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This year marks our 25^th Anniversary taking people to swim with humpback whales in the South Pacific. After more than 2 decades and over 1000 days in the water with these amazing creatures, I think we have learned a lot about Humpback whales. Through education, research programs, ethical practice and conservation efforts, we support the protection of this unique environment and its inhabitants.

What makes us different is we are looking for that quality experience, not just a chance encounter but something that connects you with these amazing creatures and the ocean. We run several citizen science programs for reef health surveys, whale identification, beach clean ups, as well as Marine biologist lecturers and photography workshops.

No one does it like us and we have 25 years of experience that ensures you are in the best hands.

If you’ve been following any Tonga-related social media accounts, you will have seen the excitement about the new snowy-white calf born this year.  After analysing the photos from various encounters, our marine biologist Alice Forrest has been able to confirm there were in fact two separate white calves!

Photos by: Alice Forrest (left), Tris Sheen, Adam McKnight (top right)

Alice, together with Tris Sheen from Whale Discoveries, analysed the fluke shots of both mothers as well as photos of both calves to confirm that they were separate individuals.

No white calves have previously been documented in Tonga (that we are aware of), so to encounter not one, but two this year, is extremely rare. It also shows the power of citizen science, and how much we can learn from a simple photo.

Excited to be awarded the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the year 2024. This is the 2nd time I have been awarded overall winner of this iconic Australian competition, in 2021 and 2024. This is truly an honour and a privilege to be among such a high calibre of photographers. The launch of the exhibition showcases 90 pieces of work from an eclectic group of photographers across several genres.

Ocean Souls is a natural history documentary about the intricate lives of cetaceans and a collaboration of more than 100 film makers. I had the opportunity to be part of this project providing an extensive series of footage for the film. The film uses the best images from the world’s greatest marine photographers and filmmakers. It shows the largest diversity of cetaceans ever presented on screen. With perspective that include aerial, land and underwater footage, while showcasing on-camera celebrities, subject matter experts and scientists. The film to date has received more than a dozen accolades and continues to be one of the most prominent cetacean documentaries of its time.

You can see the film here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/oceansoulsenglish

The Whale Vision Exhibition premiered in Iceland’s capital with hundreds of visitors stopping by each day at the first whale conservation exhibition organized by the conservation group “Hard to Port”. My work was exhibited with some of the worlds best whale photographers to help support education and hopefully inspire others to act for our oceans and their inhabitants.

The World Photographic Cup is an international competition where countries get the opportunity to enter a portfolio of images to be presented and judged on the world stage. The AIPP, as the representative body for photography in Australia, submits work from selected members as Team Australia. I am proud to be a part of team Australia with my award winning image of a false killer whale and her calf taken in the waters of Tonga. This was selected from the Nature and Wildlife category at the Silver lining awards which won 1st place in 2020.

The efforts of all the finalists were enough to bring home the World Photographic Cup, first place overall!! Australia is now only the third country to achieve the feat of winning the WPC TWICE. Huge congratulations to the fellow Aussie team; Forough Yavari, Joshua Holko, Andy Cheung, Steve Scalone

Over the past two decades, I have devoted myself to documenting and capturing the behaviour of humpback whales in Tonga, a group of islands in the middle of the South Pacific. In 2019 I asked Director Stefan Andrews to join me in Tonga and produce a documentary about these amazing creatures and my experience learning about the intricate lives of these gentle giants. Over the past 20 years I have been collecting data to support the research efforts of many organisations. In 2014 I launched a research initiative called the Tongan Fluke Collective, which encourages visiting photographers to donate tail shots in an effort to identify individuals and learn more about the Humpback whale population in Tonga. The film shows the beauty of these majestic creatures and explores Scott’s close connection to these animals and showcases a fascinating variety of unique whale behaviour.

https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/372698210

In 2021 we are launching a new series of whale experiences in Australia and Norway. Whether you are interested in experiencing the warm waters of the Great Barrier Reef or the wonders of the Northern lights, there is something amazing for everyone in this series.

Humpback whales at Ningaloo Reef, WA

As the humpbacks arrive in large numbers to breed and give birth, you will bear witness to one of nature’s great events. The crystal clear waters of Ningaloo Reef are the perfect place for nurturing mothers teaching their calves how to be whales, while groups of whales demonstrate their overwhelming presence. Your day is filled with excitement, only stopping to explore the coral reefs and abundant marine life that inhabits the Western Australia coastline. 

