The Kingdom of Tonga

To ensure an arrival in Tonga in daylight, we allowed three nights for the 250Nm journey - as it happened, we had a very fast, albeit very wet trip as it rained for one entire night. We had to reef down considerably to arrive in Neifau in daylight.  The Kingdom of Tonga actually consists of 177 islands, many of which are uninhabited, in four distinct groups - we did not visit the most northerly group (the Niuas) but started instead in the Vava'u Group, heading for the Official Port of Entry in Neiafu where we could clear into the Kingdom and also where we had arranged to meet Nick and Sally who were visiting us from the UK.

Tongans are deeply religious, the Christian church plays a central part in Tongan life - Sunday is a day of worship, eating and rest - all shops are shut and the streets are deserted.  There are a huge number of churches on the islands, the Free Wesleyan having the most follows - much of a family's income is donated to the Church, and there are more Church Schools than Government ones, each with their distinct and very smart uniform.  

Like most of the Tongan Churches, Neiafu Catholic Church is a huge and impressive building.

Nick and Sally check out the produce at the local market in Neiafu

Locally grown produce is abundant - these lovely ladies sold us 13 papaya and the palm leaf basket for 10 pa'anga, less than £4.

Apparently they all have owners, but pigs and piglets roam free on all the Tongan islands we visited - the piglets form a major part of the Tongan Feast.

The harbour of Neiafu, at the left side of the lagoon in the photo, is a huge and very well protected bay - although you can anchor, we opted for a mooring buoy as it is over 20 metres deep near the town.

The Vava'u Group consists of 60 islands and is considered to be the prime cruising area in Tonga.  We visited 6 of the anchorages - they have even been given numbers to assist the many Charter boat cruisers who get lost and are unable to remember which island they are on!   The water around Tonga is exceptionally clear and we enjoyed some wonderful snorkelling.

Sunlight through the water in Mariner's Cave, anchorage Number 7! (Also known as Port Maurelle or Fangakima)

A wonderful ball of fish, Swallows Cave, also Fangakima

The absolute highlight of our time in the Vava'u group was a day trip whalewatching.  Humpback whales migrate through the Tongan waters between June and October to calf and mate - in the 1800's there were around 150,000 humpbacks in these waters, but hunting and other human activity has decimated the numbers to a mere 12,000 today.   Along with four other sailors, we were picked up from the yacht in a motor boat and set off out to sea at high speed, looking for any signs of whales on the horizon.  For three hours we seemed to see whales in the distance, but by the time we got there they had moved off.  We had an early lunch break, feeling a bit disappointed, and they they arrived ...  first there was a 'Heat Run', a group of male Humpback whales rushing past, surfacing and breaching.  The plan was to swim with them, but we were too slow - by the time we had got into the water, they had passed us.  Next came the most amazing display by a group of four humpbacks.

Fluking - they stay relatively still in the water, and just seem to splash their tails as hard as they can for several minutes.

An adult breaching next to a calf

Flipper- slapping, the humpback is on it's side in the water, splashing it's long arm-like flippers.

Spy hopping

We did finally get to swim with the whales - this is not universally approved of as a practice, it may disrupt the whales.  In Tonga only relatively few licenced operators are permitted to approach the whales and allow swimming, private individuals must keep at least 300m from the whales.  We went into the water in groups of 4, with our guide who ensured we did not approach too closely - the whales did seem to totally ignore us, and it was rather more a case of us getting out of their way when they approached us.

Swimming with Humpback whales - the guide reckoned the calf was between one and two weeks old, the group consisted of the mother and calf, who stayed very close together and two male 'escorts', which we were told would probably not have been related to the calf.  It was an extraordinary experience.

We worked our way south through the Vava'u Group to the tiny island of Fonua'One'One, well protected by a reef the uninhapited island is only about 0.2 Nm from end to end.  At low tide a narrow beach surrounded the densely wooded island - we walked round it in about half an hour.  The next morning we set off at first light for the Ha'apai group, nearly 60 Nm to the south - we had excellent wind and made good time, arriving well before sunset.  Our first destination was Haano where we had to check in again with the Ha'apai Customs and Immigration.  We were also able to buy a few basic provisions and we even had a meal ashore in the Mariner's Cafe which is owned and run by a Polish lady who decided 5 years ago she wanted to buy a business overseas.  She told us she found it online, made a two day visit to Tonga and then made the snap decision to move to the other side of the world and try her hand at the restaurant business.  It seems to be going well for her.

Working our way south through the Ha'apai group we then stopped at Lifuka, Uoleva, Nomuka Ike - no numbers this time, as they are too far away for the Charter fleets from Vava'u.

