Arrival Kingdom of Tonga

Passage from Niue to Tonga

On our way from Niue to Tonga; sunny blue skies, the large colorful asymmetrical sail up for downwind sailing.  Cora’s fishing rod whirred and she worked and worked to bring the fish to the boat; it was a large billfish, a marlin.  Decided to let it go and, as we were bringing it up, it broke the line.  What a mammoth fish, our first billfish!  Seas steady 1.5-2 meters with 15-20 knot winds; switched at night to wing-on-wing (butterfly sailing) with our Code Zero and Genoa. 

Had a sad moment when a white topic bird snatched our lure out of the water, getting it caught in her beak.  Calder reeled the bird to the boat, removed the hook, and let her sit while she got her bearings.  She hopped into the water and was moving her winds and floating as we went on out of her site.  This is the first bird we’ve caught and should be thankful, as we have other cruising friends who have caught many more. 

Flying fish everywhere, as we continue to marvel at the length of their flights.  We are out here with friend boats, so reassuring (and fun!) to see others on our radar.  Our anemometer is still not working correctly, which is at the top of the mast and the top of Chris’ list to fix in Tonga.   The next night, we were kept on our toes by rapidly shifting winds, impressive swells, squalls, and sail changes (reef, unreef, reef, unreef).  At morning light, Tonga in view, we were ready to tuck in out of the weather. 

Another 270 nautical miles down, average speed 6.1 knots, in 42 hours. 

Arrival: The Kingdom of Tonga!

The Kingdom of Tonga, with a population of 106,000 people, comprises 177 islands scattered across 700,000 square kilometers of the South Pacific in four major island groups; we will be visiting three of these groups.   

We entered the northern Vava’u island group in the early morning; this landscape of craggy green islands feeling like the Pacific Northwest of the US meets the South Pacific.  One towering rock in particular reminded us of the Alaska islands off the town of Kake – just needed to squint a bit to blur the palm trees and vines.  Into the protected bay of Neiafu (population 6,000) and into the line-up of boats assembled near the check-in wharf.  We were instructed to pull up to the industrial dock instead and wait, jumping off the boat to tie up to a high concrete dock made for container ships. 

After an hour, the local Customs, Immigration, and Biosecurity officials all arrived on board, wearing their traditional woven pandanus mats (ta’ovala) around their waists.  Tongan is the official language here, though many people learn English in school.  We had changed into shoulder and knee covering clothes per local customs that emphasize conservative dress, had cleaned up the cockpit seating area, and set out a plate of cookies for them.  Overall, the process was quite easy and cost about $75 USD for our boat and crew to enter the country for a month; we will be purchasing a separate monthlong extension. 

Out to the anchorage where we tied up to a mooring ball for 2 nights and got busy obtaining food (from a combination of small Chinese-owned grocery stores and the local market of fresh produce), local currency (the Tongan pa’anga), and fuel (diesel and gasoline in jugs with a rented beater of a vehicle). 

It feels very jungle-like here, with the sounds of bats and birds in the vine covered hillside.  

On Sunday, a day Tongans take seriously as a day of church and rest (everything is closed), a group of us went to a local church.  The vocalizations that rose up from the people all around us brought tears to my eyes and goosebumps to my arms; so full of passion and life, all-surrounding.  About 99% of the Tongan population identify themselves as Christian, though also believe in the spirits, taboos, superstitions, medical charms and gods of pre-Christian Polynesia. Everyone was dressed in beautiful, colorful clothing; men with their ta’ovala around their waists, women wearing a kiekie, a decorative waistband of woven strips of pandanus. 

The numerous anchorages in this island group (all conveniently identified with a number) are within short distance, quite the treat after longer days on passage, and we have 6 weeks to enjoy our time here in Tonga.  Systems of weather with higher winds (and sometimes rain) move in about every 5-6 days, prompting a change from one location to another for optimal protection. 

Our first stop after a calm motor with an “inside passage” feel was Port Maurelle (Anchorage #7), granite juxtaposed with lush jungle and Bombay Sapphire gin colored waters. 

Chris went up the mast to fix our wind-o-meter (anemometer); success!  A highlight was climbing into the chamber of Swallow’s Cave, where the VIPs used to have food lowered down to them, then snorkeling in the cave as the waters lightened with the sunlight. 

