Sailing in Vava'u is much like sailing in the BVI's - a group of closely spaced islands with over 40 anchorages to choose from, warm water, palm trees, sandy beaches, caves and reefs for snorkling.

We arrived on what we thought was Thursday, Sept 18 only to discover when we checked in that it was actually the next day. This was a surprise as we had not crossed the Dateline, but Tonga uses Fiji time. Customs, Immigration, Quarantine and Health officers all arrive on board and expect to be served cookies and juice. Fortunately, I was prepared and had baked Brownies on the crossing from Niue. In addition, the Customs official asked Ted for some spare rope, which he needed to use to tie-up his cow! VHF Ch 26 is boosted in the islands and used for communication and a great morning net run by the various businesses.

Tonga is the most third world country we have been in so far on this journey, with much poverty and unemployment. From talking to locals, it seems that many Tongans rely on remittance payments from family members working abroad and on government aide to survive. The ex-pat community is doing its best to set up businesses and promote a tourist industry, but for most part the Tongans themselves are not involved. For Tongans, family and church are more important than working and making money. The Tongans we have met have been very friendly and appreciate the cruisers. It is common to see both men and women wearing the waist mats, called Ta Ovala. These woven mats can be very plain for everyday wear or beautifully decorated for important events. Handicrafts are mostly woven products and necklaces carved from bone.

On arrival we learned that the village on Lape Island was holding a Tongan Feast the next day, so we quickly reserved and headed out. There are a number of lovely anchorages in this bay and good snorkling at the Coral Gardens. Kolio, the head man of the village, took us on an interesting tour of the island before the feast, and the ladies of the village gave a demonstration of making tapa and weaving. The feast was delicious with roast pig, sweet potatoes, several fish and chicken dishes and salads. We met new cruising friends and re-united with some we had not seen in ages. The next day we snorkled the Coral Gardens and were invited to join SV Pamela (Pamela and Dennis) along with The Southern Cross (Catherine and Peter) and Luckness (Craig) for drinks, dinner and song. A great time was had by all.

We returned to Neiafu and spent several days exploring the town and doing boat jobs. A-Train arranged for the four of us to do a Kart Safari with Vava'u Adventures, which was a great way to see some dramatic views from the cliffs on the north end of the island and a number of villages. We stopped at Ene'io Botanical Garden for a beer and met Haniteli and Lucy. Haniteli is a born storyteller and he entertained us with stories of the islands and his trips abroad, as former Minister of Agriculture. We headed out to explore Anchorage #11 the next day and then moved over to Anchorage #16 near Lape Island to celebrate Amber's birthday (Rockstar, BCA Vancouver) with another Tongan feast and a beach potluck the following evening. Our friends on Code Blue arrived on the Monday in time for the Bluewater Festival; it was so great to see them after two months apart.

The Vava'u Bluewater Festival started on Oct 6, a week of festivities with representatives from Opua, Whangerei, NZ quarantine and Island Cruising Association coming to make presentations on New Zealand; in addition to some very helpful presentations, there were lots of fun events, including a sailing race, Tongan Feast, presentation ceremony and banquet and we finished up with a costumed pub crawl. The awards party included a Faka Lati show, put on by the local transvestite community here. Most of the dancers were familiar to us from around town. I must say that I never expected to see my first "girlie" show in Tonga! The sailing race made a circuit through the bay and then headed out to Anchorage #11. It was quite the sight with so many boats racing through the harbour in 25 kt of wind and then all exiting out through the narrow passage with reef on both sides - it was a total blast! I think I may be getting hooked on racing. Roundabout performed very respectably with an upper mid-pack finish.

The winds have been too strong to go to the Haap'ai Group, which does not have much protection; so while waiting for the weather to improve, we sailed over to Hunga Island to see a cricket match and the Blue Lagoon. The village is very enthusiastic about cricket and some of the ex-pats are helping to get them accredited, so they can compete internationally. Ted and I hiked over Fofoa Island to see the Blue Lagoon with its beautiful shades of blue water, as the winds were too strong to attempt in a dinghy. We moved back to Port Maurelle for better shelter, do boat jobs and wait on weather. Good weather has finally arrived and we leave this evening for an overnight passage to the Haap'ai Group with A-Train, Code Blue and Anthem. Our friends on Chara and Et Voila have departed for a straight run to New Zealand from here today, as well. A number of boats have already made the passage;and a number, like ourselves, will be departing for NZ in the next few weeks.

Note: Sadly I have deleted my photos of Vava'u, so no Gallery.