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Published: December 20th 2014
"Malo e lelei" means "hello" in Tongan! This is a long blog with 60 pictures. I tried to make it shorter with less pictures, but it was difficult!
Being in New Zealand, I also wanted to visit one of the Pacific island nations. Most travelers go to Fiji and for that reason I didn't want to go there. Other options I considered included Vanuatu. I worked with a guy from Tonga in New Zealand and I became more and more curious. When I saw discounted tickets with Air New Zealand online, I took advantage and booked my flight! I stayed a total of 9 days in Tonga, "the true South Pacific" like their tourism slogan says.
Tonga consists of four main island groups: Tongatapu (main island, where the capital Nuku'alofa is located), 'Eua, Ha'apai and Vava'u. I only visited Tongatapu and 'Eua. The other ones are a bit far away and I couldn't be bothered to take a very long ferry or a domestic flight.
All the 176 islands together have an area of 750 square km and the population is around 105.000, of which 75.000 live on Tongatapu. Tonga is the only kingdom in the
Pacific and the current king is Tupou VI. Tongans are proud of the fact that their country was never colonized. It is a developing country and there is poverty, but I wouldn't say it's very bad. Many Tongans are overweight though, making it one of the fattest countries in the world.
My flight from Auckland had a 9.5 hours delay and I got a hotel room for the day, including lunch and transport. Then the flight was overbooked and I volunteered to stay one night and fly to Tonga the next morning. I would have arrived around 23:00 in Tonga and I already lost my first day. I got a hotel room again, including dinner and breakfast plus an amount of cash which gave me roughly 70% of my ticket price back!
Once in Tonga, I took a taxi to my guesthouse which was very close to the centre of Nuku'alofa, the capital. While driving to Nuku'alofa, I immediately noticed the large amount of coconut trees on the island. Mango- and banana trees are also in abundance. At the guesthouse I grabbed a map and headed to town. My first stop was at the
Royal Tombs (Mala'ekula), the current burial site of the royal family. Then I went to the Royal Palace which is made of wood and was built in 1867. Unfortunately both are closed to the public. I saw a group of Tongan boys sitting under a tree, one of them playing a guitar and others singing. They were pretty good so I just stood there and listened for a bit. Then they asked me where I was from etc, the usual stuff; I had a bit of a chat with them. I visited Talamahu Market, where you'd find the usual market stuff such as fruits, vegetables, clothing and artwork. Also here I had a chat with two Tongan women who work at the market, without them trying hard to sell me their stuff which was great. They were really interested in where I'm from and why I went to Tonga, and I was interested in what they had to say about their job etc. Generally speaking I found Tongans to be very friendly and helpful which made me feel at home! Tonga has many churches and it's quite a religious country. I was surprised to see the amount of Mormon churches
in Tonga. Another thing that caught my attention was the "ta'uvala", which is a woven mat worn over the "tupenu". A tupenu is like a simple, long dress worn by both men and women. Some boys wear them both as uniforms in the secondary school. Ta'uvalas are used at all formal occasions such as weddings and funerals. The origin of the ta'uvala goes way back, when a group of people arrived by boat in Tonga and because of the rough ride, they didn't have much clothes left. But to show respect to the king, they cut the sail and mats of their boats in pieces and wrapped them around their bodies. The king liked the idea and introduced this in the country. That's the story people told me and I also found it on the internet.
I asked a Hungarian guy at the guesthouse if he'd like to rent a car together for one day (24 hours). This way we'd share the costs. He found it a good idea but wow, I wish I rented the car by myself. This guy was very annoying! I'm not perfect but I'm very tolerant therefore I don't get angry or
annoyed by others easily. Whenever we'd stop somewhere and he saw some Tongan ladies, he HAD to approach and talk to them, ask them for their phone numbers and take pictures with them. Once he stood with a girl and holding her from behind for a picture and I thought "wow, that's really inappropriate". I told him that he's not leaving Tonga alive if he keeps behaving like this. We also had a little discussion about where to go first etc. because he thought the island was so tiny that you could easily drive from west to east and then back to the west within about 5 hours, while stopping at certain sites of interest. This is just a part of what happened, but he was the most annoying person I've met in a LONG time.
We took the car around midday so we had that whole afternoon and the next morning to use it. I was the driver (of course!) and we started on the east. In Tonga they drive on the left side of the road. We quickly stopped at a primary school where they had like a small celebration/ceremony because it was the last
school day before the summer vacation. We continued towards the Ha'amonga Trilithon, which was made by the royals using coral stone in the early 1200's and is more than 5m high. We continued on a road along the east side of the island which felt like driving in an isolated jungle. We didn't encounter any other traffic, the road was narrow and there was a lot of bush and coconut trees. We stopped to take a look at the 'Anahulu Cave, where we went back the next day. Together with some Tongan teenagers, family of those who manage the cave, we entered the cave and jumped in the water. It was a great experience to swim in a cave and there were some small bats flying around! We all had a waterproof torch to be able to see. We took a look at 'Oholei Beach, where I went back that same night for a buffet dinner and cultural dance show. It was full moon and the beach looked stunning! Dinner was served on a split upper banana tree trunk, very unique! The food was excellent and later they performed different cultural dances in the Hina Cave such as "mako, kailao,
lakalaka and ukulele". It was very interesting and especially the fire-dance impressed everyone. A pity the light wasn't bright enough to record the dances, except for the fire-dance.
