Aradonna's blog

On Thursday we went for a dive at Split rock and China Gardens, on the northern side of Tu'ungasika Island. At least 25m visibility and an amazing array of coral. So many different species of fish, so many colours, just beautiful. Caught up with friends from Fusio and Vegas for a night of card playing - lots of laughs learning a new game. Friday 4th July was a big celebration in Neiafu for the Kings Birthday. A full military parade with brass band and well timed marching - great display. The Tongan Navy patrol boats were in the harbour and had an open day so we went aboard and explored. The day was capped off with the Tui Vava'u festival where a NZ band entertained the crowd. The winner and finalists of the Miss Vava'u contest were on the dance floor along with the Crown Prince (and his body guards). We enjoyed dancing too and the music was great - although it was a little loud!! We spent yesterday snorkeling at Taunga Island and then on to Port Maurelle for the night. About 6 boats in the bay - we all gathered on the beach for a bonfire and BBQ dinner, nice night meeting some more cruisers. Today we went diving at A'a Island, we found a patch of coral with anemones and several anemone fish playing around. Karl filmed a video of them dancing about with the underwater camera Heather gave him for his Birthday. Great footage - Karl was able to get very close to these curious little fish, fabulous!

The Eastern islands are on the barrier reef that protects Vava'u from the raging ocean waves. To get out there we had to negotiate our way through shallow water, between reefs, which are spectacular! It was worth the effort. From the protected side, we climbed up Lolo, a small island made of sharp lava rock, to see the blow hole. Amazing pounding surf on the outside comes shooting through the rocks giving us a great display. It is possible to walk between Kenutu and Lolo at low tide, which we did - but it was a little hair raising as the tide came in and the waves got deeper and deeper over the joining reef. Kenutu has a lovely walk through the tropical jungle to a look out from the top. The best of the three islands was Umumana, which has a very deep well of fresh water and a more extesnive walk to a high lookout point. The first part of the trail is very thoughtfully lined with coconuts, but it gets a little hazy after that. We had to use our bush survival skills to look fo r clues about where the track went next - we left a trail of coconut leaves tied to trees to make sure we could find our way back. We made it! Wow, what a view. The power of the ocean waves crashing against the eastern side of the island is incredible. At the northern tip of Umuna there is a sand spit. We walked out to the end and went snorkelling in a vast coral garden. Angelfish, butterfly fish, lemon peel fish, neon blues, parrot fish, colourful wrass, bright blue starfish, black spiny sea slugs and a myriad of other sea life. A very special place. On the way back through the pass we forgot that we had the fishing line trawling out the back - and just as we got to the most narrow bit with coral reefs all around - we got a strike! Karl wrestled the fish on board while Heather slowly steered through the rocky patches and into clear water. Phew! The Green Jobfish we caught is a member of the snapper family. We sat on a little sandy beach having a cold beer while the fish smo ked in our smoker. A great lunchtime treat! Last night we were back in the harbour again to help Wanda from "Vegas" celebrate her Birthday. A table of 13 of us had dinner at The Beach House - great food and good company. At the next table, the Crown Prince and his body guards were having dinner. After dinner the whole group went on the The Bounty Bar to continue celebrations and surprised Wanda with a Birthday cake. By the time we got back to the boat it was 1am! It will be a quiet day today :-)

On Saturday we visited the tiny island of Lape with friends Pieter and Sarah. There are 26 people living here from 5 families and the school has 8 children. We were invited to see the school and were amazed to see everything so well laid out and organised. Going to school here would be a special experience! The whole island is very tidy and clean, in fact it is the only one we have seen where the pigs are kept in a pen rather than running through the gardens and digging up the ground. We were treated to a traditional Tongan feast on Lape and especially enjoyed the fish dishes, one raw (marinated in coconut milk) and one sweet and sour. The four of us went to a very large church in Neiafu on Sunday. It was packed full, with people sitting on the floor at the back. Everyone was wearing beautiful brightly coloured clothes and the throng of singing voices was amazing. No instrumental back up required, the Tongans sung in perfect harmony and good heart. A wonderful experience. Lat er we visited the island of Tapana where a floating art gallery sits. This is a tiny house boat and is known as the Ark Gallery, featuring art inspired by local scenes. After a week of swimming snorkeling and exploring we had a farewell dinner on Tuesday night at Mango Cafe, to say goodbye to Pieter and Sarah and have an early Birthday celebration for Sarah. Today we visited the village of Toula at the far end of Neiafu harbour to get our LPG bottle filled. After walking for a while with our empty bottle a gas company truck came along and told us to get in the back. So we had a ride to the gas filling station on the back of a flat bed truck amongst the rows of gas bottles! Another new experience and good fun. The village of Toula is the first one we have seen with rubbish bins and recycling bins along the street. This initiative seems to be working as the streets are relatively free of rubbish and the whole place looks cared for. Other villages, including the main town of Ne iafu, seem to be drowning in empty soft drink cans and plastic wrappers from chips and noodle packets. The rubbish in most villages really spoils the scenery, but Toula looks and feels like paradise with clean streets and pretty gardens overlooking the harbour.

Many of the anchorages in the Vava'u group are in quite deep water but we have found some special places for great snorkeling. One of the outer islands, Avalau has a lovely white sandy beach and a beautiful reef with plenty of colourful fish. We thought this spot was amazing until we went to Kapa Island and went snorkeling at Barnacle Beach. Wow!We were swimming through schools of thousands of fish. Incredible!! It was like being in a snow storm, with tiny sliver fish zipping past everywhere we looked. Yesterday we had a look at Fotula Island reef. Not as many fish but the water was as clear as you can imagine. Even in 25m of water you can see the bottom clearly. Just beautiful. On Wednesday we collected our friends Pieter and Sarah from the airport, they have come to stay with us for a week and we have been looking forward to seeing them. Thankfully their flight was only an hour late - earlier in the week some people were delayed by a few days! Tt seems internal flights from Tongatapu to Vava'u are not very reliable. We all went to the Fakaleiti show Wednesday night, which was very entertaining! In Tonga, if a mother has too many sons, she raises one of them as a girl to help with washing and cooking etc. These boy girls are dressed in pretty dresses and are taught to be more feminine than natural girls who run around in shorts and t-shirts. As adults the Fakaleiti (Faka = in the manner of, leiti = lady)are very graceful and elegant. We thoroughly enjoyed the show, though some of them were more convincing as ladies than others! On Thursday we snorkeled at the Japanese gardens by Mala Island before heading into Hunga Lagoon for the night. Today we explored the Blue Lagoon area, unfortunately the resort was closed and visitors were clearly not welcome. A shame because it is a lovely spot and the water over the reef area is a very pretty blue. Now it is time for an afternoon nap!