RECENT VISITS

Pictured: On the boat to go see humpback whales! Bucket list!

In total we saw 16 whales in 1 day, and we were told that was a VERY good day. We weren’t prepared for how physically strenuous it is to swim up to the whales as well as keep up with them, but every part of the experience was worth it. I only wish we had more days in Tonga! What an incredible and sacred feeling place.

Pictured: Taking a scooter out to the far end of the island, past where they dump the trash and where there are even less people

We spent 3 nights in Tuvalu and mostly spent our time walking around both sides of the island, and undoubtedly walking to the airstrip every night to see how the locals enjoy their community time together. It was there that we were met with many smiles, laughs, waves and nods. Tuvaluans are very friendly people.

Pictured: Walking around our resort, Taumeasina

We had a short but great stay in Samoa. It reminded us of Hawaii. We relaxed at the hotel, walked around the resort and the nearby neighborhoods, walked to an incredible italian dinner spot, watched locals prepare to play rugby, play rugby, then walk home from playing rugby. We even got trained by a Samoan rugby pro in the hotel gym.

Pictured: Flying into Vanuatu from The Solomon Islands

Pictured: Walking through the market on Friday afternoon

We stayed 2 nights in the Solomon Islands on the main island in the city of Honiara. The Solomon Islands takes government assistance from a number of countries, and it’s easy to tell that they are a developing country. There were a lot of WW2 ship wrecks that we could have dove to, but there were not many dive shops still in business on the island.

Pictured: Arriving at Turtle Island with princess service; Hailey being carried off by “Fijian Warriors”

Midway through our tour of the South Pacific Island countries, we stopped at the oasis of Turtle Island in Fiji. The whole island belongs to 1 owner and the trip was magical from start to finish. The seaplane ride out over the Yasawa Islands was a sight to see and we had incredible weather and peace for almost a week!