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Malo e lelei and welcome to the
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The tiny Kingdom of Tonga is a nation that has almost been forgotten bt the modern world - the last great unspoilt destination of the Pacific. Situated east of the Fiji Islands in the South Pacific, Tonga (also called the Friendly Islands) consists of some 150 islands, of which 36 are inhabited. Most of the islands contain active volcanic craters; others are coral atolls. |
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| Vava'u in the north - - with the Niuas situated in the far north Ha'apai in the middle Tongatapu in the south |
Niuas - Niuatoputapu - The Island of Sacred Coconuts |
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The northernmost group of Islands in Tonga are the Niua's a group of three small inhabited islands, Niuafoou (Tin Can Island) Tafai and Niuatoputapu which is the most populated and a port of entry for the Kingdom of Tonga. |
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The officials took us in their overcrowded small pick up truck to the Sub Treasury a rustic building in the village of Hihifo which reminded us of the old wild west banks. A lone vault sits opened with no fear of being robed in the back of the bank. |
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| The packages which we brought to the Islanders was also delivered at the Sub Treasury building where the happy recipients waited anxiously. It turned out we had brought supplies for ten families which later rewarded us with a large amount of fruits, bananas and veggies. We sure enjoyed seeing their happy faces, it was like Christmas morning at home. |
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Lalo, her husband and son came to our boat early the next morning in pouring rain to trade lobster for cigarettes. We were warned to bring cigarettes for trading as they will not take anything else even cash. We traded cigarettes for seven lobsters, four small and three large, one which was over five pounds. |
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We walked through town and found a lot of little children who were thrilled to receive a lollipop from Kip. One ate hers quickly and came around another corner hoping to get another. We saw in women in covered huts weaving floor-size mats out of pandanus leaves. |
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The island of Niuatoputapu is another great place to spend some time. The small local population clusters in two villages connected by a dirt road. The people are friendly and soft spoken, they love getting their pictures taken. With only a supply ship coming through every two to four months they are delighted to get goods form the passing yachties. Check out the Photo Gallery for more photos.
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