We take up details of our travels back to the 7th July when we decided to head back into Neiafu as the weather was a bit inclement and thought it would be a great chance to go and check out the Royal Agricultural Show which is on today and is also signals the end of the Kings visit to Vava’u so hoping we might get to do a bit of royal snooping before he departs.

As forecast the weather is a bit damp but nothing that we can’t handle especially as I was sporting my new all weather poncho!!

 

 

The show had many great exhibits from the excellent hand crafts through to colourful displays of local fruit and verges through to the fish stands which were certainly interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

As hoped the king made a visit and we were lucky enough to see him as he arrived and also got to do whole paparazzi thing and takes some happy snaps of the royal family!

 

 

 

On the 8th July (Saturday) Rick and Mark had a productive morning and installed our new rudder sensor unit.  The old one failed on our way to Tonga and while the auto helm seems to be working OK without it, apart from error messages, we were keen to get this sorted before we head off on our next passage up to Samoa.  The new one seems to be doing a fine job so there is much happiness aboard.

After a busy morning we headed around to Coral Gardens (anchorage #16) and as we departed caught a lovely fishy.  We think it is a small Giant Trevally but have not been able to confirm or deny this however, it made a very fine dinner that evening.

 

 

 

On Sunday we did a day trip out to Ovalau Island (anchorage #40) which is a lovely little deserted island with a beautiful sandy beach.

 

 

We had a really nice day here and naturally spent plenty of time swimming and snorkelling before heading back over to Matamaka or anchorage #15 for the night.

 

 

 

Monday morning and we are on our way again.  After having a good wander around Matamaka Village we are off to Lisa Beach for the evening which is always a nice spot to drop the pick. 

Rick and I went out for a bit of a paddle on the kayak and we wandered into Pangai Village the next morning is search of bread but unfortunately failed in our mission.

 

After months of waiting the weather is looking just right for Mark and I to finally have a go at kite boarding at Mounu Island *YAY* so we departed late morning and pulled up the mooring in time for a quick bite of lunch and then an afternoon or action packed kiting.  We were both really pleased that we managed to get up on the board and had some good runs as well as a few crashes.  Rick did a fine job as kite caddy, coach and official photographer.  Rick has quite a lot of experience photographing kiting as he has spent many an hour watching his daughter Katie who is now ranked as number 1 female kite boarder in Australia...

 

 

 

 

 

After such a great day we had to finish it off with a well chilled beer  – thanks to Kirsty and the team at Mounu for looking after us!!

We will be back as soon as the wind and tide permit.

 

 

After the kiting we headed back into the anchorage at Coral Gardens hoping that we may be able to do the Coral Gardens snorkel in the morning when the tide is high.  Unfortunately even though the winds are light there is still a bit of swell running which meant it was not suitable to get out for a snorkel on the reef so after some more paddling and snorkelling we head back to one of our favourite anchorages at Port Maurelle as Beluga Dive are due to pick Rick and I up in the morning for our day of whale watching and swimming.  Mark has elected to stay on board and service the generator – very odd.

 

9:00am sharp on Thursday we are picked up by Moa from Beluga Dive and are taking on their boat Gladiator for an excellent day of whale watching and swimming.  We were lucky enough to have a very calm and sunny day for our adventure and we both loved every minute of it.   We were lucky enough to have many whale encounters and swim with whales on numerous occasions.  We believe Tonga is the only place in the world where you are able to get this close to these magnificent animals and the clear oceanic water makes the experience amazing and certainly one to remember.

 

 

 

 

 

Friday and the rain is back – so much so that we are able to get out our water catcher and fill the tanks with some lovely rain water which is much nicer than town water which is pretty hard.  Unfortunately the rain doesn’t stop for our trip back around to Neiafu as it is Ricks last night aboard so it is in to town for a great dinner at Bella Vista and Ricks send off on Saturday morning.

 

 

We are now back to the two of us again!!

 

On Sunday we went for a big walk from Neiafu around to Pangai visit which we have been to a few times but have approached it from Lisa Beach. 

We went past Vava’u Villas and thinking that we should drop in for their famous Sunday brunch before we leave.  We also had a great evening in at the Dancing Rooster which always puts on a film night on Sunday which was lots of fun especially as there is no free to air TV in Vava’u...

 

 

After some provisioning we are back out and about on Monday morning.  We are back around in Port Maurelle and did another walk this morning across to Kapa Village which is on the windward side of Kapa Island.

 

                                                      Deserted House at Kapa Village

 

 

We are both very excited as the forecast is looking good for kite boarding for the next few days so hoping it all pans out as expected!!