One of the people who was with me in early August snapped this photograph during what was probably the most interactive encounter that we had while I was in Tonga this year.
The whale in front of me in the photo is a female, one of a male/ female pair playing under and around a catamaran when we came across them. Once we got in the water, the pair continued their frolicking while making time to come around and check each and every one of us out.
I'm much closer to the camera than the whale is, so the whale is actually considerably larger than it appears...say roughly seven times my length or so!
I posted a few images of this playful pair on Flickr.
Thanks Kimura-san!