We arrived at Neiafu in Northern Tonga at 1030 this morning, a passage of 6 days and 30 minutes - not bad for a distance of 844 miles. We had a mixture of all conditions - strong winds, rough seas, glassy calm, complete lack of wind, overcast nights and nights of glorious starlight which were completely unforgettable.
We had two rather unusual experiences: we went over the Tongan trench, where the depth drops from 220 metres to 10,000 metres in just a couple of miles - you could drop Mount Everest in it and lose it! We also changed from Rarotonga time on Monday 3rd July (GMT -10 hrs) to Tongan time on Wednesday 5th of July (GMT + 13 hours) so lost 4th July completely, which gives some idea of what we felt about American Independence Day!
While en route from Rarotonga Mango Tango developed a major problem with her water-pump, and as there was no wind, Friars Goose towed her 60 miles into Niue. We continued with Alfabet, but they had to continue to Fiji, and didn't come to Tonga with us. However, to our great delight, Lazy Duck was in the harbour here in Neiafu, and it was really good to join up with them.
Tonga is simply wonderful. Stunning. But what a contrast to French Polynesia and the Cook Islands. It's seriously Third World, but in the most delightful way; dirt track roads, pigs and piglets roaming freely everywhere, nothing in the shops apart from shelf after shelf of fat-enriched corned-beef, and the people so friendly they make the Rarotongans seem surly (and the Raratongans were, without question, the most delightful people we have ever met). On top of that we're told the diving and beaches are unbelievable. What's more, the hump-back whales come to calve here in May, and there are masses of them. We're probably going to see them tomorrow, and may even swim with them. So we're over the moon with the place.
1 July 2000
30 June 2000
29 June 2000
24 June 2000
18 June 2000
16 June 2000
14 June 2000
12 June 2000
10 June 2000
9 June 2000
May 2000
April 2000
March 2000
February 2000
January 2000