Neiafu is well protected. It is almost landlocked, an old crater.
Jacana is tied to one of the moorings offered by Beluga Diving. From our position off the now disused Paradise Hotel ,we can pick up either digicell or vavau internet with our alpha atennae. Reception varies according to the time of day but it gets us by.
The surrounding vegetation is thick and verdant
Life is slow in Vavau. Most buildings have seen better days. Paint peels, pigs graze, people wander about their business ever so steadily.
These local victa lawn mowers do a good job.
Fresh meat is precious. Only the Marina Restaurant, which operates a tiny deli, sells any. The other supermarkets sell frozen chicken and reams of frozen lamb flap or chuck steak, that ooze fat. On the weight watchers richter scale, these cheap cuts would hit the ceiling every time.
Cheese is equally scarce. One of the Chinese supermarkets on the airport road, do sell frozen N.Z. cheddar, which saves the day.
Diabetes is the greatest killer in these islands.
Invaded by God Botherers
Many Tongan people live or work in Australia or New Zealand, often sending needed money back home.
We got a shock when told that, in fact, more Tongans migrate to Utah, in the USA, than to any other place.
This is because the mormans have an enormous hold on these islands, having peddled their particular brand of Christianity here for a long time.
We met a woman in her twenties who had been educated by the mormans, for free, in Utah. On return to Tonga she now worked for no pay in the local morman school, and by necessity needed to work nights in the local hospitality industry to keep body and soul together.
Many yachties attend the church services to hear the vibrant singing. This has become part of the tourist circuit. We however, could not give the mormans this credibility. Reading Jon Krakaurs's "Under the Banner of Heaven", an expose of the sexual and mental abuse of young and under aged women by the morman leaders, was enough for us.
The morman's stranglehold on political power in Utah, has been sufficient to keep federal prosecutors at bay. It is only recently that a handful have been prosecuted and given hefty jail sentences.
Yo flies home
As executor of her deceased mum's estate, Yo needed to return to Oz for a flying visit, while Dan minded the boat.
Simple? Oh, no.
Tonga, has introduced a new law that means to sign off the yacht, and be able to return on a one way ticket, you must go to the capital, Nuku Alofa, take a T$40 taxi into town, and then wait for hours and hours while a standard form letter is produced from Immigration. You then pay T$231 for the privilege.
This means you need to stay the night in the capital, before another taxi ride to the distant airport.
On the other hand the nice Customs in Vavau are happy to simply sign and stamp a letter from the yacht's skipper saying that the person is returning to the boat.
While there is a helpful Immigration office in Vavau, they are not permitted to follow suit.
This appears to be yet another method of extracting cash from a walking palangi ATM.
The government needs to realize that this really pisses tourists off, particularly the needless wait on a wooden bench for over 4 hours, while our letter sat on a desk without moving.
At least Yo got to see and hug our rapidly growing grandson, Miles.
"Who did you say this woman is mum?"
A tired but pretty happy dad.
Eneio Botanical Gardens
We lucked out here. Pure gold.
These private gardens are the brain child and dream of Haniteli. His wife Lucy shares his passion and enthusiasm. Their combined talents are enormous.
Yachties who follow - don't miss this one.
Ring Lucy on her mobile 676 77 15 350
Or email
eneiobg@hotmail.com.
Lucy will arrange for Primrose (one of the local men from the market) to pick you up in his taxi.
Nervous nellies, no need to be scared.
Primrose is no lead foot. He is in fact, the most careful driver we have come across. He drives so slowly I kept looking at the cars gathering behind to see if they had their lights on for a funeral cortage.
Primrose is a wealth of knowledge and so keen to share it, the slow drive is reward in itself.
Primrose also has a stall at the local market, where he sells the mats and baskets he weaves. His work is very good.
Birding and botanical garden tour
We were the first group to do the combined birding and botanical garden tour. What lucky guinea pigs we were.
While we could hear the endemic Polynesian Whistler, we were too late in the morning to spot it.
In future, Haneteli is going to have the tour in late afternoon, then finish it with a feast on the beach, with a roaring fire.
Haniteli leads the tour himself. It is his connection to the land and its people that is the real magic.
This extremely intelligent man bursts with enthusiasm, knowledge and wit. It is all in his head.
His and Lucy's work has saved endemic species from extinction. There is no such government garden.
Slowly they have gained more land to extend the dream. The position is tranquil and beautiful.
They are so careful to help the local community where they can. Their business provides an outlet for local farmers, fishermen and workers.
After the 2 hour wander, through the garden, up the bluff, and the return via the beach, Lucy turns out fish and chips on the beach. It washes down well with a cold beer.
The views are wonderful
Eneio is one of the few businesses owned by Tongans. About 95% of all business is owned by expats.
Birds of Tonga.
We always had the camera and binos with us as we walked.
Tongan birds seem timid. They flit from cover to cover. We found them difficult to photograph. Tho if you go to the photo gallery, there is a small selection.
The spider was a lot easier. There are no poisonous spiders or snakes in Tonga
List of birds we saw:
Polynesian triller
Wattled honeyeater
Red vented bulbul
Polynesian Starling
Pacific imperial pigeon
Purple gallinule
Collared kingfisher
Frigatebird lesser
Crested tern
Pacific reef heron