Some of our crew went further back into the recesses of another passage, but retreated after the narrowed tunnel had bats above and cockroaches falling off the walls and ceiling all around.  In the cave, we enjoyed birthday cake in a raft of kid boat dinghies, followed by a beach birthday cookout and potluck for the two teens (one is Cora!) turning 13 years old.

After an anchoring debacle (stuck on the bottom initially, then our bridle wrapped in a mind-bending braid around our anchor chain), we moved to Vaka’eitu Island (Anchorage #16) where, after the second try, we got the anchor to stay.  Anchoring drama has occupied almost 1 ½  hours of our day.  However, here we are, anchored in beautiful waters with a day of sun before the weather moves in.  At shore we met the lovely and cruiser-friendly family who lives here, greeted by the dad David and three generations living together on the island they own and farm.  One of the locals walked with us most of the way through their massive garden and jungle to the other side of the island, where a group of us jumped into the waters.  We left their beach loaded with freshly picked papayas and lemons.  Their gardens in Tonga have a majority of starchy vegetables such as taro, sweet potato and yams; but also tropical fruit trees of papaya, bananas, and coconuts. 

For Cora’s 13^th birthday eve sleepover party with boat teens, we feasted on Kraft Mac-n-Cheese…yes, you heard that right.  I found some at a small grocery store in Tonga and bought them out, a kid treat (okay, I like it too) that we haven’t seen for about a year.  Ghirardelli dark chocolate brownies with whipped cream for desert.  Up late laughing into the night, over-sugared and under-slept, this was a tired but happy group of teens. 

We celebrated a traditional Tongan Feast here with David’s family, bowl after bowl of delicious local food from papaya bread to marlin to roasted pig brought out by the family covering a long table.  Chris got his turn at turning the pig on the spit over the fire under the massive banyan tree. 

After a prayer, we feasted, then the women each danced in traditional Tongan fashion, with intricate precise hand and arm movements, different from the wild hip-shaking movements seen in the Society Islands.  The family is generous, soft-spoken, and kind.  This feast is one of the ways that the family earns money to cover expenses, currently working on fixing their boat outboard, as well as paying for transportation of their children back and forth to school on a nearby island.  Chris was able to look at the broken outboard and order the needed parts, which will be mailed to Alaska, then brought by his parents here to Tonga in a couple weeks, then boated back to David!  The cost per adult for the Feast was $100 TOP, which is about $40 USD, half of that for children.  Our flotilla of kid boats all joined the Feast.

On a dinghy ride the next day, Chris and I spotted a sea snake that had slithered up on the rocky, rough cliffs and was heading back into the water, likely having laid eggs in a crevice on the dry land.  That night, a smaller group of us had a potluck dinner with David’s family including Chinese taro that they cooked in an umu (underground oven).  Their daughter Rose sought out English conversation, currently at the top of her 8^th grade class at school on a nearby island where she commutes by boat weekly and stays in a boarding house.  Tongans highly value education with a literacy rate of about 99%.  For almost 2 hours, Rose and I visited, asking and answering questions about each other’s lives.  What an absolute gift to spend this time with her.  We left with fresh lemons and a large pumpkin.

We are currently anchored in a lovely, sandy 15 feet of turquoise waters off Kenutu Island (Anchorage #30). 

This place is peaceful and protected, however a walk across the island leads to rich red soils and cliffs carved by the full Pacific Ocean; it is quite striking. 

A low tide walk along the beach leads to small tide pools with delicate corals of various colors and vibrant blue starfish. 

We had to laugh at a group of starfish lounging on a coral ball, sprawled out in various positions as if they had partied too hard the night before.  Massive flying foxes (fruit bats or peka), the only land mammal native to Tonga, fly overhead.  The birdsong here is remarkable and we realize we have missed the sound of birds singing their little hearts out, not heard since we left Mexico.  This anchorage has also allowed people to recover, as traveling with a group of kid boats brings along the occasional kid illnesses.  We had a funny moment this week when Cora, eating a bowl of dry oatmeal, casually noted that her bowl was moving with tiny tan bugs and she had eaten half of it; then nonchalantly stopped eating them and moved on with her day.  Needless to say, we need to find some new breakfast options. We plan to continue exploring these Tongan islands for another month before our passage south to New Zealand.