Tonga - Tongatapu

Malo e lelei (hello in Tongan)
The Kingdom of Tonga is a group of over 170 islands in the South Pacific Ocean stretched over a distance of 700,000 square kilometers (270,000 square miles). Situated just west of the International Date Line, it is the first Pacific nation to see the new day. Tonga is divided into 4 main island groups. Tongatapu in the south has the capital Nuku'alofa and the international airport. The Ha'apai group is north of Tongatapu but geographically the middle of Tonga. It consists mainly of low lying islands but also has two volcanos. The newest island on Earth is in Ha'apai. Vava'u is north of Ha'apai and is a huge draw for snorkelers and yachties. In the far north is the Niuatoputapu group. The isolated volcanic islands are home to traditional Tongan culture and customs. It is the least developed island group.
I visited Tongatapu and Vava'u.
There are many choices of places to stay in Tongatapu. The capital city is actually about 25 minutes away from the airport. Accommodations range from 5 minutes away to over an hour to get to some of the resorts. I only spent one night in Tongatapu. Since I was arriving so late, I chose a place close to the airport.
I stayed at the Fua'ahotu Transit Lodge. It was great value for money. It was inexpensive and included  pick up and drop off at the airport (and some cereal and toast for breakfast).
My room was nothing flash but I did not care about the torn flooring or the bad paint job...the bed was passable. Unfortunately, I did not sleep well as the roosters next door were quite vocal throughout the night and the sound of mosquitoes buzzing in my ear. I did like the outside veranda area to sit and the comfortable, squishy couches in the lounge area. Nancy and her family ran the place. She was delightful.
 I arranged two separate adventures with them. The first day I had about 6 hours before my domestic flight up to Vava'u so they showed me downtown. We went to the market and several stores as well as the ATM. The market was filled with veggies, clothes, toiletries, handmade handicrafts and more. The city was larger I than expected. It was somewhat thrown together with older buildings clumped haphazardly next to newer ones on streets that may or may not have large potholes.

On my return trip to Tongatapu, Nancy and her father picked me up at the airport and took me on a 5 hour island tour.

Inside Hini Cave

Our first stop was Hina Cave at Oholei Beach Resort. It was a pretty place. There was a covered walkway that ended at treacherous stairs leading down to a picture perfect white sand beach next to the ocean. On the beach there was a large cave where they sometimes do performances with traditional music and dancing. The cave was fairly deep and opened up to the sky in some parts where you could see tree roots reaching down for water. Caves are common to Tonga due to the erosion of limestone by saltwater.

Haamonga a Maui

The next stop was on the far east side of the island. "The Big Rock" is sometimes referred to as the Stonehenge of the Pacific. It was an arch formed by a huge coral rock notched into and suspended by two equally large pieces of coral rock. Each upright pillar is said to weigh 30 to 40 tonnes and extends several meters into the ground. Standing under it, I could not touch the top with my arms extended above my head. The legend behind the structure is that the big rock or Haamonga a Maui was built around 1200AD by the eleventh Tui Tonga. Tui Tonga was supposedly to be 7 feet 9 inches tall. There are several theories as to how the structure was built and the purpose of the structure. There was another rock that was placed in the general area. It was called the Sitting Mound or Stone Backrest. It is said that the eleventh Tui Tonga had a fear of being killed from behind so he had this giant stone placed at his position in the Kava circle. The coral boulder weighs 3.5 tons. Big rocks!
The Kava ceremony is traditional in most Polynesian cultures. In Tonga, the ceremony is for men. In the ceremony an eligible bachelorette mixes dried kava root powder with water. There is a sequence with mixing and then handing out a cup to drink to the men in the circle. Kava has anesthetic properties and therefore has a numbing, tingling sensation when consumed. It does not taste particularly good. It is, however, popular to drink. There are places on the island that advertise Tongan kava.

The next stop was the best stop.

The blow holes are a popular tourist destination. I thought it was going to couple of individual blow holes but the entire coastline that was lined with a series of blowholes along a huge stretch of rocky headland. I was blown away (pun intended).
It was beautiful! A wave would come and crash into the land. From underneath, the first part of the wave would spray water up through cracks in the rock. The crest would hit and water would crash up and over the rocks sending water into the air. As the last part of the wave would fight against the dissipating crest and the last bits of energy would slowly recede like a geyser turning off. That is the normal progression of a blow hole. But in Tongatapu the energy would transfer itself along the shore so that there was a ripple effect of the wave rise and fall continuing down the coast line. Fantastic! The rock was an old coral reef. It was very sharp and hard. I could easily make out the different types of coral that once lived when this rock was under the water.

