19:46S 174:32W

 

I know, I know....you guys out there think we are constantly in paradise.  Today we can honestly say we are.  The Ha’apai group of islands has been an absolute revelation and the question we constantly ask ourselves is “why aren’t there more boats here?”   It’s absolutely astonishing to be in idyllic anchorages absolutely alone knowing that further north in the Vava’u group there are up to a dozen boats in anchorages.  The reputation of the Ha’apai group puts a lot of people off and yes, there are lots of reefs, plenty of shallow ground and much of it is uncharted so eyeball navigation is needed.   But the water clarity is so amazing that it’s easy to see anything shallow.   The islands are all low lying but there is good protection from the reef in prevailing south easterly trades – anything from the north or west would be problematic so we’re keeping a  wary eye on the GRIBS. Fellow cruisers reading this – make sure you put the Ha’apai on your list – you will not be disappointed.

 

We’ve been alone in nearly every anchorage, had some wonderful walks along white sandy beaches, been given fish by friendly locals, had amazing snorkelling and again, those fantastic up close experiences with whales.   This morning at 7am we were woken by the sounds of whales spouting and raced on deck to see them right beside Bandit – just cruising around checking us out.

 

Bandit is anchored off tiny Nukupule Island and we feel like we are in a true south seas paradise.  The island is tiny (we walked around it in 10 minutes) with ubiquitous palm trees and beautiful soft sand.  Best of all is the snorkelling.  In many places in Tonga we’ve found the coral bleached and dead but not here – it’s very much alive and there are some magnificent shapes and colours and loads of lovely reef fish.

 

We’ve got our friends Gerald and Susie Morton on board for a few days and it’s been wonderful to show them this special piece of paradise.