Safe arrival in Tonga

Safiya
Harvey & Sue Death
Sat 19 Aug 2017 20:31
Our sail to Tonga was a little boisterous to say the least! Gone were the
flat blue seas and benign winds of our previous Pacific passages and in its
place we experienced very rough, confused seas and winds gusting up to 35
knots. The first couple of days we had huge waves breaking into the side of
the boat which made life on board very uncomfortable. The first day at sea
we were all sick apart from Grace who has a cast iron stomach! Poor Grace
she had been promised a week of sun bathing and wild life watching, instead
we were hanging on for dear life in full wet weather gear in seas that were
more reminiscent of the English channel on a bad day than the South Pacific.
We had expected to do the crossing completely on our own as the Oyster fleet
had largely moved on over a week ago however there were a few other tail end
Charlies we caught up ,so we were able to have some radio communications
with other Oysters who were a few days ahead of us which was comforting and
less isolating.
As we approached Tonga we were accompanied by two Pilot whales who swam
beside the boat for an hour.
Confusingly we crossed the date line at some point before Tonga and we are
now 12 hours ahead of the UK instead of behind, so we lost a complete day
somewhere!
Anyway, about Tonga - It is a Polynesian sovereign state, officially called
the Kingdom of Tonga. It's an archipelago of 169 islands, of which only 36
are inhabited. It is divided into groups and we are based on the most
Northern group called Vava'u. We arrived on Thursday morning very battered
and tired and once we had completed the official paperwork we anchored in
the beautiful, natural harbour of Neiafu which is the Oyster base. The town
has a few little restaurants, very basic grocery stores and a small market
selling locally grown fruit and veg. The town reminds me more of the
Caribbean than French Polynesia, it's a little bit scruffy but very laid
back and definitely lacks the polish of islands like Moorea and Bora Bora
with their huge cash injections from France.
Prices here are closer to normal compared to the vastly inflated 3 or 4
times more expensive that we experienced in French Polynesia.
That evening we were reunited with our Oyster friends after 6 weeks away
from the fleet it was like "coming home" and reminded us what good friends
we have made over the past 6 months.
The official welcome beach party was a lot of fun. In usual Oyster style the
alcohol flowed, there was traditional singing and dancing and local
delicacies cooked in a traditional way. Grace was able to meet all the other
youngsters and crew and for them the party continued well into the small
hours when the oldies were tucked up in bed!
With the under 30's nursing hangovers we left the harbour and anchored in a
small bay close by. There are so many beautiful anchorages that we are
spoiled for choice and looking forward to exploring them over the next week.
We've got some diving booked for later in the week and we are also going
whale spotting with hopefully the chance to swim with them.










































































































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