June 22nd TONGA The 3hr flight to Tonga was uneventful - which is what I like. I arrived in Tonga and it was raining, windy and cold. My flight to Vava’u in Northern Tonga was cancelled and I had to wait for the later flight. I sat in the domestic airport - the equivalent of large shed - the only saving grace was the restaurant which sold hot and cold drinks and food. I had numerous cups of tea to keep me warm. While in the airport I struck up a conversation with an American girl work for VPO in Tonga. [View Full Entry]

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June 22nd TONGA The 3hr flight to Tonga was uneventful - which is what I like. I arrived in Tonga and it was raining, windy and cold. My flight to Vava’u in Northern Tonga was cancelled and I had to wait for the later flight. I sat in the domestic airport - the equivalent of large shed - the only saving grace was the restaurant which sold hot and cold drinks and food. I had numerous cups of tea to keep me warm. While in the airport I struck up a conversation with an American girl work for VPO in Tonga. [View Full Entry]

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Never have I been so comfortably happy to drive extremely slowly down a perfectly straight and decently paved rural road or to see a cockroach in my bathroom. Why do you ask? Because these are both things I associate with being in a nice warm island nation where time just goes a little slower. So if you haven't guessed I'm in Tonga. Getting to the final legs of the trip. So far Tonga seems pretty good. I'm kinda really exhausted though, after awkward flight hours and being used to going to bed at 10pm. But today was good. I got into [View Full Entry]

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We crossed the International Dateline so we are now (I think) 18 hours ahead of you at home. We lost Tuesday completely, but are making it up one hour at a time as we move westward around the globe. Always nice to get that extra hour a couple of times a week. Yesterday we were in Tonga, the first flat island we have visited. Unlike the others which were volcanic and, therefore, mountainous, Tonga is a huge coral reef and flat as a pancake. It is extremely lush and beautiful, but a terrible mess. Rusted out cars all over the place [View Full Entry]

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Yes, it is Monday for us. We didn't have Sunday, which you are enjoying even as I write this. We are now a day ahead of you. We are in the Kingdom of Tonga, one of the few countries left in the world that is ruled by a king. As you can see from the two photos, it is too shallow for our big ship to dock at the harbor, so we are using little boats from the ship, called tenders, to take people ashore for tours. Granny Lynne and I have been here before and as we know there is [View Full Entry]

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Tonga I am still unable to include pictures: in the interim I will plublish some commentary and add the pictures once we return home. The original schedule was one day of sailing to Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. The captain informed us that a large storm was battering the Cook Islands and that we would be detouring away from that area and that our next port of call would be Vavau, Tonga. What he didn’t mention is that this is the typhoon season in the South Pacific. Well after 3!/2 days we finally arrived. The [View Full Entry]

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December 13 I fly from Auckland to Tongatapu, the main island on Tonga. I staying at a Lodge outside the capital Nuku'alofa. After 5 days Børre and Marianne arrive Tonga, good to see them again. We split up 3 month ago, and we had plan to meet to celebrate Cristmas and NewYear together at the Dateline. I been looking for a new place to stay before they arrive so we move to Ha'atafu on the North end of the island. This is a surfer resort, so most of the people there are surfers. (except us) 19 we celebrate my burstday in [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Tonga, the Vava’u island group to blue skies and lush green islands. The topography was different to what we both expected but not disappointing. We docked next to the main wharf and watched the procession of local bureaucrats…quarantine, customs, immigration and health come on board for us to fill out their paper work and a chat. They where all very sweet as Si had sustained a burn (cup of hot coffee) on route and needed to get it checked by the doctor. The health guy drove us to the hospital, the bank and back to the hospital rather [View Full Entry]

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Well this post has taken much longer than expected to get up here. I'll keep the text short and leave you to the photos. Vava'u was the treat of the trip. I got to bike through jungle trails, swim with humpback whales, go diving and lounge around on the beach. This island is off the tourist track and I really enjoyed it. I've enrolled in a gym boot camp as part of a marketing stunt for my office.... it's breaking my balls. Up at 5:30 to crawl around on my stomach through muddy fields and pack around a pack filled with [View Full Entry]

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Gangly girls, hair tightly braided in plaits, swinging the skirts of their checkered button down dresses, giggle and clutch worn school books tightly to their chests. The boys, shuffling along in dusty lava lavas, carry crumbled cheeto's bags in one hand, IPOD's in the other, and bounce their chins to unheard beats of bass and drums. Nearby, a cluster of weathered men and a chipped concrete table coalesce in a dynamic social scene. Bent heads focus on the checker board before them while forgotten cigarettes glow faintly from soiled fingertips. Discarded newspapers, previously perused and c [View Full Entry]

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