Minke whales, Great Barrier Reef, QLD

Minke whales make their way through the Great Barrier Reef during the winter months which makes June and July the best months to experience these beautiful creatures up close and personal. These inherently curious whales have been known to seek out and investigate vessels in the water and enjoy interacting with swimmers which makes for a wonderful experience.

Orcas, Norway

This trip is for anyone interested in orcas, humpback whales, Northern lights and spectacular fjords. The best time of the year for this phenomena is November and January when the balance between light and access to herring and whales is at its best. The winter days in Norway provide excellent light for photography. We will spend the daylight hours looking for whales and other wildlife and, if the opportunity occurs, snorkel in the crystal clear waters.

For more information contact us through the website or directly via email at scott@scottportelli.com or +61 (0)402124453

We are truly humbled by the response we’ve received to our fundraiser for the rescue and rehabilitation efforts for the wildlife who have been injured in the recent Australian bushfires.

We originally started with a fundraising target of $5,000 and we were quickly blown away by the generous international response we received, ending up with a staggering total of $33,200 in 10 days!

We will be distributing the funds across the various organisations in Kangaroo Island, you can see the work all these organisations and independent carers are doing:

• Kangaroo Island Wildlife Network 
• Left Field Farm Sanctuary
• Wildlife Rescue South Coast
• Adrina at Wandandian Kangaroo & Wallaby Sanctuary
• Lisa & Jared Karran – Kangaroo Island Wildlife Care 
• Five Freedoms Animal Rescue

We received 1668 entries and we are excited to announce the winners of our raffle draw and are excited to announce that our winners are: First prize: Mark Kennedy and Second prize: Gioia Mansard.

Congratulations to you both!

Thank you again to everyone who contributed, sent messages of support and offers of assistance to help with this important cause!

I’m excited to announce that my film Swimming with Gentle Giants will be featured as part of the 2020 Ocean Film Festival!

Produced and directed by Stefan Andrews from Ocean Imaging, Swimming with Gentle Giants explores my close connection to humpback whales and showcases some of the unique behaviours I’ve experienced while swimming with them in the pristine waters of Tonga.

Australian & New Zealand ocean lovers will be able to immerse themselves in the wonders of the ocean without getting their feet wet this coming February to April as the Ocean Film Festival World Tour makes a splash in cinemas across both countries. The festival, which features a carefully curated selection of the world’s most captivating ocean-themed will light up silver screens in 35 towns and cities.

Tickets and screening times are available here

A big shout out to my amazing skipper Sione Fifita, expert local guide Vili Takau and Whales in the Wild who have supported and guided my adventures in Tonga for many years and who have helped make this film possible.

We were honoured to have one of the world’s most acclaimed nature photographers, filmmakers and marine conservationists Paul Nicklen and his team from SeaLegacy visit us in Tonga recently. Paul has spent over 20 years documenting the beauty and the plight of our planet and as an assignment photographer for National Geographic magazine, he captures and inspired the imagination of a global audience.

Paul is also the co-founder of non-profit, SeaLegacy which plays a crucial role in ocean conservation centred around extraordinary visual storytelling using a team of the world’s best photographers and filmmakers to capture the beauty and the threats below the surface of our oceans. SeaLegacy then utilises the incredible captured media to fuel, inspire and fund global campaigns that trigger lasting and sustainable change to protect our precious oceans. You can read more about their inspiring work here.

We had some truly amazing experiences and interactions with the whales during the week, we even got to see some baby whale dancing (Check out Paul’s awesome Instagram footage!).

We think Paul summed up our experience perfectly:

Thanks to Paul and his team for visiting us in Tonga!

We are excited to announce that award winning photographer, Linda Beks will be joining us to run photography workshops in Tonga during our 2020 season.

If you are interested in capturing some great images while you are swimming with the humpback whales then these trips are the ones to book. No photography experience is required and Linda will cover everything from basic tips and tricks to more advanced techniques.

Linda Beks tour dates:

• Ha’apai Humpbacks: 1-12 September 2020 (Tour 6H)
• Humpback Highway: 15 – 24 September 2020 (Tour 7)

We’re excited to share that Scott Portelli and SWGG were recently featured in Roderick Eime‘s article for Let’s Travel magazine! Scott is always passionate about sharing his interactions with these beautiful creatures and we think this quote sums up the Swimming with Gentle Giants experience perfectly:

Recently, SWGG hosted Garrett, Jessica, Dorothy and Manilla Gee (aka The Bucket List Family), along with their friends Jim and Alicia Ward. This was The Bucket List Family’s 4th year with us here in Tonga and we were excited to spend time with old friends out on the water.

