Tonga

We didn't know diddly-squat about Tonga before we arrived. All we knew was that Tonga was a kingdom near the famous Tonga_Trench (duh), perhaps the deepest trench in the ocean.

We had charts but that doesn't help much as far as good anchoring locations, etc. We had been using a cruising Guide called Charlie's Charts of French Polynesia, which includes info on places like Nieue. We were aware that there was a guide put out by the Moorings charter folks showing anchorages in Tonga, but hadn't acquired a copy. In short, we hadn't done our homework and the mid-term was coming up Real Soon Now.

What to do? We knew there was a most excellent harbor in a place called Neiafu, so we set a course for there.

This is a sunrise while on the way to Tonga. The passage is about 260nm so we had a few of them. Of course, we were too lazy to shoot them all.

This is a sunset/thunderstorm over an island in the Vava'u Group. We entered Tongan waters in the morning but discovered that most islands had no shallow/sheltered anchorages so it became increasingly urgent to find a place to spend the night before it became dark. Tonga is a complex maze of islands with many reefs between them and therefore no place to be sailing at night.

One of the first things you learn about Tonga is that it consists of different "Groups" of islands. Most are coraline islands that were lifted by the tectonic action of the plate collision to the east. The Vava'u ( Vavah' - oo ) Group was initially one island that started dipping southward; the high spots of this island now form islets to the south, with a big island on the north. To the west is a semi-active volcanic island, Late, with a series of other active volcanoes to the south, Kao and the famous island of Tofua.

The port of Neiafu is on the big island to the north, facing a harbor that is one of the most sheltered in the Pacific. We didn't make it to Neiafu that day, the entrance is rather circuitous and not to be entered at night for the first time. We tried to approach a place that was labeled "Port of Refuge", but found it was neither, just a beach with a few fishing canoes. Our fallback was the obvious - go look for other boats and drop anchor there (baaaah). We barely squeezed in but we managed to spend the night at one of the few nice anchorages in the area, a place called Mala Island.

This is a view of the port of Neiafu. If you look closely you will see a zillion boats on the right. They are mostly on moorings, as much of the harbor is fairly deep (>100'). However, before you can pick up a mooring you have to tie up at the Customs dock and check in, which can be a lengthy, somewhat nerve-racking process as the dock is made for big ships and has fenders as big as your dinghy. It is also subject to a large tidal range, so the fenders are often way above your little vessel. In our case it didn't take too long; they confiscated our bananas as a bug threat and took some of our fish, just because they needed something for lunch. We had read that they used to be very suspicious of yachts, since they'd had more than a few that were smuggling drugs. However, they seemed to have lightened up and don't require the permission of the police and a cruising itinerary anymore.

Our first week in Tonga was spent hunkered down in this harbor, as the weather was just awful. One thing we learned pretty quick was that weather here is 4-5 days of paradise punctuated by windy, rainy hell. It's supposed to be even worse in the summer, but we never intend to find out.

Here are just some of the many, many caves on Tonga. I suspect the edges of this picture are blurred by the camera's underwater housing.

Some caves you can enter in a dinghy, some have entrances that are underwater. This is looking out of Swallow's Cave. Note the sailboat going by; the Vava'u Group of Tonga is a cruiser's paradise, with the presence of a major charter base adding even more to the flotillas and crowded anchorages.

We snorkeled around this inviting motu for at least two hours. We always wear a wet suit or dive skins to protect ourselves from coral and any invisible stinging single cells which may be sharing the territory.

Anchored just 50 yards away, we were inspired to celebrate another fabulous day with a night beach barbecue with some friends from California. Its quite easy to lose track of your waistline when sailing. Besides adventuring and exploring, one of my favorite past times is creating new recipes to try on unsuspecting crew. The markets of the South Pacific are rife with new flavors, spices and succulent fruits ..Be sure you know 500 ways to eat leftover bananas.

Here's that mermaid with her fins off. While some anchorages are slopping over with boats, you can still get away from it all by avoiding locations that have restaurants.

