Hunga Lagoon
28 August 2014 | Hunga Island, Tonga
Colin
From Port Maurelle we motored a few miles across to a protected anchorage on Vakaeitu Island. This was a nice spot, but the anchorage was kinda deep at 50-60 ft. While here, we had a visit from the sole family living on the island who were hoping to sell us some taro or coconuts. I wasn't interested in their produce, but gave them a pack of fishhooks anyway. These people really do live a subsistence lifestyle. As he pulled away, he lost control of his outboard and spun around T-boning Bangorang before he got it shut off... no good deed goes unpunished.
Having grown bored of that anchorage we decided to try Hunga lagoon. This is a large, almost fully enclosed lagoon about 1 x 0.5 miles long. The only passage in or out is a tiny pass that is 30 meters wide and only 2 meters deep (see pic). Needless to say it was quite exciting running the boat in through there. Once inside, we took a mooring at the Ika Lahi lodge, where we hung out for 3 days waiting for some weather to blow through. We also dinghied over to the Blue Lagoon, which was many beautiful shades of blue. With a S swell building, we elected to get out of Dodge before the narrow pass became too rough.