Paradise is playing up
Storyteller
Sun 15 Jun 2008 04:59
Position 18.39S 173.59W
I've stolen the title from my sister in law, Pam,
who with brother Rick has just endured a week of wet windy weather with us in
the Vava'u Group of Tonga. Rotten luck for them, but we have rather enjoyed the
much cooler weather. So rather than swimming, snorkelling and fishing in all the
delightful anchorages that this area has to offer in good weather, we've been
patronising the many funky little bars and cafes that cater for cruising
boats. A highlight of our week here has been attending
church on Sunday, both the Catholic and the Methodist, where the singing is
so good it makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. It's wonderful to
see all the local people wearing their traditional grass matting
costumes, and the little girls in their party dresses. Wet Sundays here remind
me of growing up in Taranaki when everything was closed and it never stopped
raining. The only difference between here and the Taranaki mud is the number of
pigs running everwhere. Rugby fever is the same and we've had a couple of good
rugby watching nights with the locals--one in quite a salubrious place where we
ran a sweepstake and were very relieved at the All Black victory since we were
heavily outnumbered by English supporters. The previous week we'd watched the
Tonga vs NZ Maori match at Tonga Bob's--the local Mexican joint run by a
young chap from Albury.This was a much more down-market affair, frequented by
the locals, and heaps of fun.
Vava'u is a classic cruising destination, much like
the Caribbean must have been in the good old days. There are real characters
from all over the world, including a Pom who could have stepped out of
Minder. Lawrence runs the famous Bounty Bar and is happy to fix you up with
anything you need. Monday night is Music Night with a great American guitarist
playing. He found us Billy, a terrific young English hairdresser who cut
out hair in the bar as we sucked on a local beer surrounded by all the
other patrons. There are Germans, Austrians, Americans, New
Zealanders and Australians, all of whom contribute to a marvellous radio net
each morning where we hear the weather report, details of things that people are
buying and selling, and what the local cafes have as specials for the day. Boats
that need crew and crew looking for a passage to Fiji and onward all connect
through the radio net.It's how I found Billy the hairdresser.
Sad to say, the tourist industry is having a
terrible time, partly due to the very unreliable local airline that simply bumps
passengers and cancels flights without warning,which happened to Pam and
Rick. There seems little money for tourist promotion, and the Tongan Beach
Resort that we visited one night for a terrific lobster meal had almost no
guests. Meanwhile, about $5 million is about to be wasted on the coronation of a
drunken and corrupt king--no doubt much of it NZ and Australian aid money. We
all feel pretty pessimistic about the future of these small South Pacific
nations, given that tourism is about their only hope.
Sadly, our friend Paul Beaumont had to fly home to
the UK at short notice when he developed a liver problem. His boat will continue
on to Australia with a relief skipper. Another Irish friend developed a
seriously painful back injury and had to be sent on to Melbourne for
surgery.
Early tomorrow morning Rick and Pam leave us and
fly back to NZ . We'll head off at 7am for Musket Cove, Fiji. The
forecast is good so we are hoping for a fast 4 day passage. We look forward to
seeing Brigid, Peter and the children who will arrive there a day
before us.
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