Here's a delicate sapphire starfish.

Here the admiral presides over yet another sunset. Every sunset is different, every one is final.

Here's a fleeting image of our mermaid. The coral you see in the foreground is soft coral, sort of a rubber version of the more familiar kind. It looks solid but it's not.

Here's a family of humpback whales: note the mom above, the calf in the middle and the presumed dad below. Tonga is a major calving ground for humpbacks, which migrate here in the winter from Antarctica. Whale-watching is a major part of the tourist biz, and sometimes we play tourist.

Here is a picture of dad. What you can't appreciate here is the amount of effort involved trying to sneak up on these guys and what it's like to be able to reach out and touch an 8' fluke. They take off in an instant, at which point you have a lot of swimming in your future just to catch up again.

Another underwater scene of pristine coral.

Tonga IS the cruisers Mecca and underwater enthusiasts dream.

Ha'api

It was getting to be mid-October and we wanted to see more of Tonga before having to depart for New Zealand. As mentioned above, Tonga consists of numerous groups of islands. The most visited by yachties is Vava'u. But we're always interested in the less-traveled spots, especially if they're dive-worthy. Since the next Group, Ha'api ( Hah-Apeye ), is on the way to New Zealand, we figured we could get some more diving done in what would be even better water than Vava'u.

The passage to Ha'api was not without its adventures. To begin with, we decided to tie up to a mooring in order to leave after midnight, so as to arrive in Ha'api mid-morning. When we awoke to depart we discovered we had slipped the mooring and were drifting westward in an area full of reefs! Fortunately, we did get up in time to get our bearings and sail out of the shoals.

The weather deteriorated as we made our way south, starting at 20kts and reaching 27+ at our first intended anchorage. We wanted to stop but the weather said no, with a nasty 3' chop and no good holding. We therefore made our way to the island of Ha'ano, which appeared to have a decent place to hide.

This is Mushroom Rock, at the island of Ha'ano, in Ha'api. As you can see, the water is quite inviting. While we were anchored here we had a squall come through, complete with 45+ kt winds. The wind clocked 360 degrees more than once in 2 hours, and this is not the kind of place where you want a lee shore.

Unlike Vava'u, Ha'api doesn't have too many sheltered anchorages. This is one place where a cruising guide is essential, given the many reefs and areas with poor holding. The area just south of here is one huge maze that should be avoided at night.

Here's the admiral surveying the beach on the island of Nukumano, just south of Ha'ano. This beach is utterly pristine and covered with seashells. The only downside is the best ones contain hermit crabs, which we leave alone.

Here's a grouper patrolling the entrance to one of the many caves at Ha'ano. There is a dive shop on the nearby island of Foa, "Happy Ha'api Divers", where they know the many seldom-visited reefs here.

We really needed to get ready to leave for NZ, so we left for the nearby island of Lifuka, where we hoped to find fuel and check out. We checked out but the only gas station on the island, which consisted of a house with some 55 gal drums in the back yard, was out of diesel. We decided to leave Tonga without getting more fuel, which proved to be a mistake.

This is yet another sunset; if you look closely you will see some islands on the horizon. Note how flat the sea looks. On the day we left, the winds were less than 6 kts and we were sailing downwind - not a good combination.

Here you see some volcanic islands. The island of Kao is on the right, Tofua on the left. Tofua is famous because this stretch of ocean is where the mutiny on the HMAS Bounty took place. Captain Bligh and his loyal crew were put into a long boat, which landed on Tofua for food and water. There they were attacked by natives, losing the only sailor who died during Bligh's astounding 3500nm voyage to Timor. Tofua is also notable for having a very active volcano, which currently erupts on the north (right) end of the island.

We love Tonga and intend to return there this year when we leave New Zealand. We feel we didn't get to spend enough time in the southern islands and didn't get to visit Tongatapu at all. However, we intend to fix that in a few months...

Anyway, so much for nostalgia, we need to be sailing for New Zealand

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