was about the size of my head. Had I reached out, I could have touched her—but that thought never crossed my mind. Being that close to an animal that enormous, so gentle and so completely at ease, was overwhelming.

She took a few slow breaths before gracefully diving back down to join her partner.

They could have disappeared into the deep at any moment, but instead they stayed with us for nearly two hours.

The videos below don’t do the experience justice. They never do.

Those two hours were, without question, among the five greatest moments of my life.