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The sun was shinning as our snorkel guides Eva & Sofia went out on a full day trip to search for the elegant Manta Rays.  After the two first snorkel sites, the group was heading towards the uninhabited island of Dhiddo to enjoy their BBQ lunch.

Suddenly, one of the snorkelers, Nicki, spotted a huge black fin coming out of the water… Not sure at first whether it was a Manta Ray or Dolphin, they then realized that the black fin coming out of the water was a bit too big, and belonged in fact to a 10m long Humpback Whale! Needless to say, the snorkelers decided to postpone lunch and stay with the whale instead!

Humpback Whales are recognized by their barrel-shaped body and oversized flippers. Their name comes from the elevation (“hump”) that protrudes on their back (see photo) instead of a well-developed dorsal fin. Whale sightings inside the atoll are extremely rare – especially Humpbacks.

Find out more facts about this huge underwater creature by checking out another recent sighting by our team on Vakarufalhi in the South Ari Atoll – “Humpback Whale in the Ari Atoll”.

The group watched in amazement for a full 1 ½ hours and were rewarded for their patience with 2 jumps from the Humpback!