Terrific Tonga
26 July 2012
Kate & Tom
We left for Tonga just after lunch on the Tuesday. It was Tom's first time out in "the big bad ocean" (as Mike called it) so it was with some excitement that we watched the long low mass of Niue disappear over the horizon. The winds were still very light and we cruised along in light seas with just a gennaker. On our first night Hugh helped us on our first watch and showed us all the instruments, Tom shuffled through the screens about every 15 minutes of our watch which helped to pass the time. The boys trolled for fish constantly and after two very near misses with juicy looking fishes, we finally caught a beautiful big tuna which Mike butchered very impressively (and we feasted on it for many dinners). That night the boys let us do a night watch alone, the only excitement being when the man overboard alarm went off (in error) and it was reassuring to see Hugh up on deck counting heads within 2 seconds. No seasickness to report but a certain amount of pills were popped just in case!
Before we set of from Niue, John, an American who runs offshore sailing expeditions, came abroad for a look around "Whippersnapper". He was struck with how neat and clean the boat is compared to other ocean-going boats. He's right - this boat is immaculate, the boys keep it beautifully and everything is well thought out and neatly in its place. Hugh knows how to use a label machine! They have turned their spare cabin into a fantastic pantry and there's no clutter or mess anywhere. It's very comfortable too, at night we ate dinner on deck by the light of small table lamp and in the evenings it was great relaxing in the spacious saloon. 
On Friday we arrived at Port Refuge, Neiafu and were met at the customs dock by three very official-looking gentlemen to clear us through customs and quarantine. Then we moored in front of the town and set out to explore. A united nations of yachts were aligned along the bay, with many Australians and New Zealanders along with Americans and Europeans. The port town was colourful and slightly rundown looking, with painted wooden houses and a romantic Spanish mission-style cathedral atop the hill. There are shops, cafes, banks and markets. Schoolgirls wore a vibrant orange tunic and Tongan adults wore a belted skirt, which was sometimes made of fabric and sometimes out of woven seagrass matting - it looked a little prickly when sitting down!
The next day we set out to explore the Vava'u group - of which there are 34 islands, only 21 being inhabited. Most are covered with lush and green tropical jungle and "inhabited" sometimes means as little as one wooden house on the shores. The islands are made of dark volcanic rock and at low tide they bulge out above their waterlines like enormous pillows. Many have fringing reefs and some have white sandy beaches - the water colour at the edges is a lovely turquioise colour and the water is very clear. We spent a glorious week sailing between anchorages and snorkelling over the reefs.
A highlight was visiting the Mariner's Cave, an underground cave which is accessed by swimming through an underwater tunnel. I have to say I wasn't thrilled with the description of the entrance - an opening in the rock wall underwater which you got through by swimming 2 metres down and four metres along before surfacing (one hopes!) in the cave. It seemed wisest to let Hugh go first and make Mike keep an eye on him. We all had a go and the cave was brilliant - the light filtering through the entrance sparkled a spectacular blue/green once inside. A local legend has it a young warrior hid his lover here for weeks so she could escape her nasty chieftain bridegroom. (He must have been pretty nasty )
On Tuesday night we booked an evening at "La Paella", a Spanish restaurant over looking the bay where we had moored for the night. This authentic-looking taverna was run by a Spanish couple who set sail for the Pacific, and were still in Tonga 22 years later. It was a lovely meal, gotten off to an interesting start by meeting the resident goat standing next to our table. Another expat couple who never returned were the Amercians in "The Ark Gallery" nearby, a floating artist studio for Sheri and Larry her husband.
Sailing, snorkelling and visiting beautiful islands is all very well, but as evenings approached we got on with the real point of our trip: never-ending tournaments in card games. The Serisier family still has a bad case of Contract Rummy mania which Hugh and Mike gave to our kids the summer before they left, plus there was a new one to learn - "Turbo Hearts"! Tom bravely upheld the family honour most evenings before surcumbing to Mike's Irish luck. (Unfortunately Tom's cheeky antics saw him thrown off the boat a couple of times also.)
Whippersnapper, we love you