Last few days in Vava'u

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Saturday 16th Sept: Went diving today, it rained as we left - it stopped shortly after but the water stayed choppy all day. We had to kit ourselves up which wasn’t good in the choppy weather. The first dive was through split rock- a big 20 ft rock -split in half one person wide. There wasn’t much to see as you swim through the rock but before we went through you can see lots of fish- including a lion fish and some smaller fish swum through my fingers. The second dive we went through a tunnel and into an underground cave and saw loads of fish on a fan of coral. My favourite fish were the trumpet fish that look like dragons.
On the way home in the distance we saw a humped back whale breaching (coming right out of the water) five times it was a great finish to a good day.

Sunday 17th Sept: usual not much to do and because I had been up early all week I took the opportunity to have a lye-in. Nancy, Stuart and I played a mammoth game of Nomination Wist- 17 down to 1 and back up (in ones) that filled a couple of hours.

Monday 18th Sept: I did a cart safari around Va va’u. It was really good bumping along dirt tracks and saw some good views at lookouts and got to spin the cart around in dirt openings.
The 3 of us flew the same tiny plane back down in the afternoon, in the evening we went into town (Neiafu) to get dinner and saw hundreds of people lining the palace walls with fires. Everyone in the country has to wear black and the traditional mats for a month in mourning for the King. The palace was all lit up and a big church service was going on in the grounds and there is black and purple decorations everywhere.

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Photos

Nancy and Stuart
Who I spent all my time in Tonga with.

Friendship
Nancy made friendship braclets for all of us. (Us being the medics and me!)

The medics and us at Tonga Bobs
From lt to rt- Me,Becca, Anni, Matt, Stuart, Nancy, Anna, Julia.

Comments

[Neil]

Updates
T, Great to get all these updates to keep us all going back here in dull, rainy UK. Please to hear that you're getting on well. Please bring me back one of those go-karts! Am very amused by the fact that you've all written your names on your hands so you can tell whose is whose! Love, N x

[Tamsin]

Sorry photo should say from lt to rt- Me, Rynn, Becca, Anni, Matt, Stuart, Nancy, Anna and Julia