Nuku'alofa - Tongatapu

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I arrived in Tonga and got picked up and taken to Heilala Lodge- luxury compared to my last week. My own room, a fan and a share bathroom -with flushing toilet and HOT water!! The next morning I had breakfast (toast and fresh fruit) and got talking to a couple from Brighton Nancy and Stuart (in their early 30s but didn’t look it). I said I was going up to Va va’u which is either a 21hour choppy boat ride or a 100 Pound flight. They decided that they would fly up and so we ended up all booking to go and stay at the same place together. The first flight we could get was early Monday morning (it was Friday).

Saturday was spent getting a small boat over to a small island which we walked round in half an hour. There was a sunken ship really close to the beach that we snorkeled around but the beach and the fish were nothing compared to Fiji.

On Sunday we paid a tenner to go on “Mad Mancunian Tony’s tour” around Tongatapu (the main island). Tonga is mostly covered in rubbish but they were tidying up as the King was about to die and they new lots of officials would be coming over. Tony showed us all the local plants and crops as we drove around which were interesting. Look at the pictures for some of the sights we saw. The blow holes where the best.

(see the next blog for what I did in Vava’u which I will do soon- I’m actually now safely in New Zealand!)

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Photos

The little Island
And the sunken ship

Crabs
These small grabs where all over the small island we went to. Bizarrely they only have one giant red claw!

Fruit bat
Seen on Tony's tour

Natural bridge
Seen on Tony's tour

Blow holes
These were really cool.

Me and Tonga coastline
Not the lovely sandy beaches of Fiji.

The Trilithon
a mini Stone Henge

The burial site
of the Kings Nephew and wife who were recently killed in a car crash in the US. The graves in Tinga are a pole of soil above the ground.

Just for Angela and Nayland school
Penuts growing under ground!!!

Comments

[Cake Maker]

From your mummy
Look forward to more on the island. Tongan Royal family not having much luck. You should try and stay with local people as it helps the local economy and not foreigners who have decided to live there. First law of sustainable tourism. besides as you said on the phone they are more entertaining!! Keep enjoying it all. Are you going out into the harbour on a large yacht in Auckland - its what Dad wanted to do but they didn't listen. Like the peanuts. lots of love mum xxx

[angela]

nuts
Thanks for the peanuts. I'm already working out how to link them in with next week's Science/Literacy/Maths/ICT....... lots of love Angela xxxxxx