We visited the 2 monuments to Christianity on Tongatapu. The Christian missionaries landing in Tonga changed Tonga forever. Tonga is currently extremely Christian. Everything closes about noon on Saturday and does not start up again until Monday morning. Nothing is open on Sunday and church starts at 5am. One of the monuments is the location of "The First Sacrament of the Lord's Supper" and the other is the landing site of Rev. John Thomas who brought Christianity to Tonga (according to the monument) in 1826.

Surfer's Beach 

The last stop on the tour was the surfers beach (pictured right). What is missing in the photo? Yep...waves!  This beach had flat, calm water.  It did not even have enough wave action to body surf...much less use a full size surf board and have a prayer of standing. Apparently, when the weather is right, it is a great place to surf.

After the tour, Nancy and I walked to the beach down the road from the transit lodge. The beach was pretty rocky and the water was extremely cold. My favorite moment of the whole day was seeing a whale breach as we were walking to the beach. It was beautiful to have the humpback whales say goodbye like that. It was the cherry on top of my island tour (one of those really good cherries...ok...make it a dark chocolate covered strawberry). ;)

Tonga - Vava'u

Vava'u is the island group on the north side of Tonga. It is pronounced va-va and then a pause and a hard U (like in Bucharest).

This island group is known for being Tonga's most scenic with dense green vegetation growing on rocky islands surrounded by pristine white sand beaches and crystal blue waters. There are 34 islands and over half are uninhabited. Yachties frequent the waters of Vava'u. The islands are fringed by coral reefs and are known for snorkeling and sport fishing. The waters of Vava'u are also a humpback whale breeding and calving ground.

I flew from Tongatapu on Chathams Pacific (Tonga's domestic airline). At the airport I was amused that my boarding pass was a hand written slip of paper with my name, destination, seat and date. Stapled to my boarding pass was my bag tag. It consisted of a 1in square colored piece of paper that they hand wrote the number 13 (I am guessing I was the 13th bag to go on the plane). The distance between the seats was surprising and reminded me of airplane seats in the old days...I could extend my legs and not hit the seat in front of me. The plane was built with enough room to be comfortable for Tongans. Sadly, I did not get a window seat and the girl next to me spent the entire time with the shade closed or looking out the window blocking the view. Grrr!!

The roads from the Vava'u airport to town were shocking. I watched the progression of cars in front of us as they swerved from one side of the street to the other. They were avoiding pot holes. Some of the pot holes were more like trenches. The vehicles had to slow down to try not to be swallowed. The traffic curved and swerved from the airport to the main town of Neiafu. The roads in town were better (see pictures below).

The main street is not very long. It starts at the steps that lead down into the market and ends at a very large white Catholic church. The buildings are what I expected for a third world island nation. Some are modern and some have been around for a long time with different colors or pealing paint. The main shopping venues are called the "Chinese Shops." The shops can be as simple as a long room like a cargo container with a window cut out with bars up to separate the salesperson from the patron. Others are actual stores that you can walk into. The other shopping area is the market.
The outdoor market is a paved space under a metal roof divided into 2 areas. The first area is the fresh fruit and veg and the second area is handmade crafts. Goods are displayed on tables. Each merchant trying to get the tourists to stop and look because their table "is the best".

On my first walk through town the huge pit in the sidewalk at the top of the main road was pointed out to me. We laughed about how it would be important to pay attention because one wrong step and....wow..and me not being the most graceful. I can imagine that the pit caused some injuries to those stumbling home at might. This pit was impressive and I used it as my landmark the remainder of my time in Neiafu. The pit was filled with trash (not out of place in the town). It was a massive thing that took up a majority of the sidewalk.

Market Building

The market was fun. As expected, they sold only what was in season. The variety of fruit and veg was more limited than I expected. I was hoping to make a good stir-fry one day but they only had tomatoes and cucumbers. They also had large amounts of huge root vegetables but I had no idea what they were or how to cook any of them. Oh well. The other side of the market sold more tourist items. Lots of woven bags and bowls, jewelry and hand carved wood, bone and shell. It was interesting to meander down the aisles but if you hesitated for even a split second, the merchant would pounce and would begin describing everything on their table and, of course, "make a special deal for you just today". I did like a piece of jewelry that had a beautiful flower carved from a shell that I could not put down. But it was too small. After paying half the price up front, they made me one the right size that I picked up 2 days later. Yea!

