The Kingdom of Tonga

Tonga is made up of 171 islands, 36 inhabited, divided into four groups; The Niuas, Vava’u, Ha’apai and Tongatapu. Tonga is outstandingly beautiful and is very friendly. The population largely subsist on fish, coconuts and whatever they can grow. There are more Tongans in New Zealand than in Tonga and the people at home rely on the money that is sent back.

Tonga lies on the edge of a rim of volcanoes and the soil on the larger islands is rich from ancient deposits of volcanic ash. There are still towering volcanoes on the western side of Tonga and in Ha’apai, Tofua, where Captain Bligh was cast adrift, is still smouldering. There has been other recent volcanic activity at other sites in the Ha’apai area.

Tonga is an absolute monarchy and the King is revered. Tonga is mostly run on a feudal system with each family being allotted 2 plots of land, one on which to live and one for growing food. All the land is owned by the king and no foreigner can buy land, although land can be leased for up to 50 years. This has prevented development of resorts and so Tonga is unspoilt. Sadly it also means that local development has been inhibited and many families have no access to schools or medical services. The doctors and teachers are in New Zealand!

The Niuas

17^th September 2009

15.56 S 173.46 W

We had a pleasant sail down in 15 to 20 knots of wind which is ideal. Despite not yet being at 180 degrees we crossed the International Date Line on this passage and so lost a day; we are now 12 hours in front of UK, instead of 12 hours behind!

Niuatoputapu (very sacred coconut) is one of the three volcanic islands which form The Niua group which are the most northern islands of Tonga. It has a population of 1010 and 14 churches. Living here is traditional and most homes, fales, have no electricity. Cooking is done on open fires or in earth ovens and most of the food is grown on the island, although they do import some basics such as flour, sugar and rice. Back in May their supply ship sank so they are now short of supplies and with no replacement ship, there is little hope of a delivery in the near future. Many cruisers have brought flour or rice with them to help out and the local people trade their fruit for items that they need. They will not starve; there is a good variety of fruit and veg growing and plenty of fish to catch. The customs man said he thinks it is a really good thing that they have to return to the coconut!

I read in a guide book that communication with the outside world was by Morse code as recently as 1999!!! However there is now a huge satellite dish in the main town of Hihifo and the local High School has a computer which is linked to the internet, I expect the Government buildings are also online.

Shortly after arriving in Niuatoputapu the officials came out to the boat to complete the formalities. After that we were invited to the home of Se’a, a local lady, for a pig roast. She does this every Friday for cruisers. 2 young pigs were cooked on a spit over an open fire and served with breadfruit, taro and cassava. We had a lovely evening in the company of her family and some fellow boaties. When darkness fell they brought out a fluorescent tube and fired up a generator to give us light.

On Sunday Se’a put on a picnic for us. Tongan religion does not allow them to work on Sundays so it is a good time for families to get together and Se’a’s family chooses to share it with cruisers too. We met on an outlying ‘motu’ and Se’a brought tuna cooked in coconut cream in a taro leaf, which was delicious, and the usual breadfruit and cassava. We cruisers each brought our own dishes to share and turned it into a pot luck. The vegetable dishes we took went down very well and the children loved the cookies. Unfortunately the rain came and sent us all running home early.

Wild pigs and chickens roam freely on the island and can be seen foraging on the exposed coral at low tide, alongside horses, which are also here in numbers. The pigs eat anything and many of the houses are surrounded by makeshift fences to keep them away from their plants and food stores. The plantations, where most of the food is grown, lie behind the villages on higher ground. We had a pleasant hike up into the hills and talked to some of the men working in the fields. One of the crops being tended was tapioca, which I don’t think I have seen growing before.

After a few days we were ready to move south to the next group of islands. As we left the harbour and headed out to sea we spotted whale spouts in front of us. There were 2 humpback whales travelling slowly just ahead. As we watched, a third one swam past us close to the boat on the port side and then a couple of others, a short distance off to starboard. We were mesmerized as one, then another breached and yet another spy hopped behind us. (That is when they come out of the water vertically and ‘stand’ on their tail) It was so absorbing we went a bit too far west and had to pay for it later!

Vava’u

25^th September 2009

18.39 S 173.58 W

The sail down to Vava’u was a bit frustrating. The wind had more south in than we would have liked and we were gradually pushed further westwards. It was fairly comfortable sailing in 10 to 20 knots. As we neared the islands we had to tack to make our course and our day sail turned to night. We should have been in by sundown but instead we were discussing whether or not it would be safe to enter the island group in the dark or better to heave to until morning. After studying the chart carefully we superimposed the radar onto the chart plotter and headed in to an easy looking anchorage. We approached the wide open bay with great caution and finally anchored at 3am. It was a little tense and we were very tired but we would not have missed those whales for the world.

Vava’u is made up of 60, sparsely inhabited islands over an area of 17 sq miles. The waterways within the group are protected on all sides by the outer islands and reef, and so the sea is flat and sailing is idyllic. It is possible to sail in even the lightest of winds and we would often ghost along at 1 or 2 knots. In the centre is an immense, landlocked harbour where the main town of Neiafu, with its lively market and restaurants, lies.

The distances from one island to the next were small so when a friend called on the VHF and asked us to come over for a barbeque or a pot luck curry we could up anchor and sail over, maybe stopping for a snorkel on the way. It was great fun. Every few days we popped back to town, or an anchorage near town to get fresh supplies.

Humpback whales come to Tonga to breed and calf at this time of year so we frequently saw them as we sailed around. On one occasion we watched a mother and her calf swimming around our anchorage for about an hour and when we went diving on another day we could hear the song of a distant whale in the water.

The other creatures of note have been the flying foxes. They are here in their hundreds and we saw them hanging in trees during the day and flying out to forage at night. They have cute little foxy faces and are bigger than I expected, probably about a 30 inch (or 75cm) wingspan.

‘Chinook Tours’ took a group of friends out to Mariners Cave, accessible only by taking a huge leap of faith. It involved diving down a couple of meters and swimming through an opening in the rock face into the cave. The cave is only 2 or 3 meters in but is not visible from the surface. We motored back and forth a few times before deciding we had the right spot. Andy was the first one through and we all waited nervously for a signal that it was safe to go in. I valiantly volunteered for the job of boat watch as it was too deep to anchor, so sadly missed my opportunity to go in.........(I’m not a coward, honestly!)

Ha’apai

2^nd November 2009

19 51 S 174 24 W

After one false start when the weather defeated us we finally made it to Ha’apai with a comfortable beat into 10 to 15 knots of wind.

These islands are wonderful, mostly uninhabited and cruiser free. We saw only a few birds and hundreds of crabs. The islands are small enough to walk around in an afternoon at most and we went ashore most days to walk the beaches and search for treasure. We have collected so many shells that we have to be a bit more discerning now and only take grade ‘A’ shells. We are still searching for the perfect Cowry; it must be out there somewhere.

The reefs in the area make navigation a bit tricky but are great for snorkelling. The water is much colder down here – we are nearly out of the tropics – and we had to wear wet suits but it was worth it. The water is crystal clear and we saw a lion fish the other day. On one of our walks we came across a school of about 20 or more sharks in the shallows, about a meter from where we stood. We decided not to bother snorkelling there!

We only wish we had left more time for these islands, they are truly special and we hope to come back and give them a bit more time.

We stopped briefly in Nuku’alofa, Tonga Tapu to fuel up and restock for the trip to New Zealand. With cyclone season fast approaching we really had to get moving and could not put it off any longer!