Sea kayaking holiday in Tonga
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
While swimming with humpback whales is common practice in Tonga, we will favour financially supporting an operator who discourages tourists from swimming with humpback whales, so as to prevent harassment.
We consider running these trips our way of giving back to the environment as our guests return better educated and likely to vote or support these environments, their culture and wildlife. People learn on the trip about the effect of global warming – the impact that something as simple as losing the lens cap of a camera might have on fragile environment such as this.
This is a guided active, self propelled wilderness adventure. We minimize the use of motor vehicles. Once we are dropped off in the wilderness, we are walking and paddling across a landscape, noticing everything, but leaving nothing but footprints in our wake. The little garbage we generate is carried out with us. Fresh water sources are fiercely protected against contamination.
Community
We are using a local operator on this trip. Only Tongans are allowed to run sea kayaking trips in Tonga. We use their boats, a Tongan outfitter, their guides and foods. We have developed a healthy relationship with Tongans over the years. They keep in touch, especially when a disaster occurs. For instance if a ship sinks, we might send some money down to help the community. We hire a Tongan woman and her family to prepare a cultural feast for us. This women spends days preparing the meal. The kids dance and the feast is accompanied by a live musical performance. There is a special feeling in witnessing the last of the intact South Pacific. Only Tonga has never been governed by another country.
We start our trips by supporting the local communities wherever we travel, from shopping for our supplies to lodging, and, whenever possible, hiring local guides. Our trip goals include educating and connecting people to nature and the outdoors through natural history based expeditions. We diligently promote cultural preservation and environmental awareness from our pre-departure information to our no trace practices in the field. As our guests explore the wonders of our world, we hope to help everyone gain new insights and perspectives on other cultures and environments as well as our own and foster a sense of our interconnectedness.
