Beau Pilgrim here with an update from my recent trip to Vava’u in the Kingdom of Tonga. Have you ever wondered where the all those humpback whales heading north end up? The answer is Tonga, along with other pacific islands, providing the perfect shelter for birthing and mating in the warmer waters during the winter months. These majestic creatures have such a gentle presence in the water, and I was lucky enough to have some incredible interactions during my time in Vava’u.
I had the experience of a lifetime, when a fully-grown male humpback breached just metres from me. It sure scared the living daylights out of me. I was fortunate enough to capture the whole experience on my GoPro which was mounted to the top of my water housing. Some of you may have already seen the video doing the rounds on Channel Nine and online. If you haven’t seen it, you can check it out here. I managed to capture one of the rarest phenomena’s, when the whale re-entered the water. In the ‘Breach Re-entry’ photo below, you can see the skin and barnacles, which have been dislodged from the whale on impact to the water.
If you’ve had your eyes peeled at the horizon the past few weeks, you’ll notice the whales have already begun their migration south. The whale season in Tonga is mid July to early October. I hope my ‘whale of a time’ brings a smile to your Monday inbox. Remember all these prints are available in the Frothers Gallery for framing. Why not spoilt your mum for Christmas.
Sometimes waking up before dawn comes with its share of disappointments & deceptions. Some other times, it’s quite the opposite: you get to the beach hoping for a little and you get much more than your expectations. Today was one of those mornings.
The clouds made for a super dramatic sunrise like I fancy them. Warm oranges mixing with dark low level clouds and a bit of rough swell. Then the waves, breaking pretty much everywhere alongside the ‘burbs. Relatively clean, hollow and surfable.
So, after a couple of hours shooting our ‘hood, I came back to the office with a big smile on my face, knowing that the memory cards contained some good content.
Did you step out to go to work this morning but went straight back in to get an extra layer? I feel you.
Spring is on-hold for the day. Strong SWesterly & messy South swell is all you will find. Only 2 brave souls took on Bronte for a couple of waves, but it didn’t look fun nor inviting to me.
We were hoping to get some nice windsurfing shots this morning with some of the local boys, but the wind turned out to be much too West for it. Shame.
So, instead I’d reckon we’d give you a quick tour of some of the artwokrs that you can find in the Muchacho Store (35 Hall Street in Bondi). No need to wait for the production of your piece, it’s ready to pick up from the walls. They come in different sizes and frame types, ideal for any kind of walls an budgets. Perfect for a (last minute) present. They won’t be there for long, so hurry!
There are a couple more that I will inform you about in the next few days.
If I had to describe today in 4 words: Flat. Sunny. Windy. Chilly.
I was still nice to have a scout around this morning, despite the lack of activity in the water. A large pod of dolphins came to say g’day. Last night, I was actually spotting whales just outside of the bay, and this morning, dolphins were jumping around. Even when not much is happening around here, well, there’s always something happening nonetheless.
I hope you guys had a great weekend. Maybe you’ve even had some time to watch the craziness that was going down in France for the Quiky Pro. Toledo & JJF took things to the next level. See here.
Today is just a quick up-date from the beach. Only some interesting high altitude textured clouds and some strong(ish) winds to report. No need to say that this wind is not helping: the surf is small (1-3ft) and mushy. Not much to expect on that front today I’m afraid.
It was a bit chilly at sunrise, and the beach was actually not that busy, surprisingly. But wait: we should go over the 30ºC mark today. Tomorrow? Well, we should not go over 18ºC. Are we in Melbourne?
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