Tonga 18:39S 173:59W

Seaflute
Sun 26 Nov 2017 00:38
Rolling into the kingdom of Tonga

After our wonderful experiences in Nuie, we sadly set sail for The Kingdom
of Tonga, 230 NMs away. The last few days sailing were very uncomfortable
with large rolling seas and high winds, needless to say we were very happy
to get there. We were to arrive in The Vava’u group of Islands and at the
customs dock at night. While Dave and Tom were up on deck for the last few
miles run in, Sea Flute almost crashed into a pod of Humpback whales,
impossible to spot in the dark. We had been advised never to breathe in the
exhaled breath of a whale because, apart from being very wet and smelly, it
can contain some harmful organisms. As well as being frightened by the
sudden breach of the whales in such close proximity, Dave and Tom were
engulfed by their forced exhalations, yuk! The following morning three large
officials arrived from Customs, Immigration and health. When I say large, I
mean very obese, wearing the male formal traditional dress of a long black
skirt with what essentially looks like a large raffia mat tied around the
middle. This would correspond to a suit, shirt and tie in the western world.
Duly cleared in, we found a mooring buoy in Neiafu bay which is the capital
of Tonga and we settled in for a short stay. Many of our friends from the
Rally had arrived a few days earlier, so were able to give us the low down
on the amenities and shopping opportunities in town.
Situated in the heart of the South Pacific, Tonga is the oldest and last
remaining Polynesian monarchy and the only Pacific nation never brought
under foreign rule. The country occupies 691sq km of land spread over
700,000sq km of ocean. Tonga maybe small, but its islands are spread over a
large expanse of sea. It is the first country west of the international
dateline and calls itself, “the place where time begins.” A staunchly
Christian nation, we found them friendly and welcoming and family is very
important to them, religion closely follows in importance and Sundays are
off limits for any activities whatsoever and all shops are closed. I
attended a church service and although I could not understand what they were
saying, the rich singing was magnificent, in perfect harmony and from the
heart.
The Tropicana café and Mangoes restaurant with its large dinghy docks would
be the places where we would hang out most to use the WIFI and meet up with
our friends. Greg, an expat Kiwi ran Tropicana almost single handed provided
not only a great latte, but anything from laundry to garbage disposal, gas
bottle refills, prepacked food and IT support, he even downloaded the next
series of Game of Thrones for us! Provisioning here was quite challenging as
almost every shop was run by the Chinese who all seemed to stock the same
things. The daily farmers market and local bakery though were good for fresh
produce. A Canadian couple who had emigrated some years ago also supplied
some fine home produced deli meats all sold at a premium as it had to be
brought in by ship which arrived once per month. Neiafu town itself is quite
run down and a bit grubby with pigs and chickens roaming the streets. The
houses are simple structures where cooking is often done over open flames.
The people though do not see themselves as poor. Social etiquette, personal
dignity and respect are valued far more highly than material wealth.
As usual there was to be an Oyster party, this was to be held on Kenadu
Island, a few miles away across the bay. A fast ferry had been organised to
get us to the traditional Tongan festivities and back again. Whipping wind
from the high speed boat, salty sea spray and a wet landing on the beach put
paid to anybody arriving looking glamorous! Still, a great time was had by
all. The following morning after a fairly lazy start we dropped the mooring
buoy and headed out to Kenadu Island to the bay where the previous night’s
party had been held. Instead of taking a quicker route through a very narrow
and what looked to be a precarious pass, Dave and Tom elected to go around
the outside of the reef and through a larger and deeper pass. On the way the
tender being pulled behind us looked like it might turn turtle, so Jack was
relegated to driving it in Sea Flutes wake. Although the guide book said the
pass had blind rollers (very large waves that don’t break) there would also
be at least 20 mtrs under the keel, so no problem. This therefore seemed to
be the safest route. In reality though when hitting the bottom of the
troughs in these rollers and seeing only 2 mtrs under the keel, it was
totally terrifying. If a 34 tonne Yacht like Sea Flute were to impact the
bottom with that much downward force, it would have been absolutely
catastrophic! Easily this was the worst navigation experience so far. That
afternoon after we had steadied our nerves, Dave and I hiked with Rob from
