DAY 16-18 (2-4 July 2023): TONGA Tongatapu (West). Villages: Houma, Fahefa, Haatafu. THE LAST POST OF THONGNEWY !!!

On 2 July 2023 I drove a total of 62km around the western side of Tongatapu Island compared with 117km around the eastern side. The West is Best !!! It had better roads, nicer villages (cleaner and more decorated with flowers and manicured lawns) and better attractions. It also had beaches !!! The best one was Ha'atafu Beach where there was once a resort before the tsunami took it away. There were two more resorts to the south of the one at Ha'atafu which were also levelled – you see the tsunami came in from the west so most of the damage was there.

 

The morning was a bit unsettled but the rest of the day was terrific – plenty of sun and the wind disappeared. Lucky for me that I visited the Mapu'a Vaea (Pupuapuhi) Blowholes first thing when the wind and swells were HUGE causing crashing waves to emit plumes of water many metres into the air. What is scary about these blowholes is that you think the ocean splash is going to cover and engulf you but the slabs of basalt cause it to stop short – literally just in front of you. When I first started filing the crashing waves and spray I instinctively ducked thinking I would be hit buy the waves !!! This was clearly my favourite attraction of my entire stay and more awesome when the weather is rough (especially windy).

 

These are other attractions I visited in the West: Tsunami Rock, Kolovai Beach (Likualofa Resort), Ha'atafu Beach, Abel Tasman's Landing Site, 3-Headed Coconut (Inland). Tsunami Rock is amazing. It is a huge 10m high rock, estimated to weigh 1,600 metric tons that scientists reckon was ripped off the reef and flung 200m by a massive 35m high tsunami that hit the island between 1,000 and 3,000 years ago as a result of a massive volcanic eruption similar to but hundreds of times more powerful than the one that occurred in January 2022. I was also surprised to see that Abel Tasman visited here in 1628 after his discovery of Tasmania. The 3-Headed coconut tree is a funny contribution to tourism but it is actually the only one on the island and very rare. Let’s hope no one cuts it down !!!

 

I really enjoyed the West and was so thankful to see it under sunny, near perfect conditions. That afternoon I had time enough to visit the annual church conference in town where I took the pictures of immaculately dressed locals that you saw in the “Cultural Intermission” post.

 

The only disappointment of my trip to Tonga was missing out on the Humpback Whale Swim that was planned for 3 July 2023, my last day in Tonga. Even though 2 July 2023 was a perfect day a storm came in that night and I got a message the following morning that the sea’s were way too rough so the trip was cancelled. I spent that day walking 16km along the north coast and around the farmland surrounding Nukualofa. As I walked I noticed that there are corner stores on literally most corners and EVERY corner store I saw is run by the Chinese – as a matter of fact the locals do not call them “Corner Stores” or “Convenience Shops” but in fact “China Stores” !!! So funny. I spent the rest of the afternoon of my last day on this post and the previous one before my last dinner and an extra early night’s sleep given the 0230 rise to go to the airport.

 

My flight to Nadi FIJI left on time at 0540 on 4 July 2023 with subsequent connection to Sydney landing at 1145. I have no idea why Fiji Air likes to run flights to and from Tonga in the middle of the night !!! How on earth is family-based tourism supposed to increase in Tonga if children have to wake up at 11pm and 3am to travel to/from Tonga !!! So silly !!!

 

This is the final post of THONGNEWY 2023 !!! I hope you have enjoyed the images of this fast-paced but very scenic adventure. The film will not be released until late next year given that BALKANOPOULOS 2022 and KOKOLINE 2023 still need to be made and shown first and second in the order they were visited.

 

I salute the people of Niue and Tonga who love their respective islands and would not live anywhere else for all the tea in China !!!

 

Long live Niue and Tonga – this is John “Thongnewy” Golfin signing off Houston…

 

DAY 15 (1 July 2023): TONGA Atata Island.

Atata Island is 12km northwest from Nukualofa harbour. It is 1,400m long and only 210m wide. 105 people used to live on it until the Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami wiped out all the buildings in January 2022. This included the coral reef that used to surround the island. Most of it is dead but there are some clumps left over for tourists to start revisiting. That included me and 23 Mormon teenagers from the USA !!! They are in Tonga for 2 weeks on a humanitarian trip to rebuild a church hall since there are many local Mormon faithful on the island. What an experience for them.

