Coral banks near the island of Foa in the Northen Ha'apai group.

We have just anchored at "Big Mama's" - the yachtie hang out at the small island of Pangaimotu off Nuku'alofa, Tonga's capital, on the island of Tongatapu. There are 20 yachts here and a few more in the small boat harbour all waiting for a weather window to sail to NZ. There are many more scattered around the islands to the North of here. Most are sailing out of the cyclone season to NZ with a few staying behind at the new boatyard facility in Vava'u and a few more heading over the Equator to the Marshalls. All boats leaving for Fiji and Australia have already gone.

We have spent several lovely days sailing through the Ha'apai Group between Vava'u and here - one of the nicest cruising grounds we have experienced on our circumnavigation, with a myriad of small coral islands, clear water and reefs. The coral has been in very good condition and we have done a dive through canyons and caves, but the water is quite cold! The Ha'apais look very much like the Tuamotus, but these are not atolls and are much more cyclone prone. Massive damage was done two years ago with Cyclone Ian making a direct hit. Luckily for us the winds and seas have been pleasantly gentle with blue skies and still enough wind to sail between the islands.



Alison swims through an underwater ravine off the island of Ha'ano.

Last night we anchored between the islands of Nomuka Iki and Nomuka. In this exact same spot, the final mutiny on the HMS Bounty took place. Captain Bligh and his fellow officers were cast out into the ship's longboat and from the Ha'apais they eventually made their way to Kupang in what was then Dutch controlled East Indies - a remarkable journey in an open boat. Fletcher Christian and his merry men turned the Bounty into the trade wind and sailed back to the delights of Tahiti.

We have seen several humpback whales in the calm seas while sailing south. The humpbacks are heading South to their feeding grounds in the Antarctic after spending the winter mating and giving birth in the sheltered waters of several favoured parts of the South Pacific. Here in Tonga, whale watching is a lucrative tourist activity between June and early October. Whale watchers can even get into the water and swim with the whales under controlled conditions.

In most cases, the whales are as curious about the humans as the humans are about the whales. Our whales we passed kept their distance but put on a show of breaching and spy hopping. We are not sure what triggers their movement South apart from hunger. Many of the yachts like us are waiting for weather info from well known kiwi weather expert Bob McDavitt aka "metbob". Perhaps the whales are waiting for the go ahead from Bob, too?



The NZ bound fleet at Big Mama's