Tianelle, over the top of the island to the other side to a favourite
lookout for whales. The view was glorious with giant waves breaking
thunderously on the jagged volcanic cliffs below us. Unfortunately we didn’t
see any whales but got thoroughly drenched in a sudden heavy downpour.
Luckily we were hot and sweaty after our climb and the rain was warm but
refreshing, so all good. A day or two spent exploring, snorkelling and
collecting shells on a tiny sandy Isle only exposed at low tide, then we
upped anchor and were off again.
Pangaimotu Island was chosen as our next stop as we had read about an area
called the Japanese garden, where the scenery was reported to be stunning
and the snorkelling beautiful. We anchored off of the most western tip of
the Island and took a ten minute tender ride to the area we wanted to see.
We were not disappointed. There were numerous small rocky islands in the
pass, standing about 10 feet out of the water with small trees on them. The
whole effect looked uncannily like Japanese Bonsai trees. The snorkel
through the pass, again did not disappoint and we were rewarded with another
beautiful feast for the eyes.
Tapana Island, just across the bay from Pangaimotu was our next destination,
(this bay was like a motorway junction for whales and we counted 6 as we
crossed, all going in different directions). Again lazy days were spent
snorkelling and swimming, but this tiny Island had a Tapas restaurant, La
Paella, run by an old Spanish couple. We spent a fun and interesting evening
here with our friends on Miss Tiggy and Meteorite. After a great 5 course
meal the couple proceeded to entertain us with heartfelt renderings of
Cuban, Spanish and Brazillian classics. Bizarre to say the least! Next stop
Vaka’Eitu Island. We wanted to snorkel in an area called the Coral garden
but to get to it from our anchorage we had to hike a short distance across
exposed, extremely sharp rock coral. By the time we reached our destination
we realised that the waves and current on this side of the reef were far too
ferocious and strong to attempt a snorkel. An about turn and a group
discussion on where to go with our friends, eventually took us around some
large rocky outcrops in the bay. This proved to be a good decision as we saw
a myriad of beautiful fish and also a sea snake winding its way in and out
of the colourful corals. We had been approached earlier in the day by a
local offering to cook a Tongan feast on the beach for us that evening,
which we happily accepted. He and his extended family did this gladly, as
this was how they made enough money to send their children to a good school.
In Tonga any excuse for a feast is welcomed. A traditional underground earth
oven or Umu (oomoo) is prepared by building a fire in the bottom of a wide,
shallow pit to heat stones. When they are ready they are topped with a layer
of branches and fronds. Root vegetables like Casava, breadfruit and Yam are
wrapped in banana leaves and laid in first, followed by the fish and meat.
These are then covered by more fronds and then the dirt is put back over and
everything is left to cook for hours. We also had a suckling pig roasted on
a spit. The whole meal was delicious and when we had finished we were
entertained by the family with local music, and dancing by their young
daughters. Delightful!
Unfortunately our time in Tonga was nearing the end, so we reluctantly made
our way back to Neiafu where we would have to clear out, fuel up and
provision the yacht for our next crossing. Here we were able to order some
personalised Sea Flute T shirts from a shop called Tropical Tease, who had
been supplied by Oyster with all the line drawings of each yacht on the
rally. Cindy, a crazy American lady who owned the store, had emigrated there
years ago with her husband and decided to stay even after he had passed
away. I think she made a nice little profit from the Oyster Rally fleet as
every yacht ordered from her. Before we left Tonga, the Tiggy’s had
organised a 70’s party at the Basque tavern which turned out to be a great
fun, if raucous evening, with everyone making an effort to dress up in that
era. Our friends on Meteorite deservedly won the prize for the best dressed
boat, with all of them dressing as Punk rockers. Over the next couple of
days, like us, everyone was busily preparing and provisioning their boats.
It seemed much too soon to be leaving this little gem of a kingdom, with its
larger than life people (literally) and their welcoming and no rush attitude
to everything. Apart from all of this wonderfulness, I will also fondly
remember having the biggest ice cream I have ever seen, balanced
precariously on a normal sized cone. I asked for a small one so goodness
knows what the large size would have been like. Now I know why they are all
so rotund!
Bye for now, see you in Fiji.
Love Lindy xx

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