We were lucky enough to have some amazing up close and personal encounters with Mums and their calves, swimming alongside giant bait balls in caves and best of all, front row seats to a thrilling heat run. It was awesome to see how excited Dorothy (6) and Manilla (5) were to be in the water with the whales and their bravery and water skills as they leap from the boat into the water so they could experience the heat run for themselves!

You can check out the highlights of their time with us below!

Honoured to be announced the winner of the behaviour category for the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the year 2019. This was an image I took of a heatrun of 14 humpback whales and 50 dolphins in the South Pacific. One of natures most powerful displays and with an entourage of rough toothed dolphins, was truly an amazing experience. I feel privileged to have witness this spectacular behaviour from so many beautiful cetaceans. Every day I am on the water means a chance of seeing something amazing, but I couldn’t do this without my long time friend and Skipper Sione Fifita and the team from Whales in the Wild.

Just released our new dates for 2020, we still have spaces available for next year, so if this has been a life long dream, come join Swimming With Gentle Giants for the experience of a lifetime.

Tour 1 – 11th -22nd July (7 Days) – Vavau
Tour 2A – 23rd – 30th (7 Days) – Vavau
Tour 2 – 23rd July – 1st Aug (7 Days) – Vavau
Tour 3A – 1st -12th August (7 Days) – Vavau
Tour 3 – 1st -12th August (7 Days) – Vavau
Tour 4A – 11th – 19th August (7 Days) – Vavau
Tour 4 – 12th – 20th August (7 Days) – Vavau
Tour 5 – 22nd Aug -2ndSept (7 Days) – Vavau
Tour 6 – 4th Sept – 13th Sept (7 Days) – Vavau
Tour 6H – 1st -12th Sept (7 Days) – Haapai
Tour 7 – 14th – 25th September (7 Days) – Vavau
Tour 7H – 12th – 22nd September (6 Days) – Haapai
Tour 8 – 25h Sept – 3rd Oct (7 Days) – Vavau
Tour 8H – 22nd – 30th Sept (7 Days)- Haapai
Tour 8A – 29h Sept – 3rd Oct (7 Days) – Vavau
Tour 9 – 5th – 13th October (7 Days) – Vavau
Tour 9A – 7th – 13th October (7 Days) – Vavau
Tour 10 – 14th – 23rd October (8 Days) – Vavau

We’re excited to share that Scott Portelli was recently featured on Marc West’s podcast series “The Pod: Ocean Swimming”.

Marc and Scott discuss the amazing experience of swimming with different species of whales, the ocean, marine life and all things underwater in this insightful and informative interview.

Photo by Joanna Lentini

Late last year I was asked to speak at the Ignite Sydney event. The rules of Ignite is simple – presenters stick to a format of 20 slides, each of which changes automatically after 15 seconds, giving a guaranteed 5 minute presentation. This is not as easy as you might think and 15 seconds is really not a lot of time, but it was a great experience and a well organised event which I had the privilege of being a part of. I look forward to seeing the next installment of this long standing Sydney event.

You can see my talk about my life spent with Humpback whales below.

Our Swimming with Gentle Giants account is dedicated entirely to whales and the beautiful locations around the world where we can take you swimming with them.  We will be regularly sharing up close and personal pictures and videos here that showcase these amazing creatures in their natural habitat. You can follow us at: https://www.instagram.com/swimmingwithgentlegiants/

Sadly the 2018 whale season has come to an end for us here in Tonga, but 2019 is just around the corner and we will be back from July 2019 sharing these experiences again with the whales. With all the things we saw this season it was hard to just limit it to 1 recap, so here is Part 2 full of heat runs, breaching whales, mothers and calves, manta rays, coral reefs, simply paradise. We hope you will love this place as much as we do and hopefully you can join us in the future.

It’s almost that time of the year again where we start to wrap up our adventures and say goodbye to the whales and the wonderful people we have met along the way. It has been a season full of excitement, magical moments, new adventures and not to mention the big beautiful whales that have swum amongst us. We swam with sunfish, pilot whales, danced with manta rays, played with spinner, rough tooth and bottlenose dolphins, and swam with the most majestic gentle giants of the ocean, the humpback whales. We hope you enjoy our recap video below!

