What time is it? Its TONGA TIME!
Well – not quite that beautiful yet, but we will get there. After rolling our way across the “dangerous middle”, Sophie and I had about 10 days of exploring before she had to wing her way back for a visit in Oregon. We decided to make the most of it (after getting our outboard fixed at the wonderful Boatyard in Neiafu). It’s really just called “The Boatyard” This is the main town pier since I don’t actually have a photo from The Boatyard.
For those that don’t know Tonga- it is a small island nation in the SW corner of the Pacific Ocean, north of New Zealand, west of the Cook Islands, southwest of Samoa, east of Fiji. About the same distance (very roughly) from all of those except New Zealand. The standard cruising route goes west from French Polynesia to Tonga or Fiji before heading south to New Zealand to avoid cyclone season (more on that later). An increasing number of cruisers leave their boats ashore or in big marinas in Fiji for the cylone season.
Tonga is made up of three primary island groups, the northermost being the Vava’u group. It’s pretty much like a small version of the San Juans plopped down in the south pacific – cute islands, secure anchorages, no swell. Add wind, make the water crystal clear. You get the idea. It is also far enough south that the temperature dropped into the tolerable zone. They have a great veggie market every day, as well as local baskets.
We headed off into this maze of islands for some still nights at anchor, good swimming, good food, and nice sight seeing.
The archipelago is unlike anything else we had seen in the Pacific. While relatively poor compared to French Polynesia, the people were incredibly friendly and we didn’t feel the strong animosity and resentment we felt in the Society Islands. Sophie found lots of shells.
We ended the week with dinner at a nice resort owned by an Austrian business school professor. And then Sophie was off to Oregon (nothing goes to windward like a Boeing jet) and I was left to my own devices onboard for about 10 days (I went to windward too, on flat water at about 7.5 knots for 2 hours). Back out to the islands, more nice anchorages, more wingfoiling, and some work for clients back home.
There were a lot of cruising boats around – I met heaps of nice people and could sail pretty much everywhere.
Sitting at a rolly and windy anchorage on the south end of the group, I proceeded to spend two days chasing an electrical issue around our panel – making more issues as I solved the original one. What a way to avoid getting my work done!
After about a week, strong N and W winds were forecast, so I headed back to the main town mooring field and waited for the brothers Kellogg to arrive. In the meantime I learned how to make bread.
Little did I know that a casually dropped invitation to Ross and Bryce would blossom into flying across the entire Pacific. They showed up and despite bags not arriving, we headed back into the islands.
Our first stops were just outside of Neiafu – hoping for the lost bags to still arrive. Kuaklet made an appearance as well. Anchored in 25′ of water, the bottom looks to be just a few feet away.
The islands have a very different character than elsewhere, with limestone cliffs right into the water and dense vegetation.
After a few days we headed to the easternmost anchorages.
This spot had both great island exploring and a world class wingfoiling spot.
Ross and I braved the 5ish mile dinghy back to town (too shallow to take Kuaka) and retrieved his final lost bag. We moved again to an anchorage where we went ashore for a very pleasant Tongan feast with other yachties. I didn’t take any photos, but I do have more wingfoiling drone shots, so here is another one.
And another one.
After a final evening anchored near the town, it was back to Neiafu and the Kellogg brothers were back to the airport.
Another week of crummy weather and Sophie was back from her Oregon visit. Unsurprisingly for Fiji Airlines – she got stuck in Fiji for a long weekend and her bag failed to arrive. It seems like they recreationally cancel flights to Tonga and generally charge as much as they can while losing a significant proportion of the checked luggage. She was thrilled to go for a swim though.
We rented a car to pick up the lost bag from the airport a few days later and proceeded to explore more of the island.
We saw all sorts of agriculture – they grow fantastic veggies and fruit including the best pineapples we’ve ever had. Interestingly, there isn’t the boat or reef culture that exists in French Polynesia. There are small skiffs, but limited fish for sale or evidence of spear fishing, etc.
At this point, most boats were taking off for NZ and it felt like maybe it was time to boogie. Cyclone risk starts to increase in late October through November. We had decided that, instead of going to NZ for 6 months to avoid cyclone season and then back through French Polynesia next year, we would rather head north and complete a slower loop of the Pacific. More on that in the next post. Our goal was to be at 5 degrees south (the theoretical boundary for major cyclone risk) by November 15th. We readied ourselves with a final visit to the wonderful fruit and veggie market.
And then, after consulting the weather gods, a final lunch at Mango Cafe to spend our last pa’anga (tongan currency), and a visit to the customs pier (sketchy), we were ready to go.
But we will save that for another exciting episode. I am trying to get us caught up to present (which is dreadfully hot and sweaty). More soon from the Kuakites!