Category Archives: South Pacific

SCUBA Diving in Vava’u

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Tuesday — Yesterday Christi started a SCUBA certification class. This is the perfect place. Warm, clear water. An instructor whose native tongue is English. With the favorable exchange rate, the price is good.

The first day of class was mostly lecture with a couple hours in shallow water practicing basic skills. The instructor chided her when he looked in her logbook and saw the dive in Suwarrow to 72 feet and the one in Niue through a cave to 102 feet.

While Christi was in class, Eric was the social butterfly. He stayed at the Aquarium Cafe for a while visiting with the other yachties, then pulled out a kayak and kayaked around the harbor visiting with various boats. Continue reading →

Hiking Mt. Talau

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Yesterday we were going to kayak to a cool snorkeling spot outside of the bay, but it was too windy outside the sheltered bay. Instead, we spent most of the day doing boat chores. Eric changed the oils in the main engine and generator, changed the Racor fuel filters on both and changed the air filter on the generator.

We did go out to eat (of course) at a small cafe. It is run by a palangi (white person) and most of the food on the menu is the usual stuff we get at home hamburgers, fish burgers, etc. At this restaurant and at the Aquarium Cafe, fried eggs on your burger are optional. Also, at both places you can get French fries made of taro and kumala instead of potatoes. In French Polynesia they eat a ton of French fries, and we never once saw them made from anything other than potatoes. Using taro and kumala seems so logical that we find it odd that they don’t do the same in French Polynesia. Lunch was served with a fruit called Kola. It is a citrus fruit with a green peel, like a lime, about the size of a lemon, and the meat is orange, like an orange. It is sour and tastes like a cross between a lemon and a lime. Continue reading →

Exploring Neiafu

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When we got up we read a pamphlet on Vava’u that we had picked up in town. The first thing it said was to beware of salesmen that approach your boat when you first arrive. Too bad the customs guys don’t hand out the pamphlets. Clearly, Alofi hangs around the wharf waiting for new arrival boats so he can be the first to get a hold of them. His prices on everything are outrageously expensive. He pushes you hard to buy before you get a chance to price shop. Cruisers, if you are approached by Alofi, just say no.

Minutes after reading that, a guy in a small boat pulled up and Continue reading →

Fools Feast

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continued — While we were waiting for the immigration officer, an older man came by in a small boat with an outboard motor. His name is Alofi and he was selling jewelry. He invited us to a feast he was putting on this evening. We had read about Tongan Feasts and a cruising guide advised us to never turn one down. He promised lots of food and was very pushy about us attending. We were tired from the passage, and said we’d go before we found out the price, which was $30 each USD. It seemed high, but he was so pushy and promised so much that we didn’t bargain on price. He asked for some coke and invited himself inside. He told us he would meet us at the dinghy dock at 17:00. Continue reading →

Welcome to Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga

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18-39 S by 174-00 W The independent nation of Tonga is a Kingdom that consists of 171 islands over an area of 700,000 square kilometers. Tonga is one of the few places in the South Pacific that was never colonialized by Europe, so the locals tend to live a more traditional lifestyle than the islands infiltrated by the Europeans. Tonga is a monarchy, but they have a judicial and legislative process modeled after the west. While colonial powers were rejected, the missionaries were readily accepted. Tonga is a very Christian nation, with all the major sects represented. The local laws require all businesses to close on Sundays and modest dress. Wearing immodest clothing will get you a hefty fine. Continue reading →