Vakaloa Beach Resort Tongatapu

... thing that stuck me was how tropical it was - it was like driving through dense forests and the humidity was unbelievable! But luckily the taxi drive knew just the place for us and took us to a local cafe for travelers! We then spent the rest of the day at Friends cafe relaxing and had our first Tongan beer -" Ikale" and rice rolls which were delicious!! Heaven!! 2:30pm...back to the airport and onto Va'vau .....

... to the waves breaking on the reef and a rest after our early start. A late start with a plan to go walking. Asked if we were too late for breakfast, we were told "This is the island, there is no such thing as 'too late'". The cook then drove us to the foot of the island's hill in the 4WD showing astonishing offroad skills. Our hike took us firstly to an eight hundred year old banyan tree , the roots of which we climbed down into. I left ...

... of months here , sail to Fiji and then some other exotic destinations before returning to Vavau. I loved the place. I had the biggest lobster I have ever eaten for about AU$30 at a very flash restaurant on Thurs night. We then went to "Tongan Bobs" a famous yachtie bar. They were having their weekly quiz night so we joined in for a while. I got talking to a 25yr old girl from Kalamunda who was traveling around the world ...

... chat with a French nun, and even tried out my rather rusty French with her non-English speaking friend. After a grand finale of frenzied dancing, exhilarating drumming and dance-offs between embarrassed tourists and flambouyant fa'afafine, it was time to call it a night, hop into Tui's taxi and head back to Otuhaka. It was a high note to end our stay on Tongatapu. The next day, Rick was returning to Auckland, and I was going north to the islands of Vava'u.

... pandanus ta'ovala- woven mats worn around the waist as a sign of respect or mourning. They appeared over skirts, jeans and lavalavas (sarongs), and were used as part of school uniforms. After lunch we tried to get a rental car. This was easier said than done. First we needed to find the car rental offices- tricky in a place almost devoid of street signs. Eventually a friendly islander set us in the right direction. Then we ...

... the nearby village, and followed the road up to the north of the island. The village was well-kept (a trait that we noticed was common to most properties in Tonga, however poor they were). Gardens were brightly planted, lawns were all trimmed and flocks of very free-range chickens 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 ...

... the end of the night, we caught a shuttle bus back to the Internet Cafe on the corner of the main road, a ten minute walk from Sela's. Our imaginations were working overtime on the walk back in the dark and our 10 minute walk soon turned into a 5 minute run back to Sela's!!! Friday, 23rd November We woke up to torrential rain that lasted for a whole three days.... to occupy our morning and keep him out of mischief, we played with Andrew, Sela & A ...

... food was unreal. Friday was pauls last day so we went out to the surfing resort of Ha Atafu for the day lapping up the sun and swimming there which was lovely. It was out then for another few beers before seeing Paul off for his early morning flight.Unfortunatly Karl lost his camera that night falling out of his pocket in a taxi which was a pain. Saturday me and karl went on a mission to try and find the camera and hit the markets for some shopping and presents.. (not ...

... kiidettiin jo kovaa vauhtia kiitoradalla :-) Oli muuten nopein lähtö ikinä! Varmasti oli Tonga Airlines soittanut Fidzille, että tehkää nyt palvelus tämän kerran ja pysähtykää tässä pliiis! Ei me saada noita ihmisiä täältä ikinä pois ja tulee kaikenlisäksi sanomista jos kolme länkkäriä rysähtää maahan :-) Lento 5: Ha'apai - Nuku'alofa Lentoyhtiö: Fiji Airlines Konetyyppi: Embraer 110 Bandeirante Lentonumero: numeroita, numeroita, kunhan lennellään nyt vaan ...

... ja melkoisen romut munamankelit oli nämä fillarit, jarrutkaan ei minun pyörässä toiminut :-) Ajeltiin ensiksi Faleloan kylän läpi, jossa about koko kylän lapset juoksivat perässä huudellen hello ja kysellen kaikenlaisia kysymyksiä mitä ikinä Englanniksi keksivät. Välillä vastaantulijat jäivät suu auki katsomaan, että herranen aika mitä valkonaamoja, täällä jollain omituisilla polkuvekottimilla nyt oikein pörräilee pitkin kylänraittia :-) Juu, täällä olisi kyll ...