One other thing to mention about walking the streets of Vava'u. Pigs. Yep...big pigs and little piglets. Pigs are a symbol of Tonga (according to some of the Tongans I asked). I understood why after wandering around. It is common to see pigs and chickens cross the road. It was quite funny to watch a little piglet trot to the opposite side of the road from mom in the scatter when a person approached. After the person passed, the little piglet would dart back across the street and mom would raise quite a ruckus scolding the little piggy. Wow...was the little guy in trouble. I saw this more than once. The roosters were a morning wake up call most days. They too were common pedestrians. I am sure the true answer as to why the chicken crossed the road must have something to do with pigs.

The flipside to the main part of Neifu was the tourist side of the town. Places that catered to the Yachties and tourists transiting through that advertised wireless internet and tour bookings. Some serving extremely overpriced food that may (or generally not) live up to the price. Most of the tourist shops/restaurants are owned by foreigners who came to Tonga and decided to stay. These places looked like a tropical paradise.

Many of the Tonga travel guides recommended going to church on Sunday. I could not figure out what church service was THE service to attend for the full Tongan Sunday Church Experience. I asked several people including Tongans and tourists who had been on the island on Sunday. The answer I received was that it really does not matter what church...just go. The other question I had was "Why?"...the recommendation again just said to go to church. The reason became clear very quickly. In one word...the singing. Starting at 5am, the bells of the churches rang and rang and rang and rang. It woke me up. It also woke up the roosters who decided to join in. Then the singing began. It was beautiful to listen to (if it was not 5am) while lying in bed in the pitch black. Then the church bells of a neighboring church started. Singing, bells and cock-a-doodle-doo. Yep...that was my 5am Vava'u Sunday morning. Bells and singing ensued again around 9 for the next services. It was surreal to walk through the deserted streets while the music floated through the air from multiple directions.
The singing is phenomenal. There are many churches to choose from and the music is largely similar with large, full multiple part harmonies that you can feel in your body.
In the large Catholic cathedral, people were scattered around the church belting out hymns in Tongan. Everything was sung like in a high mass including the responses. The music was not only beautiful...it was moving. The other fun thing was to see everyone in their Sunday best. From evening gowns to traditional Tongan attire to tourists in island wear, the church was full of color.

Neiafu feels like a ghost town on Sunday (with the exception of church...so I guess it is a Holy Ghost town). Nothing is open except for places that have Tongan Feasts. These feasts have tons of food ranging from a simple garden salad to corned beef, octopus or sea cucumber. The food is arranged beautifully on buffet tables. The climax of the progression of food is always the suckling pig (not just any pig mind you...a suckling pig).
Some of the Tongan Feasts include cultural dancing, some just focus on the food. We went out to a beautiful place by the 'Ene'io Botanical Gardens. The gardens were started in 1972 by an agronomist who still has a passion for his plants. The 22 acre garden is filled with over 500 plant species. We were not able to go into the gardens on Sunday but you can schedule to take a tour of the gardens during the week. We ate and had the remainder of the day to enjoy the beach. I attempted to snorkel but it was too shallow to get to see much. I was so afraid that I was going to touch what coral was alive that it was not enjoyable. Overall, it was a nice way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.
The guests of Port Wine Guest House were invited to join in a Tongan Feast one evening later in the week. This was part of a commercial that they were filming for the Rugby World Cup (yes, I will be on Tongan TV in a commercial waving a Tongan flag from a hammock saying 'Go Tonga'). After filming, we were able to eat. Yum! I have to say that the highlight was the octopus. It was delicious and I went back for thirds.

While in Vava'u, I stayed in two places, Blue Lagoon Resort on an outer island and Port Wine Guest House in Neiafu.
Blue Lagoon was a 40+ minute boat ride out to the island of Foiata. It was a small island that I walked in less than 30 minutes. They have up to 6 bungalows or Fales (pronounced "Fall" and a long "A") that are designed with local materials but have power and hot showers. It is a tropical paradise perfect for couples who want to treat themselves. I did feel very alone being by myself even though the other guests were warm and friendly.  The island resort is run by a German and his Tongan family. He immigrated over 20 years ago and has never looked back. The staff were nice but (maybe it is the German influence) not super warm. There were several times I was quite taken aback because of comments made to me that made it not hard to leave the island when it was time to go.  The communication was also lacking which made it difficult for me in the planning stage.

