Blogs from Tonga, Oceania - page 5

I was compliaing in Bali how it's overrun by tourist. Now I'm complaining about lack of tourist infrastructure here. Those who do try to provide services for tourist, nice one, it must be a difficult business!... read more

For a group of islands in the South Pacific, Tonga is not as popular as Hawaii, nor as spectacular as Tahiti or Fiji. But if you want to experience authentic Polynesian culture, there is nothing like Tonga. It's a unique place that is not easy to get to or even find on a map. In 2004, I went to Tonga to swim with humpback whales. (I already posted about whale swimming, so I'll just focus on describing Tonga.) Tonga is a collection of more than 175 islands, most of them small. To get to Tonga from the U.S., I flew from San Francisco -->Hawaii-->Samoa-->to the main island on Tonga. Still, it took another flight and a boat ride to get to tiny Mounu island, where I stayed. Less than 5 people live on that island. Tonga ... read more

Tonga, Tonga, Tonga. Almost 3 weeks were spent in the Vava'u Group of Islands in the Kingdom of Tonga. We sailed with Go Beyond for the three day trip across from Niue without incident apart from having to go up the mast and play around with some rig fittings, and motored into the harbour about 8.00am to tie up near the Customs Wharf. The clearing in process was a bit time consuming but you learn just to be patient and be nice and ride the time out. We had customs officers, health officers, immigration officers and quarrantine officers all pay us a visit and take our fees before we were cleared out to go and get ready to explore somewhere we had all been busting to get to. Tonga did not dissappoint in any way shape ... read more

Neiafu is a small seaside town of a few thousand stuck on the sides of a very deepwater harbour. I don’t understand the geology of Vava’u (the main island seems to be called Vava’u and has lots of islands to the south). There is obviously volcanic activity plus tectonic uplifts and lots of coral reefs; however, I have no idea why this area has such deep water. Neiafu Harbour, for example, has 37 metres in the middle. This means that when you are underway generally there is plenty of water under the keel though it often does means that the only area for anchoring is a very narrow strip close to shore or the reef. A bit like the Sounds at the top of the South Island. We are using “Ken’s Comprehensive Cruising Guide for the ... read more

That was fun!... read more