A little more Paikea ×
Hannah + Tee We met in Tonga while working around humpback whales. At first, the idea was pretty simple: we wanted to share this ridiculous experience of being in the water with whales with other people.
But the more we talked about it, the bigger the idea became.
A bit about Tee Tee Tee loves getting a group together. Helping people try something new, getting to know each other, and seeing a bunch of strangers become a little community over the course of a week, that’s a big part of why she wants to do this.
And Hannah Hannah Hannah wants you to get to know the place, too. The whale might be the reason you book a flight to Tonga, but there’s a whole island around that encounter.
Who’s making the day possible? What else lives here? What’s happening on shore? Those things matter to her, and she’d like them to be part of your trip rather than just the background to a photograph.
Those two things fit together surprisingly well.
We’re coming for the whole day. Both of us are working guides, not hosts who appear for dinner after someone else has run the day. We’re used to long hours on boats, changing weather, wet gear, early starts, guests being nervous, plans changing and wildlife doing absolutely whatever it wants.
Paikea grew out of wanting to share the things we genuinely love doing ourselves. Not because we had always planned to start an expedition company, but because after enough conversations that started with “we should take people here,” eventually we thought we probably should.
Tonga is our first trip. It’s not the only place we’ve had those conversations about.
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A little more Paikea ×
Why Paikea? Paikea means something slightly different to each of us.
Tee grew up with the story of Paikea. Hannah came to it later, through Whale Rider . Beyond the whale itself, what stayed with her was a girl trying to find her place in a role traditionally held by men, and the disappointment and resistance she has to navigate along the way.
Taking ourselves very seriously. That part of the story resonated with both of us.
Maybe this is the real job. We’ve built our lives around boats, oceans and expedition work, in an industry that can still feel very male-dominated. Along the way, we’ve met incredible women doing extraordinary things: skippers, guides, photographers, scientists, expedition leaders, and people quietly building unconventional lives around the ocean.
They’ve made us realise there isn’t necessarily a point where we have to stop doing this and go and get a “real job”.
Maybe this is the real job.
Paikea felt like a name that held a lot of those ideas at once: whales, the ocean, women finding their place, and the possibility of building a life a little differently.
The animal is never the whole story. There are people, histories and places behind every experience we get to have on the water. We want Paikea to respect that, not let the excitement of an encounter make everything around it disappear.
That’s what we want to carry into the trips we share: a love of the ocean, room to find your own way, and attention to the people and places that make it all possible.
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A little more Paikea ×
What travelling with us is like We’re working guides, not hosts who appear for dinner after someone else has run the day. We’re used to long hours on boats, changing weather, wet gear, early starts, guests being nervous, plans changing and wildlife doing absolutely whatever it wants.
We like doing this. Enough that, even after the long days, we keep talking about where to go next. Paikea is our way of inviting a few more people along.
You can ask us. You don’t need to arrive as an ocean person, photographer or wildlife expert. There should be room to ask a question, admit you’re nervous and learn something along the way.
Tell us what you’re comfortable with and what you’re unsure about. Each trip will have its own activity and swimming requirements, which we’ll talk through before you book. Not every trip will suit everyone, and we’d rather work that out together beforehand.
The plan is a starting point. Wildlife does not follow an itinerary. Weather can change a day, and waiting is part of spending time on the water. We want people to understand that before they come, not find it out after arriving.
We can’t promise an encounter. We can tell you what draws us to a place, explain the trip as it develops, and make space for a conversation about whether it’s right for you.
The bits between the boat days Tee loves getting to know the people in a group. Hannah wants you to get to know the place. Between us, we hope there’s plenty to talk about over a meal afterwards.
The conversations on the boat, a meal afterwards and the little moments nobody could have planned are part of what we hope you take home.
Still taking shape. Our first Tonga trip runs in October 2026 and is sold out. The Tonga 2027 dates haven’t been released, and Mag Bay for November 2027 is still an idea we’re exploring. Joining either list starts a conversation; it isn’t a booking or a reserved place.
Before you book a future trip, we’ll share the dates, group size, prices, what’s included, activity and swimming requirements, who is operating the activities, and the booking and cancellation terms. You don’t need to commit before those details are available.
A few practical questions Can I come on my own? You’re welcome to put your name down on your own. Ask us about the group and room arrangements when trip details are released.
Do I need to be a strong swimmer? Being curious doesn’t replace being comfortable in the water. Requirements depend on the activities and conditions. Tell us about your swimming and snorkelling experience, and we’ll talk about whether the trip is a good fit before you book. Please don’t send medical details through this website.
What if the weather changes? Boat days and wildlife encounters depend on conditions. We’ll explain the confirmed trip’s weather, itinerary-change and cancellation arrangements before you book, rather than promise that every day will go to plan.
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A little more Paikea ×
You don't have to be the most adventurous person in the room. You just have to be willing to be curious.
You don’t need to already be an ocean person, a photographer or someone who can identify every animal that swims past. You don’t need to arrive knowing exactly what you’re doing.
You do need to want to get involved: to ask questions, meet the people around you, pay attention to where you are and try something that might sit a little outside your comfort zone.
The wildlife can be what gets you there. Some people will come because they’ve dreamed about swimming with a whale for years. That’s completely fine. A particular animal can be the reason you first look at a place on a map.
What we hope is that you leave caring about much more than the animal you came to see.
The island. The landscape. The people who welcomed you. The conversations on the boat and the meals afterwards. The waiting, and the ridiculous little moments that weren’t on the itinerary. The people you shared it all with.
Leave knowing a little more. For Hannah, a wildlife encounter becomes more meaningful when it connects to the place around it. For Tee, the people experiencing it together are a huge part of the story.
We hope you go home knowing a little more, caring a little more, and looking at the place differently than you did when you arrived.
You don’t have to be fearless. Tell us what you’re excited about and what you’re unsure of. Long water days and expedition-specific activity requirements won’t suit everyone, and that’s worth talking about before you commit.
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ʻEua · Tonga Our first trip: October 2026. Sold out. We met in Tonga working around humpback whales. It makes sense that the first Paikea expedition begins here: with an experience we wanted to share long before we had a name for the company.
Our first trip runs in October 2026 and is sold out. It brings together ʻEua, its coast, its people and the water around it. The whale may be why you come. We want the island, the people making the experience possible and the time spent together to be part of what you remember.
Come with us in 2027. Want to join us next year? We haven’t released our 2027 dates yet. Join the waitlist and we’ll email you when we release them, along with the trip details. This is an expression of interest, not a booking or a reserved place. Group size, inclusions and price will be confirmed before bookings open.
Wildlife encounters are never guaranteed.
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From Hannah's Baja archive, not a confirmed Mag Bay trip location. Mag Bay · Baja 2027 Back to Baja. Next, Mag Bay. Hannah went to Baja last year and really wants to go back. She hasn’t done the sardine run, and Mag Bay is the bit we’d love to explore next. Sardines, sea lions and striped marlin are a pretty good reason to start talking about another trip.
For now, we’re putting the idea out there to see who else would be keen. There isn’t a confirmed group trip or an itinerary ready to book.
Interested? We’d like to know. Would you come with us? Let us know you’re interested. It helps us work out whether to take the idea further, and we can keep you in the loop as we explore it.
We’re aiming for November 2027; exact dates are still to be confirmed. Prices, activities and the itinerary are in development. The wildlife described here is what we’re interested in exploring, not a promise of sightings or encounters. An expression of interest is not a booking and does not reserve a place.
The photograph on our homepage is from Hannah’s broader Baja archive; its exact location has not yet been confirmed as part of a Mag Bay route.
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From Hannah's archive · Tonga
