Tonga Travel Blogs

Where the whales sing
Jul 15, 2008 (19 photos)

... normally use as it highlights any particles in the water. Everyone assured me that this vis (best I've ever dived in) is awful for Tonga, and I should come back in January when the seas are as still as a mill pond and you can see for 50 metres or more... ...

Clouds and silver linings
Jul 13, 2008 (3 photos)

The travelling bad luck continued. Don, owner of Otuhaka, dropped us off bright and early at the small tin shed which serves as the domestic terminal. Rick stopped off to keep me company before heading to get his later flight from the ...

Island exploration
Jul 9, 2008 (7 photos)

... time for tea. Two hours seemed like planty of time to get ready and make the drive into Nuku'alofa (a half hour journey). Then Tonga time struck. By 9am, our coffees still hadn't appeared, and I was starting to worry. By 9.15, we were sat waiting for ...

Nothing's ever easy...
Jul 8, 2008 (7 photos)

Excited by glimpses of blue sky, we got a taxi into Nuku'alofa, to explore the capital and pick up a rental car. We passed the Royal Tombs and the Church of St Anthony of Padua, which reminded me of a Bournemouth theatre. We wandered along the ...

"Island Prism"
Jul 18, 2008 (12 photos)

My vessel arrived at 9, to carry me away over the sea. Jim from Canada and Cynthia collected me from Talihau beach for a day of adventure on the Island Prism. Once again, Cynthia was in charge and controlled the sails, I had the helm, and Jim found ...

Tongatapu
Jul 6, 2008 (8 photos)

... and families of pigs scrambled about. Every few metres, there seemed to be a church, reflecting the spiritual nature of Tonga. We saw a family harvesting jackfruit by pulling the fruits off the trees with a notched bamboo pole. Everyone dressed in vibrant ...

The islands said "stay"...
Jul 19, 2008 (15 photos)

I was not meant to leave Tonga. Fate intended for me to stay. I'm sure of it. How else can I explain the travel bad luck getting even worse? I arrive to get my plane to Tongatapu at 9.30, for a 10.30 departure. I find that the flight had been changed to ...

South Pacific by Tall Ship part 2 Tonga
Jul 5, 2003 (5 photos)

... to take us to. We dropped and weighed anchor three times in a 12 hour period so that we may discover as much of Tonga¡'s beauty as possible. Thursday evening brought us to "John's Place", the locals had Tapa cloths, wooden carvings as well as bone and ...

Last days on Tongatapu
Jul 11, 2008 (7 photos)

On Thursday, we visited what has to be my highlight of the Tongatapu part of our trip. We drove round to the spectacular Mapu'a 'a' Vaca blowholes, timing our visit to be there at high tide. The current, swell and wind combined to create an impressive ...

The Last Malo
May 20, 2006 (12 photos)

... and stayed a few nights in an outrageously overpriced resort. But our hut was right on the beach, and basically most of Tonga is outrageously overpriced. A lot of Tonga hasn't fully grasped tourism yet, which is great. The last place we stayed at had ...

Slow Boat Coming
May 15, 2006 (10 photos)

... taught in English. Therefore the result is a decline in the use of the Tongan language, to go with the disappearance of Tonga's original beliefs. We caught a taxi to the heart of the capital, Nuku'alofa, and couchsurfed with a friendly and welcoming ...

The Voyage begins - sailing NZ to Tonga, Pacific
Jun 18, 2003 (5 photos)

... 16th, we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn. A sweepstakes was set up so that we may guess when we will first sight Tonga, there were some interesting estimates, but the majority seem hopeful for tomorrow morning. We had a Fire Drill this afternoon, as Jim ...

The VaVa'U Group (Tongan Islands)
Apr 10, 2005 (2 photos)

Towards the end of our trip Toby and I decided to travel up to some of the smaller islands in the north of Tonga. Firstly it was pretty cool that we arrived to find that we were being driven in a really tiny plane and the pilot was a guy called steve ...

Tonga Travel
Mar 11, 2005 (5 photos)

... is! Little fact for you there Anyway better stop there as i am sure you are all bored by now. Having a wicked time, loving tonga, drinking lots of local brew in the evenings and meeting lots of other travellers, also with the advantage of being able to ...

Land where time begins!
Mar 24, 2005 (5 photos)

... am almost half way through Tonga and what a good few weeks it has been! Since I last wrote I have played against the Tonga U19 International team. They were practising for their World Cup Qualifier and played a match against the team I am playing for " ...

