We have been back and forth to the Giggling Whale, where Sandy and his wife Cathy, the owners are fun and very entertaining if you are interested in some conversation regarding the islands, the foods, and the customs. Don't miss their hamburger and beer special at lunchtime. Sandy is also very yachtie friendly and will help with LP and fuel jug fills. My next favorite in Nieafu is Beluga Diving. We did a 2 stop scuba dive on our first Monday and the following Monday we went with them on a whale watching/snorkeling trip.
The whale watching, which inspired our "Sweetpea Fan Club" T-shirts, deserves a paragraph of it's own. Beluga dive took 14 visitors and 4 crew, including May a marine biologist. We were fortunate enough to find a very accomadating mother humpback and her baby to visit. Abiding by the rules which included only 4 customers with a guide in the water at a time, we were able to enjoy the snorkel of a lifetime. Slipping in as quietly as we could and swimming from the boat we became audience and entertaiment to a mother and her less-than-week old calf. Just to clarify, it's important to note this baby is over 6 feet long, more likely 10 feet and I cannot even guess its weight. Gordon was even a little intimated as well as awed when the baby swam at him approximately 6 feet away. Gratefully the guide was in close proximety assuring all that it was safe. We watched baby trail a pectoral fin along mama's back from tail to nose. We saw the baby, who we named Sweetpea, bump mamas belly to release milk and witnessed maternal instincts take over when mother cradled her infant in large pectoral fins. Not one person came out of the water, including the guides without a look of immense satisfaction and the uttering or "Aahs", "Wows", or "Amazing". There might have been a "Brilliant" or two from our good friends Trish and Steve on "Curious". I know that everyone was enchanted with this encounter and most likely all are ready to join in with others to protect these humpback whales.