BLUE WATER RALLY - TONGAN MEMORIES
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18.23S 174.52W Monday 23rd June on route to We all cleared out on Friday en masse, knowing everything would be shut
over the weekend (Tongans are deeply religious and attend church up to four
times on Sundays) and we had to leave Tonga by sparrows on Monday to make the
welcome party in Fiji…… the only problem being that once cleared
out by Customs and Immigration you have to leave Tongan Waters within 24
hours! What a paraphernalia, first leaping into the dinghy and zooming across
to Customs, then Immigration, collecting two sets of forms (one which
couldn’t be released until 13.30 for some reason), back to the yacht,
leaving the buoys in alphabetical order (Anahi first), motoring back to a
wobbly old pier to collect duty free diesel (once the outgoing papers had been
checked) queuing up for a final clearance stamp and then back to the mooring
buoy again……… Zippy threatened to change their boat name to
Apedidoda as the light failed and it looked as if they might be delayed until
Monday……but we all managed to clear eventually and enjoyed a last
evening meal at the Mango Restaurant which serve the largest lobsters I have
ever encountered for 20 quid….. the idea is to book by boat name but
‘Zipadedoda’ was just a bridge too far for the locals!
Zipadedoda – aka Super Duda!! (Which apparently translates as
Superstar – so we had the full treatment that night!!) We really have had some Fun here with a capital ‘F’ –
the dirt carting was a favourite and a great way to see a bit of the
‘jungle’, remote villages, fantastic view points and countryside
– most of the carts were missing mudguards, safety belts and any tread on
the tyres and remember we have seen a lot of rain lately……….
We came back covered head to foot in Tongan orange/red dirt.
Rearing to go…….
Dirt cart Zippies….
Amazing views
And wild, deserted beaches…. By the time we returned from our trip on Saturday morning, all the Blue
Water Rally boats were ostensibly ready to leave their moorings and depart from
Tongan Waters……..but nobody wanted to go so we all trickled off
round different corners and gave ourselves aliases when we chatted over the
radio for the next two days - even the local net seemed puzzled ‘hello
there - it seems there are lots of new boats out there – would any of you
like to call up and let us know who you are and where you are
from?’……….silence!! Quite a few of us made our way to an amazing lagoon, completely
encircled by the rim of an ancient volcano known as Hunga. There is only
one entrance pass but it looks very similar to, and is very near to a
‘false pass’ – once inside this tricky conundrum which can
only be accessed at high tide - it takes your breath
away…….kingfishers and butterflies, high rock walls of the
crater’s edge with little caramel coloured sandy beaches dripping with
ironwood trees and hibiscus flowers
The look alike false pass into the lagoon…….
True pass but remember to keep that rock to port!
Peace as night falls……….the stuff of
dreams…….. A very enterprising couple – Steve and Caroline – have
built a smart fishing lodge Ika Lahi on the shore www.tongafishing.com and their
natural charm and hospitality coupled with shelves of books, an eclectic music
collection, fabulous home cooked food, incredible carvings and artefacts all
surrounded by grassy lawns, plump chickens and domestic pussy cats seemed
too good to be true! It was Andy on Spectra’s birthday on Sunday so
they stayed open for us and did us proud……. Steve is a deep
sea fishing nut and told us a recent story of how his friend had been to
Beveridge reef to collect shells…….only to be confronted by a shark
in the ‘classic attack position – with pectorals lowered and back
arched’ (I’ll keep an eye out for that then) – it was only
being territorial though….. it wasn’t really hungry……..
so it didn’t kill him…….. just bit a bit out of his stomach
and backside!! His girlfriend had to drive their high speed boat 150
miles to We left |
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