Tongan Feast and Flying Foxes, 18:41.8S, 173:59.9W
Serenity of Swanwick
Phil and Sarah Tadd
Sun 24 Sep 2017 08:16
We went ashore on Vaka Eitu yesterday and had a walk over to the west shore which has a lovely sand beach and reef extending from it. We also went round the southern end of the island walking on the reef and seeing Sea Cucumbers, Crabs and a brilliant blue Starfish in the pools. West coast of Vaka eitu In the evening we went to the feast that the family on the island organises for the cruisers, this is probably one of the few ways they have of earning money. There were about 35 of us there. There was a spit roasted pig and lots of interesting local dishes. It all happened under a massive Banyan tree which the children had decorated earlier in the day and after eating, the young girls performed some local dances. Banyan tree. Spit roast pig and an interesting way of controlling the heat from the fire. This morning we moved on and Phil had selected an anchorage to get shelter from the forecast stronger winds which might be coming through here. It really is well sheltered, the sea is absolutely like a mill pond. There are birds singing in the forest and we saw what looked like large black birds flying around; they landed in a tree and looked like bits of bin liner hanging there. Investigation with the binoculars showed them to be Flying Foxes which are very large fruit bats. In Tonga these bats are a protected species they are owned by the King and may only be hunted by royalty. Flying Foxes in their roost. Sent from my iPad |