In 2019 Waterproof Expeditions and Swimming with Gentle Giants join forces to bring you some new and exciting expeditions in Tonga. With over 17 years taking people to swim with humpback whales in Tonga, combined with Waterproof Expeditions who are experts in adventure and expedition travel around the world, this venture sees us offering some of the best experiences with whales you could ever imagine.

Just released for 2019, new tours to swim with the humpback whales in Tonga:

12th – 19 July – Tour #2 – 7 Days on the water
20th – 27th July Tour #3 – 7 Days on the water

9th – 16th August – Tour #4 – 7 Days on the water
20th – 27th August – Tour #5 – 7 Days on the water

1st – 8th October – Tour #6 – 7 Days on the water
9th – 16th October Tour #7 – 7 Days on the water
17th – 24th October Tour #8 – 7 Days on the water

Contact us for more information on how you can join one of these amazing trips.

‘The Art of Capturing a Heat Run” has been selected as Highly Honored at the prestigious Natures Best, Windland Smith Rice International Awards 2018. This impressive display from multiple humpback whales in a competitive group, filmed from above and below the surface was a dynamic sequence to document. I jumped in the water over 20 times while being witness to some of the most powerful creatures in the animal world. truly an honour to be recognised at such a prestigious awards event.

One of my favourite times of year in Tonga is when Garrett and his family turn up for their annual pilgrimage to swim with the whales. I love the enthusiasm and connection they have with the whales. their latest v-blog really captures the essence of their last trip here with  us in Tonga. Can’t wait to see you guys again next season. I love this video!!

You never know what to expect when you are out on the water in Tonga with the humpback whales. We had this rambunctious calf propel itself out of the water at full speed and breach in front of our group. Truly a memorable moment.

Check out the feature from USA Today

We experienced some unique behaviour with this female Humpback last season and I managed to capture an interesting perspective showing the enormous tail and body above and below the surface. This image was awarded at the Asferico International Nature awards in the underwater category in 2018. We can learn so much from documenting unique behaviour from these majestic mammals. check out some of the talented photographers and their inspiring works of nature at the Asferico awards.

Although we may be fully booked for the 2018 season, you can still join us on one of our tours in 2019, below are the available dates for the 2019 season.

Tour 1A – 12th -20th July (8 day) – Fully Booked
Tour 1B – 22nd – 31st July (8 day) – Fully Booked
Tour 2 – 1st Aug – 9 th August (7 Day) – Fully Booked
Tour 3 – 12th Aug – 22nd August (8 Day) – Fully Booked
Tour 4 – 23rd Aug -1st Sept (8 Day) – Fully Booked
Tour 4H – 2rd Sept – 14th September (8 Day) – Haapai – Limited Spaces available
Tour 5 – 4th Sept – 13th Sept (8 Day) – Vava’u – Fully Booked
Tour 6 – 16th Sept – 26th Sept (8 Day) – Fully Booked
Tour 7 – 30th Sept – 8th Oct (8 Day)  – Fully Booked
Tour 7H – 27th Sept – 6th October (8 day) – Limited Spaces available
Tour 8 – 9th Oct – 18th October (8 Day) – Fully Booked

Contact us for more details or to book your 2019 tours.

I had the privilege of hosting the 2017 Rolex scholar Melinda Brown for a month in Tonga. As part of her year long program she joined us for a month to work with me on the Tongan Fluke Collective, some coral gardening projects and plastic pollution education, oh and of course she came to swim with the whales. The time went fast but we did so much and I am glad she had the opportunity to join the Swimming With Gentle Giants family.

Check out her blog on the Our World Underwater Scholarship Society

The heat run is the ultimate wildlife encounter, multiple whales competing for a female which can last for hours or even days. Males show a multitude of behaviours while in a heat run: bubble netting, open mouth gulping, physical contact, loud acoustic sounds, it is truly one of nature’s great events. After 16 years I have documented some of the most common and unusual behaviour seen by Humpbacks in the region, but it is truly heart-thumping and adrenaline-pumping action to be a part of. There is so much people can learn from this type of behaviour or in its simplest form, there is so much they can appreciate and respect once they see something like this. Stay tuned for my paper called 1000 days in water observation and behavioural study of Humpback whales of Tonga.

Well, the season is well and truly underway and words can’t describe some of the encounters we have had. these Humpback whales are amazing curious creatures, extremely intelligent and very interactive at times. Our groups are getting some amazing photos and experiences.