HUMPBACKS OF THE PACIFIC

RURUTU, FRENCH POLYNESIA

Every year from August to November, thousands of humpback whales migrate from their feeding grounds in Antarctica to the warm shallows of the South Pacific to give birth, raise their calves, and mate. Located in the Austral Archipelago in remote French Polynesia, the island of Rurutu is blessed with crystal clear waters and fringing reefs that transforms into a winter haven for several dozen humpback whales. For the past two years I’ve documented this migration in Rurutu, and spent the pervious two years documenting the same migration in Vava’u, Tonga.