20:01S 174:41W

 

We had a rather bumpy night anchored at Ha’afeva island – the wind has turned to the south west meaning there is not a lot of shelter in these exposed Ha’apai islands.....but with good holding on a sandy bottom we feel safe.  Yesterday as we approached the anchorage we had a mother and baby whale playing nearby and we saw them again this morning.  No matter how many whales we see – and we’ve seen dozens and dozens – we never tire of watching them.  Bandit is forced to slow right down while we indulge ourselves.   After anchoring we took a walk around the island on the, yet again, beautiful sandy beach.   We’re constantly stunned at the beauty of the Ha’apai islands.....they are definitely under rated.

 

This morning we took a walk to the village through lush plantings of banana, papaya, mango,coconut and breadfruit trees.  Ha’afeva was obviously not affected by the hurricane and compared to many other islands we’ve visited was a Garden of Eden.  Some areas were fenced off for cows and there weren’t the usual pigs running around everywhere...maybe that explained the lush growth! 

 

Flags were flying in the tiny village and the locals were all dressed in traditional clothing.  Men and women wear a wrapped skirt (ta’ovalu) finely woven from pandanus leaf.  To us it looks stiff and prickly to wear but as they are prized heirlooms no doubt they soften with age.  When we struck up a conversation with a local we discovered they were expecting a visit from a church leader – hence the festive occasion.  We managed to trade some colouring crayons and nail polish for a handful of bananas which has boosted Bandit’s fresh fruit supplies.

 

We’re now at O’ua Island and just plan to shelter here overnight from the wind before heading to the Nukmuku group about 20 miles further south.