Along the south coast we stopped at a couple of sites, including some beaches and blowholes. Most (if not all) beaches on Tongatapu have a reef barrier off the coast and you could only swim during high tide. The Natural Land Bridge was a stunning place, same goes for the Hufangalupe Lookout. The southern coast is quite rough and at some parts the waves hit the rocks and the water splashes in the air, just like the north coast of Curaçao. After the southern coast we continued towards the western part of the island, where we saw the sunset from a beautiful beach called Ha'atafu.
At night I went out twice in the center of Nuku'alofa. There are about four bars with music and it was fun to have a chat with some locals. Like everywhere else, some people try to come and tell some bullshit stories but I act as if I believe them. This is probably something I'll always encounter when I travel :
"People ask me if I need some kind of drugs". It wasn't to first time and probably won't be the last time I get those questions. Not far from my guesthouse I met the boys who were playing guitar and had another chat with them. I was asking them about the beaches and they offered to take me the next day. One of them had a car; I put some gas and the three of us went. Their names were Darius (Esi) and Antonio (Nio). First we stopped at a plantation owned by Nio's family, where we had some coconut water and then went off to a beach just west of Keleti Resort. When we arrived, it was low tide but it was rising. We walked on the reef terraces and some of them are like small, natural pools in which you could just sit and enjoy while the water hits the reef and splashes over you. The boys were young (18 / 19) and we spoke a lot about religion (both are Christians) and about what they want for the future etc. Nio lives in New Zealand and is pursuing a career as a rugby player while Esi is
finishing school and wants to study architecture. After this day I saw them more often when walking to/from the guesthouse and I'd always hang around with them and some other locals.
A traditional dish in Tonga is the "Ota Ika" (raw fish) which I didn't want to try because I was afraid to get an possible allergic reaction. I tried "Lu Sipi", which consists of cassava and taro leaves mixed with coconut cream and small pieces of lamb. It's also available with beef and is called "Lu-something else" (can't remember the name now). I loved the Lu Sipi, it fills and it costs just US$ 2,50 (5 TOP$, Tongan Panga) at a restaurant where Tongans eat. I just asked someone where I could eat local food and they showed me the way.
I went by ferry to the island of 'Eua, which took almost 3 hours. The ride was pretty bumpy because the sea was a bit rough, but I was ok while others were vomiting. 'Eua lies southeast of Tongatapu, it's much smaller and has ca. 5.000 people. 'Eua is pretty hilly and covered in lush rain-forest, which makes it quite different than
the other islands. There isn't too much to do on 'Eua except for some good hiking. The beaches here were similar to those in Tongatapu (the ones I've seen at least). I stayed at this guesthouse which is like a big garden with trees and some flowers, and the rooms are all built around the main house where you find the kitchen, common room and porch. I met with two Australians and one Vietnamese-Australian here with who I spent most of my time. Three of us decided to jog to Ha Aluma Beach, about 5km away. Once there we just relaxed a bit, but couldn't go in the water because it was low tide. On our way back we decided to hitchhike and got a ride in the back of a truck filled with coconuts! The next day all four of us went for a longer hike. One of the Australians was staying there for more than 2 weeks already and he knew the way. We stopped at a big sinkhole with a small waterfall. It didn't rain much the prior couple of weeks, therefore the waterfall was very small. Usually there is much more water falling into the sinkhole
and it'd look as if smoke is coming out of the sinkhole. That's why it's called 'Ana 'Ahu (smoking cave). We continued towards the Lokupo lookout with excellent views over the eastern / southeastern coast. The little 'Ana Kuma cave had a narrow entrance but it was worth going into to enjoy the view! At night we would just hang out, watch something on the laptop or play cards. I taught them how to play the card-game "Casino" and they loved it! One of the boys who lives there, also joined us and he was good! I joined some locals in the village playing volleyball which was really cool. The family living at the guesthouse and running it were very nice, very attentive and one evening we bought a delicious, home cooked dinner from them!
My ferry back to Tongatapu was leaving at 5am and the vessel was packed! There was no more space to sit so I had to go to the front of the ferry and sit on the floor. Luckily enough the sea wasn't rough. It was my last whole day in Tonga so once I was back in Nuku'alofa I went to my
guesthouse, checked-in and went back to the wharf to take a boat to Pangaimotu island, just 10 minutes by boat. The island is tiny, has a sunken ship-and boat just off the coast, and a restaurant with a terrace. You're not allowed to bring your own food there. I took a walk all around the island, which took about 30 minutes. Then I entered the water which felt so good! I swam around the ship-and boat wreck and went on the floating raft. The water was crystal clear and the beach was beautiful! First I had doubts about going and spending a few hours there, but it don't regret it!
My visit to Tonga was excellent and I would have loved to stay longer in this laid back, safe and friendly country. Tonga was my kind of destination because it was not too touristy and it felt authentic, original! I hope I'll have a chance to go back in the future!
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Enjoying the islands
Lovely waters. How does this island compare to Curacao? Bet you are enjoying the warm weather.