Monday 20 August 2018

6-2018 Vava’u and Ha’apai Group, Tonga


Hi from Clare,         6-2018 Vava’u and Ha’apai Group, Tonga        18th August 2018

GETTING TO KNOW YOU
Since we last wrote we have slowed down considerably and after talking to some local people we now understand a little more about Tonga time; basically nothing happens in a hurry. For example the Inter Island Ferries don’t work to a schedule, they just arrive when they get here. The Postal system isn’t speedy either. One of our cruising friends posted a letter in Vava’u to his wife in San Fransciso and it took forty five days to arrive. We have posted some birthday cards from Vava’u to Australia but after hearing that story we just hope our mail arrives before we fly home later this year:)

Neiafu Harbour

We talked to a New Zealand woman who has owned a resort here for ten years, she claims to achieve anything here one needs patience and persistence. Most of the businesses are run by Ex pats and almost all the little supermarkets are run by Chinese. We mentioned to one of the Ex pats how disappointing it is to see that the Tongans don’t run the shops and she explained that it is not in their culture. She said their culture is to share everything. So if a Tongan owned a shop, relatives and friends would expect to just get things from the shop without paying. The Tongans who have moved to New Zealand and Australia to work, send money home to the family as their wages are considered to be family money. The Tongan people are proud of their Kingdom but exposure to the western world has caused some confusion. It appears that half the people want what western society has to offer and the other half want nothing to change.

Main street Neiafu


Village homes on nearby island in Vava'u

GOING SOUTH
We sailed seventy odd miles south to the Ha’apai Group of islands. Unfortunately for us we did not get the timing right. This destination has no anchorages with protection from the west. So in a westerly breeze the water is choppy and in calm conditions the boat rolls in the ocean swell. There is a very small harbour at the main town of Pangai which offers good protection. We spent eight of our ten days in the Ha’apai Group in this little harbour sheltering from westerly winds. As you can imagine we got to know the township of Pangai pretty well. It has a small population but there is at least seven or eight Chinese general stores, all selling the same thing. There is also about the same number of churches. Some a quite big, and we doubt if there is enough people on the island to fill them. The township has a lot of Chinese sponsorship and they have paid for new concrete footpaths. The funny part is that the footpath is only wide enough for one person so we had to walk in single file. It would have looked hilarious if there were six of us. However we had the footpaths to ourselves as the Tongans all drive cars which they rent from the Chinese. One Ex pat commented that the Tongans in Pangai have forgotten how to walk.

Pangai village main street

Long beaches in the Haapai group

Whilst in the Ha’apai, we did get two days of easterly breeze and spent a very enjoyable time walking along magnificent sandy beaches, swimming in gin clear water and watching the numerous whales frolicking with their calves. Our early morning entertainment was a coffee in the cockpit watching the whales breaching and slapping the water. Some were only fifty metres from the boat with their babies close by.

PERFECT SUNNY CODITIONS
We sailed back to Vava’u under spinnaker last Thursday in time to catch up with Aussie friends Ian and Helen Potter whom we know from our days at the CYCA in Sydney. We have cruised with Helen and Ian in the Med and the Caribbean. They sailed their boat Sun Dancer 11 back to Oz in 2015. This trip they are helping with a delivery with the Aussie owner from Hobart to Sydney via Tonga and Fiji. The boat is a beautifully renovated ex Tasmanian Cray Fishing boat and just superb inside with many luxuries. We spent a few very enjoyable hours aboard socialising with sundowners on the large foredeck.

Hunga Lagoon

A PERFECT LOCATION
We are now anchored in Hunga Lagoon in Vava’u. The lagoon is an old crater and is protected all round by wooded hills. The birds are magnificent and we are in glassy water. It is so calm and peaceful, I could stay here for a long time. We know five other boats here and so we have plenty of company. Yesterday morning we went for a walk with Dutch friends Ellen and Martin on ‘Acapella’ up to a plantation. Then a second walk from another little beach to climb the hill to a lookout over the lagoon. In the afternoon the crews from ‘Eye Candy’ and ‘Acapella’ joined Dutch friends Agnus and Baz on ‘Tisento’ and went for another walk up over the hill to the other side of the lagoon. Here we met German couple Elke and Werner who retired from sailing in 2010 after twenty two years and settled here. Werner who was an Architect in his working life built a wonderfully solid and unique home from scratch. The house is made of concrete which he mixed by hand. He embedded coloured glass bottles in the concrete walls in decorative patterns. He made all the interior cupboards and furniture. A big feature window in the living area invites the surrounding tropical paradise into the house. It is all extremely well done and Werner and his wife Elke are living off the grid in their relaxing environment. We walked down to the water front where they keep their power boat which Werner has converted into a floating camper van so they can still enjoyed life on the water. Before leaving we all enjoyed coffee on the patio and Werner played Waltzing Matilda and the Dutch National Anthem on his harmonica. At eighty years of age he is an inspiration. He initially met us on the beach and walked us up over the hill and down the other side to his home and then back again when we left. I’m pretty sure he found the hills less challenging than the rest of us. It was inspirational to meet Werner and Elke who are obviously enjoying life to the full.

Werner and Elke's home

Garden at Werner and Elke's house

The explorer gloup
Ellen, Martin, Agnes, Baz, Clare and Andrew

SOME MENTAL EXERCISE
Andrew is earning himself quite a reputation within the cruising community as the radio fix it man. There are no repair places here and so Andrew has been pretty busy. He has helped countless cruisers with their radio problems and is now thrashing himself because he has encountered a radio he couldn’t fix – you can’t win them all! He has established a new Radio Net called the South Pacific Cruising Net which will take us through to Australia. We had ten check ins this morning which is pretty good considering it has only just started. Andrew loves the radio and spends a lot of time listening to various nets. I have jokingly asked him for a two way radio for Christmas, so I can get to talk to him. Let’s hope he doesn’t take me seriously:)

SO WHAT’S NEXT
We are now off for a snorkel as there is an area here inside the lagoon which has a lot of fish. We will stay here till Monday and then sadly go back into town for supplies. We will be looking for an opportunity to sail to Fiji within the next few weeks.

Love Candy xx
PS It is now Sunday and we just felt an earthquake from inside the boat. We could feel it through the floor and noticed that the curtains were shaking slightly. We have just heard that the centre was near Fiji and measured 8.2 on the Richter scale. We have also spoken to cruisers located in Fiji and surprisingly they didn’t feel a thing.

Love Candy xx