 

We set out at 9am and it took us 45min to get to the island. The weather was perfect. We opened the day with 30min of snorkelling around what was left of the coral reef. The coral that survived was on huge rocks emerging from the ocean floor with now limited colours and shapes but lots of colourful fish.Even though the coral was sparse I discovered the most unusual looking coral that beats anything I have ever seen anywhere else and you know how much coral I have seen - this looks like a combination of a star fish and sea urchin - spiky and mutli-coloured - it is truly strange - it is the second last photo below.

 

The teens went off to land on the island and play water games before lunch so this was my opportunity to jump off the boat and go for my 2km swim along the length of the island. Had to swim at least 100m offshore due to the lowering tide. It was a great swim. So good I went over at 2.2km. Water was clear and the sun was out revealing limited seaweed, rocks and some coral.

 

I swam all the way to shore and took my time to photograph the island whilst the teens finished off their water sports. The island itself has a lot of vegetation and easy to walk even though you cannot actually walk all the way around since the beach only forms a U-Shape arc with the rest being bush and rock. We all then enjoyed a buffet BBQ lunch with more westerns style chicken, sausages and beef kebabs. We also had some purple taro and coleslaw with plenty of cordial. We lunched inside a huge hut at the tip of the island affording us 180-degree views of the ocean and mainland with terrific breeze coming at you from all sides.

 

The teens then planted some young coconut seedlings to replace the many trees that had been uprooted by the force of the tsunami. I interviewed our guide “Kui” pronounced “Q” and when I met her at the port I joked about her boss being “M” and introduced myself has “James” !!! Corny but Q loved it – her boss was actually along for the ride and we both kept calling her “M” even though that was not her name. She liked it too.

 

After the plantings we headed back to Nukualofa arriving there around 1630. A long and victorious day, weather-wise and swim-wise. A definite must-visit if you visit Nukualofa.

 

I hope you enjoy the Pacific paradise of Atata…

 

DAY 14 (30 June 2023): TONGA Cultural Intermission.

Just like I did in Niue, I would like to take a cultural intermission between the East and West sides of my touring of Tongatapu Island.

 

My focused cultural immersion began at 6pm after I had driven the eastern side of the island. A minivan came to whisk me away to the southern tip of the east side of the Island to a place called Katea Retreat where I have been during the day. It is a magic place overlooking the beach where I wanted to swim.

 

The owner Sam recognised me straight away and came over to greet me and gave me the best table in the house right next to the stage so I could film the traditional dancing that night. What a great personality Sam is. I also met his wife Sheila who is originally from the USA and met Sam in Hawaii. This couple is set to take the island by storm. The place slowly swelled to 50 people over drinks and some Western songs played by two locals. It was a mix of locals and tourists with families. Good to see families coming back into the picture post COVID and in Tonga “Post Tsunami” !!! Around 7pm, Sam tapped me on the shoulder so I could go over and film the food before all the tourists put their snorts in the trough !!!

 

The food was wonderful. Very similar to Niue. A suckling pig on the spit took centre stage with plenty of raw tuna, cooked mussels, cassava, taro, stir-fried chicken and even coleslaw, which I reckon, was brought in for the families.

 

The dancing was traditional with great costume, lots of percussion, shouting, but no Hakka. Instead a fire dancer finished the evening with a spectacular display of pyrotechnics that would make even Bundy proud !!! This was a great surprise.

 

The following morning I went to church but was asked not to photograph/film inside but granted permission to photograph as many people outside as would give me permission – EVERYONE gave me permission. The Tongans LOVE to be photographed and filmed !!! Thank Goodness !!! The Tongans are so welcoming to visitors. They overlooked my orange singlet and my orange shorts and even my green trekking sandals and let me in !!! I told them how embarrassed I was to stand amongst such finely dressed people and they loved me all the more...

 

Please enjoy this wonderful colourful cultural intermission whilst you catch your breath between East and West…