‘Hello’ said the whale as he swam closer and closer. ‘Hello’ said the whale as he craned for some intelligent response. Finally in frustration at their lack of courtesy he came rushing in fast, stopped, then gave a gentle nudge. ‘What part of hello did you not get! Ah …, memories of Tonga. I can’t […]
Read Moregratitude
Downside Up
Downside upside downside up …. It’s quite irrelevant to a whale’s watery realm. Meeting George this year in Vava’u, Tonga, was one of the most extraordinary moments of my life and has set things in motion I could never have envisioned. I have already written about George and my first encounter with him in an […]
Read MoreScratch My Belly
Like a puppy dog he rolled over and over with joyful abandon. You could almost feel the whale speak, ‘scratch my belly’. There was absolutely no doubt that he loved our attention and we all loved his even if it was a little scary and intimidating at times. Our experience with George off the island […]
Read MoreTogetherness
Twenty metres below us the pair just hung there on the bottom, motionless, a strange stillness in an ever moving ocean. A silhouette against the white sand, too far down to make out their detail, not so deep as to be hidden from our gaze. Almost as if they wanted our attention. It was their […]
Read MoreJasmine and the Whale
‘Play with me’, the whale suggested as he circled the girl closer and closer. How do you play with a creature 400 times your diminutive frame? ‘Play with me’, the whale intoned with a soundless expression and an oh so gentle nudge. How do you not panic, how do you trust being pushed through the […]
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