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We are anchored in one of our favourite spots at the moment - “ Makogai. We always find lots to do here and time passes by too quickly. We went in to see Kamali and do our usual sevu sevu. He always remembers the boat and makes us welcome. We were sitting out the back last night having dinner and we could hear the kids laughing, squealing and playing onshore. They sound so happy. We always comment kids laughter, and tears, sound the same in any language. No computer games, play station or TV’s here!!! Yesterday we did a few cleaning chores on the boat in the morning when it was still reasonably cool, and then after lunch we hauled out the dive gear and went for a ‘shake down’ dive. As usual there was plenty to see, lion fish, a huge puffer fish, Spanish mackerel and lots of colourful tropical fish. stunning here – no We also have a friendly turtle that pops his head above the water near the stern of the boat every now and then. Just idyllic.

An ongoing narrative and photos are available at www.laughterjourney.com

We have absolutely loved the Ha'apai group of islands. Flat islands (only a few feet above sea level) with palm-fringed white sandy beaches and beautiful reefs for snorkeling and diving. Everything in Ha'apai seems very natural, no sign of any tourist trade. Quite refreshing! It has been interesting to see how life goes on in the local villages, where there is no industry, but people have their own pigs and chickens running around,grow their own veges and catch their own fish. A simple uncomplicated way of life. Our last stop in this group of islands was Haano, and we would have loved to stay longer to snorkel and dive the reef. There is a beautiful wall on the drop off from the reef, full of caves and canyons, coral and fish. It feels like heaven! However, our wonderful weather gurus, David and Patricia from Gulf Harbour Radio, advised us that Thursday night was the best time for a smooth passage to Vava'u as strong winds and big swells were on the way if we waited another d ay. The passage is not a big one, but it is still 70 nmiles, approx 130 km, so good to have a smooth ride! Thanks to the great advice from David we had a lovely 15-20 knot sailing breeze, a beam reach all the way, with slight seas. Perfect conditions! Arriving into Vava'u is a bit like coming in to Great Barrier Island, the islands have a completely different geology to the Ha'apai's. In Vava'u there are many more islands, closer together, with steep cliffs rising straight up out of deep water. Even the small islands are 40m high and the larger ones are over 100m in places. It almost looks like fjords here and the vegetation is different too with more bush and dense foliage replacing the swaying palms. A different world to where we have been for the last couple of weeks. It was great to go to the local produce market and stock up on fresh fruit and veges again and we have been exploring the local cafes and restaurants too. There are about 50 other yachts in the harbour, from all over the world, so the local cafes are a popular meeting place. The main harbour is very large and well protected with flat calm water which is surprisingly clean and clear. One of the local bars is screening the NZ vs England game tonight so we will pop along to that -though it does seem strange to think of winter sports being played while we are sitting in 27 degrees! Tongan time is one hour ahead of NZ so we have to wait until 8.30pm for kick off, not that time really seems to matter much anymore :-)

After another visit to the village in Ha'afeva and giving away more reading glasses on Thursday, we headed over to Limu Island on the eastern side of the Ha'apai Group. Crystal clear water - the best visibility you can imagine. The snorkeling at Limu on Friday was so good we decided to go for a dive on Saturday and we were not disappointed - this had to be one of the best dives we have ever had. So many different kinds of fish and such an amazing array of different coral - the place is thronging with life below the surface! After that we visited another little uninhabited island and Karl slaughtered some coconuts with an axe. We drank the fresh juice straight from the coconut on the shore - very refreshing! Back on the boat Heather made coconut milk from the flesh but it was rather a messy business with pulverised coconut flying about - much easier to buy it in cans from now on ;-) On Sunday we stopped at Uiha Island and the people here seem quite well off with nice houses an d surf boards and dive gear. Monday was drizzling with rain, so we caught 20L water in our rain catcher, did some washing and baked a fruit cake. In the afternoon we motored over to Uoleva Island and got there in time for the sun to come out. We went for a snorkel and a walk on the golden sandy beach while the washing dried and then caught up with friends for a drink at the Uoleva Yacht Club (a beach bar). Today we snorkeled the southern reef of Uoleva Island - one of the best snorkeling sites yet. Shallow water, packed with coral gardens, clear water and different shapes and colours of fish hovering in every nook. Arrived in Pangai, Lifuka Island this afternoon and will stay here for a few days.