Good Bye Tonga!
Apr 14, 2005 (2 photos)

... where we went in the day whenever we had a break in lessons or coaching. Kind of like a re-creation of "Central Perk" but tonga style. Made some really good friends in Guy and Will and have planned to meet up with them in New Zealand. And toby as well i ...

Paratiisi hukassa
Jan 9, 2008 (6 photos)

Tongan visiitti ei ole alkanut oikein lupaavasti. Ennen passintarkastusta Aucklandissa tapahtui se, mita olemme pelanneet koko ajan: kasimatkatavarat punnittiin. Koska minulla oli repussani kuusi kiloa ylipainoa, vaihtoehtona oli joko heittaa tavaraa ...

Off to Vava'u
Mar 14, 2006 (7 photos)

... town of Neiafu and were dropped off at The Moorings base. We dumped our bags and headed straight to the Mermaid Bar for a few beers. Tonga Bob's was next on our agenda where we downed a few very yummy margaritas and headed back to the Mermaid for dinner. ...

Pacific islnads part 2
Jul 25, 2008

... 300 before going to bed. Thursday 10th July Eua We both got up early this morning in the hope to see some whales. As it was Tonga time, a bit like Fiji time (nothing runs to time) we ended out on the boat about 11am. The water was quite rough so we ...

Finally, a great sail!
Mar 22, 2006 (9 photos)

We couldn't wait to leave our little mozzie haven as none of us slept too well. We decided to go back into harbour & the Mermaid Bar for the night but would take our time sailing there and sunbaking as we went along. We started off sailing on the ...

Nicht alle Inseln im Schrank
Jun 5, 2007 (14 photos)

... aehnelt, steht hier in den meisten anderen Belangen die Welt Kopf. Im Schutz der 2000 Kilometer Pazifik, welche Tonga von der naechsten, halbwegs entwickelten Zivilisation trennen, hat sich hier ein Voelklein mit wunderlichen Sitten entwickelt. Du weisst, ...

Tonga
Apr 28, 2009 (3 photos)

... to touch the tail fin of a reef shark and keep all his fingers! Here's some photos of the sharks:      Tonga seems pretty cool, we fly over to the Va'vau Island group later today and pick up our yacht tomorrow. On arrival at the ...

Mounu Island
Mar 20, 2006 (6 photos)

... the tanks with water - whilst having a water fight and making a bit of noise (which is probably not recommended on a Sunday in Tonga as it attracts lots of attention and makes us look disrespectful I guess). Anyway, we left rather soggy and made our way to ...

A taste of Spain
Mar 18, 2006 (5 photos)

The dawning of a new day and a new adventure on the water. Where to next? The morning ritual over breakfast is listening to the local weather forecast to find out what we are in for during the day. Today we were set for a perfect day of north ...

Last minute stuff & goodbye
Mar 24, 2006 (7 photos)

... . Didn't take long as Vava'ua is a very small town and yet to be touched by mass tourism (thankfully). We dropped into Tonga Bobs Cantina for beer and had a good chat with Bob before heading back to the hotel, collecting our bags and boarding the bus to ...

'Eua
Oct 17, 2008 (13 photos)

... joining the band on the floor and sharing the Kava. This was the first chance we had to try Kava, on our last night in Tonga, expectations were high. Of all the things we had read about Kava, all that I can agree with is, it tastes like dirty dishwater. ...

Hungover, mozzies, sweat & no breeze
Mar 21, 2006 (1 photos)

Had a late start as we were all pretty tired & hungover and after a swim we headed out to anchorage #16 on Vaka'eitu. Once again we tried to sail but the lack of breeze prevented this. This is a tricky little anchorage to get into and the bommies got ...

Ei sitten olla Fijilla, ei...
Jan 15, 2008 (4 photos)

Ei voi sanoa muuta kuin etta ei hyvaa paivaa. Kun olimme Nuku'alofan lentokentalla paasseet uskomattoman hitaan check-inin lapi (boarding passit kirjoitettiin kasin), ja juuri kun olin maksanut lentokenttaveron ja vaihtanut loput Tongan rahat Fijin ...

First Days in the Kingdom of Tonga
Oct 7, 2008 (8 photos)

... some evening eats, and ended up at a chinese restaurant (emerald), seemingly the only game in town. Observations about Tonga.. everyone has a pig, everyone has about 4 dogs, most people have a rooster. Sunrises at 5 am. The roosters ...

What?? No hangover??
Mar 16, 2006 (4 photos)

A fabulous feeling to wake up hangover free! All very excited, especially Rana, as we have arranged to be picked up from our anchorage to go diving. I have my Open Water Cert however, I also have a fear of depth & I am not a good swimmer, so ...