RealTonga had rescheduled our flight to Va'vau four times, so we set off for our noon departure with low expectations. It was immediately clear our fears were well founded. RealTonga’s only plane, was running late. Our flight was now scheduled to take off at six p.m. Probably. Over the next ten hours, we watched the plane arrive and leave four times, flying to and from various Tongan islands. Eventually, 7½ hours late, our turn came. In the dark, we flew to Vava'u, as far East as we will get on this trip. Vava'u is a small irregular island. The north has high cliffs and small sandy coves but the rest of the island is a maze, fingers of land winding between deep-water bays and lagoons. Beyond the main island, more than 50 smaller island are scattered.
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