From Samoa we turned south towards Tonga and the most northerly island, Niuatoputapu 170 miles away. Niua has about 900 residents and is serviced every couple of weeks by a supply ship and there are irregular flights on an inter island aircraft. Having said this though it is very isolated and the people generally live a subsistence lifestyle supplemented by creating very well made weavings and carvings which are sold in Tongatapu the capital. The island was devastated by a tsunami 4 years ago and 9 people were lost. Much of the houses that was erected post tsunami are very small, around 50 square metres comprising a common room and two adjoining bedrooms. The toilet and cooking areas are separate and ramshackled. There is no electricity or running water. Many residents left after the tsunami and have not returned, it is unlikely the island will every recover There are three small villages a kilometre apart between them they have 9 churches as well as two shops here selling very basic supplies. There is no shortage of pigs – in Falehau, the village where we anchored, the population is around 300 and the pig population we estimated to be easily over 1,000.