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(WHALE SONG)
(TONGAN CHOIR)
DARREN>> 'We're hoping to see humpback whales today.
In fact, I'm sure we're going to see humpback whales today.
And they're going to be performing for us so that we have a wonderful Wednesday.'
'We've got to see a heat run in the next few days.
If we're lucky, that would be the piece de resistance.
KARA: 'And what's a heat run?'
DARREN: 'A heat run is where one poor single female is getting chased by a bunch of randy males.
If we get to see that, I think we've seen one of the most spectacular things in wildlife,
on the whole planet.'
NARRATOR>> 'We don't dive straight into spectacular on our whale swimming journey here in Vava'u,
Tonga.
Days on the boat pass quickly as we cruise around scouting for whales,
but our first day is quiet,
and we see no whales at all.
Our luck on subsequent days is better, though.
Our first whale encounter is with a singer,
a male whale who is most likely singing for mating and courtship purposes.'
(WHALE SONG)
NARRATOR>> Soon after, we come across a quieter female whale,
who seems to crave some attention.
The next day, we have the pleasure of swimming with a mother and a very interactive calf.
DARREN>> 'We just had a really cool calf who we've swum with a couple times this year
so is very friendly
come right up to us and flap around and wave its tail and its pecks and give us a big smile
and everybody had a fantastic time, I think.
From what I can hear anyway.
(CHEERING)
NARRATOR>> 'As for the heat run, it remains elusive for a few days,
but then, suddenly, it's Theatrical Thursday.
And the heat run is on.'
DARREN>> 'So, we're in the middle of a heat run.
There's four adult males chasing one female.
And it's a pretty exciting time.
We're about four miles offshore, in a big swell,
there's lots of whales,
and Ali's working hard to get us in the right spot so we can get a drop
and see these guys under the water.'
VOICES ON BOAT>> 'Go right! Go right!'
(TONGAN CHOIR)
NARRATOR>> 'The fun isn't over, though.
Right after the heat run, we experience what Darren says is his best swim of the 2013 whale
swimming season.'
KARA>>'So we're having the best whale swim ever right now.
There's a whale out there that's come up to the boat and done an eye spy....
(TONGAN CHOIR)
DARREN>> 'So this encounter that we had yesterday
was one of those amazing encounters with wildlife
where you're not just voyeuristically watching what's going on.
You're actually part of the action of the day.
We got such great interaction we had people on the boat who were in tears after seeing the whales,
and that happens occasionally.
It's quite an emotional moment for many people.
When you look into their eyes you can really see how conscious they are
and how much they are looking for something from us.
They're watching people as much as we're watching them.'
(TONGAN CHOIR)