The ferry rode out the next day was the worst boat trip I've ever been on and I seriously thought we were going to capsize sometimes. But much to Simon's surprise I managed to keep my breakfast in for the whole journey. I think he actually felt worse than me.
The resort we'd chosen, Hide Away, was a stroke of luck. It's a small place run by a father and son who spent 25 years in Oz, and they were the most welcoming, friendly hosts I've ever experienced. If anyone reading this ever ventures to Tonga, you should definitely stay there. I'd highly recommend it, and we were sad to leave.
Their 4x4 tours had been raved about in their visitors book as a must-do. So we did. Little did I know it would involve some facing some of my worst fears.
#1 - climbing up a spider infested tree. It was either fall to my death or face the spiders. I chose the latter.
#2 - crawling through the "Rats Cave". Had it been infested with rats I would've been fine but it just meant crawling through a tiny space and dropping down onto a narrow ledge with a sheer drop beneath us. Claustrophobia & vertigo in one.
#3 - descending down the side of a valley into a sinkhole. I was going to sit this one out as just looking down there made me shiver but the guide insisted he would help me. Obviously I made it but was a nervous wreck at the bottom. The way out involved climbing a vine precariously hanging from a tree, or my way - back the way I came.
Since 'Eua is a very remote island, we'd been sent off with a packed lunch each, but the French guy had foolishly eaten his sandwiches as soon as we set off, so when it came to lunch time he asked if we could go and buy some more sandwiches and was horrified to learn that the only place to buy sandwiches on the island was from our resort. He was also astonished to learn that there were no fast food places, despite the fact he'd witnessed there were none on the larger main island.
He had to make do with a packet of crisps from a village shop.
I asked our guide out of interest whether anyone charged tourists extra for things from the shops and he looked at me incredulously. I explained to him that tourists frequently got charged extra in most parts of Asia. We'd also enquired how much it would be to rent snorkels at our resort and received the reply "Why would I charge you? They're just sitting there!" Not being ripped off for once felt great.
Sadly, on our return to the resort, we were greeted with the news that one of the 17 year old twin boys who had been staying there had been found dead. They were hiking the previous day and had gone missing and one of them had fallen into a sinkhole. It was over 100m deep. He had no chance.
On the Sunday we decided to go to the local Catholic church. For Simon it was a chance to view the difference between the church at home and abroad, to me it felt appropriate to go after this boy's death. We didn't understand anything that was being said but everyone accepted us and made us feel part of it. Their singing was amazing, nothing like the dreary hymns you hear at home. The atmosphere was a lot more relaxed and joyful, led by an animated priest who moments before had been strolling around smoking outside.
The last few days were spent at a resort on the west side of Tonga'tapu, which was very nice but pricey. We took a walk through a couple of villages to visit the Flying Fox Sanctuary, which turned out to be just a couple of trees inhabited by the smelly bats. We later saw some similar trees nearer town which looked exactly the same but hadn't earned the "sanctuary" status, however you get that.
Back in Nuku'alofa we rented bikes to cycle to the blowholes. I was dreading the 30km cycle, having not been on a bike in over 10 years and I was white knuckled at the end of it. Despite that, and my inability to walk at the end, it was great to cycle somewhere instead of drive. We took a tour of the eastern side of the island the following day and it wasn't nearly as much fun. Cue" extreme gloating from Simon for that comment.
We went to a buffet dinner and cultural show and the Tonga National Centre which included traditional dancing and the humiliation of Simon as he was pulled onstage to dance with one of the girls. I'm not sure what half the food was but I've discovered I'm not a fan of raw fish in coconut milk.
There were times in Tonga when I wished there were more things available that come with tourism, like more choice and cheaper prices, but then it would just be like everywhere else. I like the way they haven't really grasped tourism here and I hope it doesn't get spoilt in the future by people insisting that things should be a certain way.
The Tongan people seem very satisfied with their life, and that's the way it should be.
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