After our arrival into Neiafu, the largest town in the Vava'u group of islands, we spent the next 5 nights on a mooring ball in the harbour. The town has plenty to see & do, with lots of Kiwis & Aussies owning businesses here. The local food from all the small restaurants is very cheap & tasty and we've had a great time trying lots of different dishes. On Thursday we waited on the side of the road to see the new King of Tonga drive pass – we waited 4 hours & only got a glimpse of him, but it was fun waiting & talking to all the school kids who lined the streets. Friday afternoons the visiting cruisers have a fun yacht race around the harbour. Steve took PANNIKIN out for a spin, with Richard from PANTHERA & Rob from BREEZE as crew. Us girls kicked back on Panthera with a couple of drinks & cheered the boys on. Sadly they came fourth but had a great time. Into the restaurant called Mango after that for our usual happy hour drinks & a good laugh.
Saturday we headed out of the harbour with Panthera to an anchorage on the island of Nua Papu. The island is beautiful with only one small house residing. When we went ashore to ask the owner if we could have a fire on his beach that night he explained that he was hosting a Tongan feast that night & we were very welcome to come. A number of other boats arrived during the afternoon & we all went ashore around 5pm with a few drinks to watch the suckling pig getting its final rotation over an open fire. There were lots of lovely dishes and great company. Our host David and his wife Hika have 11 children, 5 of which still live on the island with them. The younger girls & a son performed a traditional dance for us & David played the guitar & sang. It was a really lovely night.
Sunday we went for a walk around the island discovering some beautiful little beaches & coves. Just before dark we headed to the beach, made a fire & sat around for a couple of hours. David & Hika joined us for a while & we enjoyed listening to them singing some Tongan hymns, accompanied by Richard's ukulele.
Monday was an extremely blowy day so we headed to another anchorage, Lisa Beach, to hide form the wind. We saw heaps of whales & caught a nice sized tuna on the way which did the 4 of us for lunch. It was a quiet afternoon playing dominoes after that.
Tuesday we had a nice sail to Port Maurelle, an anchorage near the famous Swallows Cave. We had a nice walk on the island, visiting the local village & loving all the baby pigs running around. Steve went to Swallows Cave for a snorkel with Richard & Geri – it's a large cathedral type cave with huge balls of bait fish swimming around. Very spectacular with the afternoon sun shining in, turning the water a lovely turquoise.
Wednesday we headed back to Neiafu & tied up to another mooring ball. Happy hour again at Mango & we booked our swim with the humpback whales for Thursday. An early night in anticipation to the early rise the next day.
We headed out off the dock at 7.30am Thursday morning with Beluga Diving – one whale spotter & two guides to take us into the water with the whales. Only 10 minutes into our trip we discovered 2 adults but they were swimming too fast for us to get into the water. Not long after we came across a mother & calf which we followed at a safe distance until they stopped to rest. Only 4 people at a time are allowed into the water with the guide who takes you to the best spot to view the whales. We got to spend a really long time with them getting back onto the boat each time they moved off. We followed them for quite a while until the whale spotter, Moa, decided we had been with them long enough and it was time to give them a rest. We spent the rest of the time snorkeling over 2 adults which just hung suspended in the water giving us a fantastic view and a good 20 minutes swimming over the top of them. It was an unbelievable experience & very special. We arrived back at the dock at 4pm tired but exhilarated. What a great day.
Yesterday we walked up to the top of Mount Talau to a look out which gave us a fantastic view of the Vava'u island group. It was a steep climb to the top but was worth it. In the afternoon Steve, Richard, Rob & Steven from Blue Pelican took PANNIKIN out for the cruisers race again. It was a close race with the guys being first over the finish line. They were rewarded pizza &beer for their effort! We wandered down the street later on in the evening & came across a local cultural show which we watched for nearly an hour. Lots of lovely traditional dancing & singing. Next we headed to the Bounty Bar which was hosting a fakafefine (a man acting like a woman) performance. It was a great night watching these guys lip sync to all the old music favourites dancing and performing. So many locals were there to support them – absolutely fabulous!!
Today has been raining & cold, so a quiet day for us. We will probably head out to the anchorages again tomorrow for a couple of days. There is still so much to see here in the Vava'u group!