We've made it to Vava'u Tonga

Well, after a very long day, a delayed flight at Melbourne, and thinking we may miss our connecting flight from Fiji to Vava'u we have finally made good our promise to meet friends Karen and Andrew to discover the life they lead.

Karen picked us up at the airport and on the way back to their house showed us a little glimpse of island life. The first thing you notice are the dogs and the free range pigs and chicken. 

Not as common are the cattle everywhere. They just wander on and off the road at will with no care of passing traffic. They are definitely on Tongan time. 



Later in the afternoon Karen took us downtown Neiafu. That was a bit of an eye opener...not a shock though and quite good fun. As you travel throughout the whole island you realise that building maintenance is not high on the agenda...actually it's not on the agenda at all. I don't think this pig was too happy about me taking it's photo. I was ready to turn and run back to the car if she made a move.

The next morning Karen and Andrew offered to take us for a drive around island. The first place we visited was Keitahi Beach. A beautiful secluded beach on the east side of the island. Unfortunately the it was quite overcast so the photos don't really do it justice. Hopefully in the next few days the sun will come out and it will show off Tonga.

The only down side was there was a bit rubbish because one thing the Tongans are not good is keeping the place clear of rubbish. Having said that it really didn't detract from the beauty of the place. I tried to talk Andrew and Terry into climbing a coconut tree to getting us a green drinking coconut but they wouldn't come to the party.

Next stop was Ene'io Beach where they have highly rated botanical garden. Unfortunately as it was a Sunday it as closed. Andrew has been telling us it's illegal for Tongans to work on Sunday, although it's not the case at the Botanical Garden as there is a little restaurant that served the most amazing smelling roast pork. 

Only recently they have allowed restaurants to open to cater for tourists. We'll come back to the garden for a tour later in the week.

We stopped and had lunch at the Tongan Beach Resort. Another beautiful spot and where we had a lovely lunch and wiled away an hour or so watching boats cruise by. One of the boats that passed by was like being back in Thailand. I don't think they could fit any more on the boat. 


After lunch we had a few more stops. One was at a small cemetery near the top of a hill. There are dozens of little cemeteries dotted all over the island. They seem to be lovingly attended and the do have passion for the odd artificial flower. At the same stop we went down to a cave that is filled with fresh water and there is a local story attached to it. Peeking in, the water was crystal clear.

Our last stop was Ano Beach, where passed through another village and saw another church or three. Tongans are a very religious nation and their church appears to be an all day event. Everywhere you go you on a Sunday you pass people all dressed up either going to or coming from church.

Vava'u is a beautiful island of contrast and I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.