We left Nomuka Iki upon sunrise after a coffee, our destination being Lalona Island which in Kens pilot book suggests it is a good stopover. After sighting about thirty whales on the way we made it to the spot which was inside two surf breaks. After a very quick surveillance of the entry is was definitely a no go area for OOROO. Sure we could have got in there but I guarantee no sleep would have happened and if a squall came up I hate to think what the exit would have been like. We proceeded to check out the pilot book and our only option was to make a run for the Tongatapu group and chose the closest Island called Tau Island. On the way in we sighted heaps more whales and hooked a dogtooth Tuna that got sent back to swim another day.

The sky turned black and the sun disappeared early, it looked like we were going to have to break our night time entry rule. Fortunately this anchorage is inside a big reef system and the protection is from the reef not the Island which looks more like a tiny spec from 300 metres off. We dropped the pick and all was good. We were both having a laugh about what it was going to look like when we got up the following morning as we knew we were what seemed to be in the middle of the ocean. When daylight came it was quite humorous where we were, but the anchorage was nice and calm all night and the wind blew Offshore or rather offreef and only sand was downwind, so I wasn't worried and trust me a lot of research went into it on the passage.

After coffee we headed the remaining ten miles to reach Pangaimoto Island which is just a dingy ride to the Nuka'alofa wharf which is the capital of Tonga. On the way we came across a local fisherman who had broken down so we towed him the next four miles. It was quite humorous as we had set out a course to motor past the entire waterfront and check out the Palace and government buildings which was a diversion compared to the direct route to the harbour, we reckon the fisherman and his mate must have thought we were lost. Anyhow after our sightseeing tour with the fisherman in tow we motored into the harbour and let them go. They would have been pretty happy as it was cold and blowing dogs off chains out where they were.

We anchored at Pangaimotu Island and chilled out for a while over lunch and decided to stay on board OOROO for the rest of the day rather than check into the hustle and bustle of town, we do tend to get like that after not seeing vehicles for a while.