 Overall, the island was beautiful and I felt like I had chosen the first class route in my selection of locations. I stayed in the Mango Fale and I loved my veranda view. I spent lots of time sitting and watching the sunset. I also liked falling asleep to the ocean waves lapping on the beach below my room.


Since the island is so isolated, everyone eats at the restaurant on the island. The food is fantastic and the portions are generous. I read that it was the best food in Tonga and I do believe it. The breakfasts and dinners were extensive and all very good. I chose to stay on the island because they had a whale watch package that worked out to be comparable pricing to other packages AND they only put 4 people on the boat. That was worth paying a bit extra.  Without the whale boat trip and the advantage of only 4 people on the boat and the length of time out on the water, I probably would not go back to the resort.

(Tales of whale adventures begin in next post.)

Port Wine was fabulous. They were one of the few places that wrote back promptly. Unfortunately, they were full when I originally wrote but I tried once I arrived into Tonga and they had had a cancellation. They are amazing! The owners, Tai and Luisa, are so warm and inviting. From the moment I walked into the gate, I was treated like a friend/family. I received a warm greeting and was given the tour. I was also greeted by name and asked how my day was daily.
I stayed in the old house. They have a shared kitchen and bathroom and everyone had their own room.

Breakfast

Coconut lessons
(with left handed knife)

They have a garden with fresh herbs and peppers that are available for guests to use.  Papaya and bananas were offered when they were ripe.  The inside was very comfortable, the outside veranda was great and I enjoyed lounging in the hammocks.
Everyone was so friendly. I spent time talking with not only the other guests but Tai and Luisa as well as everyone who worked there. Tai took time to give me lessons on how to open a coconut. According to Tai, I was having a hard time because I was using a left handed knife. Ha Ha! You should have seen me try to hold the coconut in one hand and cut it open with the hatchet in the other. It was fun (and probably even more amusing for the spectators). The fresh coconut meat was then available for everyone to try and eat.
I arrived as a stranger and left a friend. I would go back there in a heartbeat! Port Wine was my favorite part of anything on the land in Tonga. An added bonus was meeting John...we spent long hours talking on the breezy veranda or the comfortable couches. We are kindred spirits. I met a lifelong friend at Port Wine.

My flight back to Tongatapu was incredible. I was given an isle seat on the way to Vava'u, so I requested a window seat. They were nice enough to move around my seat assignment. When I was getting situated on the plane, the flight attendant asked me if I wanted to sit up front. Sure. She walked away. I asked her what row so that I could move. She looked at me funny and said..."No up front...with the pilots. Just leave your things here and come with me". I grabbed my camera and went up. She told me to stand on this little step in between the pilots' seats. I moved out of the way and she pulled out the jump seat and helped me get strapped in. They fitted me with headphones and a microphone to talk with the pilots when they had time. I could not believe it! I wanted and window seat and BOY did I get one!
The pilots told me when I could get up and take some photos and they pointed out some of the sites along the way. Wow! What a great way to say goodbye to Vava'u!

Go Tonga!

Swimming with Humpback Whales (Day 6 of 6)

Last day...we saw whale spouts from the back side of the restaurant. I was excited to see whales before even stepping foot on the jetty.
I could feel the weight of the pressure of the last day of whale swimming as I walked down the pier to the boat.  I really wanted a good day to end the trip. After 2 days (Day 4 and Day 5) of limited whale time, I had high hopes and active butterflies about what the day would hold.

We left a bit late and another boat had "claimed" the whales we had seen at breakfast. We went over there anyway. The boat decided to "share" the whale with us. YEA! We helped spot the whales for them and after their swim, we would get a turn. First we had to hope that the whales wanted to swim with us.

The whales were swimming next to an island. They turned and swam closer and closer to the shore. Our boat stayed out in front while the other boat followed them closer and closer. Finally, they backed off and left some space for the whales to move away from land and back out to the water...straight to us. The group of humpbacks slowed down as they moved out into open water. Our partner boat had to try a couple of times to get both of their groups in the water. 
Then it was our turn.

We jumped in and saw nothing. We were able to hear their songs. They were audible about 2 meters down. Unfortunately, I am super buoyant and had a hard time staying down to listen to them for any length of time.

On our next try we did catch a glimpse of several whales in the group.
YEA!

Whale breaching - back splash!

