Well we have arrived at our final destination in the Pacific. We are in Tonga and it is absolutly amazing. We will have about 6 days here and then we head off for NZ our final detination. The pictures included are of the society islands. [View Full Entry]

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Maolo e Lei lei, zoals ze hier in Tonga zouden zeggen! Ondertussen breng ik mijn laatste dagen door in 'The kingdom of Tonga' dat zomaar eventjes bestaat uit 171 eilandjes, waarvan ik er zelf, drie bezocht heb. Nogmaal om de verwarring tegen te gaan: ik ben NIET (meer) in NIEUW-ZEELAND en ook NIET in AUSTRALIE! Tonga is een land op zich, in de pacific! ( dichtbij Frans Polynesie, Fiji, Nieuw-Caledonie,...) Toen we aankwamen, werden we aan de luchthaven onmiddellijk opgehaald door Toni. Een 60+ Brit, die hier ondertussen al 18 jaar woont, volledig verbitterd en doordrongen van zwartgallige humor... bizar. De [View Full Entry]

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We've all heard about whalewatching from boats or shore, and a few companies are now offering the possibility of actually swimming and snorkeling with whales in the wild. Is this a good thing? Some whalewatching operators in the Kingdom of Tonga, South Pacific islands, advertise the possibility of swimming and snorkeling with humpback whales during the cetacean's annual migration from July to October. This activity sounds appealing, yet there are a number of things to consider. To drop clients off within snorkeling distance of a whale, the swim boats must come closer than the 30 meters laid down in Tongan government [View Full Entry]

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Photos from our Tonga trip in June 2007. Travelled with family members for Marco's daughter's wedding in Eua. A great place for a family trip, lots of adventure in the rainforest with 4wds and not overrun with tourists. Recommended places to stay - on Eua - Hideaway resort and on Tongatapu - Heilala Holiday Lodge. [View Full Entry]

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En we waren gebleven bij de vlucht naar Tonga… was een goeie vlucht, hoewel we niemand kunnen aanraden met Air New Zealand te vliegen… nix ten nadele van de stewards aan boord, maar er zijn er gewoon te weinig om een goede service te verlenen. Zo kreeg Jacq haar maaltijd redelijk vroeg (vegetarische maaltijd worden altijd als 1e geserveerd) en moest ik ruim anderhalf uur wachten.. lekker gezellig als je samen wat wilt eten. Maar goed, verder alles prima hoor. Om 10 uur ‘s ochtends kwamen we aan in Nuka’alofa, de hoofdstad van Tonga. Was gelijk een wereld van verschil… verwachtten [View Full Entry]

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Take time out from the world in Tonga If you want a place to relax on a nice tropical beach, want to avoid hordes of tourists, and like the basics of life then Tonga is definitely for you. It is a true pacific tropical paradise, but what makes it really special is its people. The Tonga people have been able to maintain a laid back life style that is thankfully largely devoid of western life styles and tourism. Tonga lives up to the reputation of being the Friendly Islands. You will find yourself constantly greeting people and getting rewarded by beautiful [View Full Entry]

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Tonga - unique among Pacific nations - never completely lost its indigenous governance. The archipelagos of "The Friendly Islands" were united into a Polynesian kingdom in 1845. Tonga became a constitutional monarchy in 1875 and a British protectorate in 1900; it withdrew from the protectorate and joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1970. Tonga remains the only monarchy in the Pacific. Tonga has a land area of about 750 square km, which makes it a bit smaller than metropolitan Melbourne. It’s 115,000 people live on 36 of its 169 islands. Tongans are huge, friendly and poor. With GDP growing at the [View Full Entry]

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Hi folks - I promised a part 2 to my blog about Tonga and, finally, here it is. Let me give you a couple of Tonga facts. Tonga is an absolute monarchy and the royal family rules all out here, as well as owning all the country's power and telecoms companies. The country is the only one in this part of the world that was never colonised. The kingdom of Tonga is actually made up of several islands spread across hundreds of miles of the South Pacific. As I had been spending most of my time on the largest island of [View Full Entry]

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Hello bloggos. Sorry I haven’t posted for a while but I am a very busy man these days. I have no idea how I am going to manage to hold down a job when the trip is over although I am gaining good experience in my new role as a Kiwi “house husband”, as appointed by my brother’s housemates. It looks from the news reports as though I am missing a ripper of a summer over in England. Hope no-one has been caught up in the floods and you are staying dry. I have many stories to finish off from the [View Full Entry]

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It's now Monday evening- I arrived in Tonga on Thursday (31/05/07) and have so far settled in well. It is a lot poorer here than I imagined and there's so many stray dogs around!! I'm staying at Winnie's guest house- Winnie is about 80 and bakes cakes during the day then falls asleep in front in the TV in the evening. The TV is a luxury item in Tonga and I've been watching some random films like James and the giant peach!, Mrs Doubtfire, my super ex girlfriend!! Then Ally McBeal came on- very strange!!!! I was due to start at [View Full Entry]

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