Nick and Sally in Haano 

The beach at Lifuka - yet another island paradise!

We met up with Rick and Amanda from yacht Duplicat on the uninhapited island of Nomuka Ike and enjoyed snorkelling and a walk around part of the island with them. The island is thickly wooded, but part of it has been fenced off and wild pigs and cattle graze there - I was amazed by the destruction they cause to the woods.

Ground clearance by pigs - none of the fallen coconuts are left to sprout.

Cruisers are frequently asked by locals for spare rope for their cow - initially we were baffled by the concept, but now it all makes sense - the cows are kept tethered to minimise and control the areas they destroy with their grazing.

The remains of the fishing vessel Takuo, washed ashore on Nomuka Ike over ten years ago during a storm.  Nautilus and Duplicat are in the anchorage, the land across the bay is the larger Nomuka island with a population of approximately 1000.

Time was now running out for our visitors, we had to set off for the Tongatapu group of islands, 60 Nm to the south for them to catch their flight home.  Another dawn start, but this time we were not so lucky with the wind.  It was a beat - unusual for these parts, the wind was from the south, we had to motor sail in order to cover the distance in daylight.  We did however manage to catch two fish, (very unusual for us!) so it would be tuna for dinner, and also we saw several whales, including one that surfaced about 50 metres from the boat and waved its fluke at us before diving back down to the depths.

The main port of Nuku'alofa does not cater for yachts - instead we anchored off the delightful little island of Pangiamotu approximately 1.5 miles across the lagooon, and home of Big Mama's Yacht Club, a beach side bar / restaurant that caters for day trippers from the main town of Nuku'alofa and the trickle of yachts that stop here on the way to New Zealand and Australia.  The island is small enough to walk round in half an hour, and the snorkelling on a couple of old steel fishing boats wrecks as well as in the shallows next to the shore was excellent.  We ate in the resturant on Nick and Sally's last night on the boat, and Big Mama herself joined us for a post meal drink - the island belongs to the Royal Family who granted her permission to run the restaurant, which she had been doing with her husband Earle for the last 45 years.

Nick and Sally's final day on with us was spent on a round Tongatapu trip (organised by Big Mama) - the highlight was the  Mapu'a 'a Vaea blowholes, caused by the erosion of the coral rock, they extend for 5 km along the south coast of Tongatapu.

The waves crash into the coral cliff, even on a calm day with little swell it was a truly impressive sight - almost hypnotic, you could watch it for hours.

In close second place amongst the island's attractions was  'Anahulu Cave, you worked your way down a poorly lit path underground, surrounded by dripping stalactites and stalagmites with small bats flying overhead hoping that the generator running the lights wouldn't fail until you arrived at the freshwater pool - a very strange experience, it sounds horrible and far too much like potholing, but it was actually wonderful, if rather spooky.

Sally enjoying an underground swim in the 'Anahulu Cave.

Another bizarre attraction was the Tsunami Rock - a single large coral boulder ripped from the reef and pushed over 100 metres inshore by an ancient Tsunami it is believed to be the largest rock of its kind in the world.   We also saw the site where Captain Cook landed on Tonga, complete with a plaque commemorating a visit by Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip and Princess And in 1970 - a rather murky area of mangroves, certainly not one of the island's highlights.  We also saw trees full of Flying Foxes - large fruit bats with white furry heads and black ears and noses.

Driving round the island you can't but notice the amount of road side graves - our local guide and driver for the day, Wes, explained that burial can only occur on Government approved sites, but traditionally graves are covered with sand to keep the deceased warm and almost all were decorated with artificial flowers.

Roadside Graves - complete with flowers, sand 'blankets' and in many cases large decorated fabric panels.

We have enjoyed our time in Tonga, it seems to have flown by - you could easily spend months here.  The people have all been welcoming and friendly, the sea quality is excellent and the snorkelling wonderful.  Unfortunately we need to be in New Zealand by the beginning of November in order to avoid the cyclone season so there is no choice for us but to leave - we plan to head for Minerva Reef some 350km south of Tonga for a brief stop before New Zealand - the reef, which is awash at high tide, was claimed by Tonga after an American property developer imported tons of sand from Australia with the intention of building a Tax Free Republic on the reef.  Subsequently Fiji has attempted to claim it, resulting in UN involvement as recently as 2011 - the dispute apparently continues.

A final view of Tonga, underwater.  A Red and Black Anemonefish protecting it's patch - the snorkelling in these waters has been exceptional - clear water and abundant coral.