The other boat took a turn swimming while we stayed on whale watch. The other boat disappeared when it was our turn again. The whales were not in the mood for a slow swim, but they were moving slowly enough to stick with us. They decided to have a little fun and began to tail slap, fin slap,  spy hop (where they bob their heads straight up and down in the water...almost like they are looking for something or checking to see what the things up above the water are up to), and breach. I loved seeing the breaches when they turned and landed on their backs with their pectoral fins splayed out in front of them... or when they twist in the air and their pectoral fins wrap around their bodies.  It was so much fun!!

There were several males swimming with the mom and calf. They seemed like they were having a great time with each of them taking turns doing acrobatics.

About 15 meters off the side of the boat, the huge female humpback whale thrust herself almost all of the way out of the water straight up. The breach was fantastic. She was suspended in the air for a couple of seconds and then turned slightly and crashed down into the water with a splash.

I was excited about getting back in the water but was not sure if it would work since the whales were so energetic. Sam, our whale guide, jumped in the water to see if they would be receptive to us joining them in the water. I waited with eager anticipation.
I was really surprised when we were given the signal to come swim. :)

I plunged into the water at his signal and gently wondered over to the mom and calf.  The mother was very large. Her belly was white and it had quite a bit of texture to it with knobs and bumps. Her baby was decent size for a calf...either born early in the season or probably last year's calf that was born later. He swam under mom and looked at us. When we did not move closer and scare him he decided to show off for us.

I watched as he prepared. I thought it was preparing to venture out from mom towards us. I was right and wrong. He was gearing up to head out from mom but not near us. I could almost see the determination on his face. With tremendous force and a huge flip of his tail, he moved out from under his mother.  I saw another one, two, three tail flaps and watched in awe as he thrust himself out of the water.
We were able to witness a whale breach while in the water next to him. I picked my head up above the surface to see the mass of his body hang in the air. Then PUSCH - - the water suddenly had trillions of tiny bubbles filling the area as the whale landed on the surface and interjected air into the water. I could not see anything of the little whale until a couple of seconds later. I saw him move his forceful tail flap, and he was out of the water again.
He breached 3 times as he progressively moved further away from us. His mom and her escorts slowly caught up with him. It was incredible. My mouth was gaping open...luckily, I had a snorkel in my mouth to prevent an influx of salty water. Sam said that seeing something like that was really rare...he sees that MAYBE once a season. What a treat!

Back in the water with the mom and baby who decided to have fun and be playful. I am out of words. Words can not express...but here are some pictures.

Swimming with Humpback Whales

We thanked the whales for sharing some of their day with us and for the amazing experience!! I sat on the bow of the boat on the way back in to lunch, my feet hanging over the edge and a huge smile stretched across my face. I saw a big cloud over Nuku Island and felt a couple of rain drops. We turned away. I thought we were going to a different island. Sadly, I was told that a big storm was rolling in and it was decided that we should head back to the island for safety.
Back on the island, I played on the beach and around in the tide pools. The crabs were wonderful. Ghost crabs (sand crabs or Ocypode) were peaking in and out of the sand holes they dig out to live.  They are so busy scavenging or digging. They are fun to watch sitting still on the beach.

Goby on Sand

Snail with Mucus Trail

I also spotted a little crab in the tide pool. He was just about the size of my thumb nail. The camouflage on these guys is amazing!

 I found a little goby that was also camouflaged extremely well. His markings blended so well with the sand that unless he moved, he looked like another grain of sand. He was only a couple of centimeters long.

I found a snail leaving its mucus trail. Snails travel on the layer of mucus and therefore leave a track along the path that they follow.

Brittle Star

There was also a brittle star sticking out from under the rock ledge. Like other echinoderms, including starfish, they have the 5 point radial symmetry. I like how delicate the legs of the brittle stars look.

Long black sea cucumber

Contrary to the echinoderm, the Holothuria leucospilota or long black sea cucumber has no symmetry. It is tubular and has little suction feet over its body for mobility. This sea cucumber can grow up to 1 meter long. It looks quite flimsy as it stretches to find organic mater to shove in its mouth. It was my favorite critter in the tide pools to watch.
Tide pools can be so full of life. These were alive with lots of interesting little animals.

The storm never hit. :( I guess I am glad we were safe but I was sad to end my Tonga whale watch and swim adventure on a short day. On the other hand...what an amazing dream I just lived!


Day 1, 2, 3...all the way to my last day...all with a special experience that I would not trade. Humpback whales are beautiful, majestic, intelligent animals that should be treasured and protected for generations to see. I can not imagine seeing one of these creatures and not falling in love.

YEA for HUMPBACK WHALES!!!!