The islands said "stay"...
Trip Start
Sep 23, 2004
1
77
Trip End
Ongoing
Pangaimotu Island, Tongatapu,
Tonga
Saturday, July 19, 2008
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 7.30 am (eek!) but has then been moved again to 11.30. I am welcome to check in my luggage while I wait. So I do. Then I wait. And wait. And wait. There is no indoor waiting room so I sit outside, in the shade, with a book. The sun swings high in the sky; I realise that my sunscreen is in my checked luggage. I need water. No shop. Of course. A Tongan matriarch comes to chat, tells me her family history, draws her family tree, laments the fact I am going- I'll miss meeting her son, who she is collecting from the airport. He's a missionary, and quite a catch, though at 24 should be choosing a wife soon. All the girls in the village want her to set them up with him
01 Port of Refuge from the plane
! Amazement that I am nearly 30 and unmarried. She offers to call Rick up and give him a good talking to. I must come for dinner when I come back. Photos of her children and friends came out of the purse, I reciprocate. It's a fun way of spending a few hours. Finally someone turns up selling much-needed water and biscuits. At 1.30 our plane lands, a quick refuelling and we're on board, I politely ask someone to vacate the coveted window seat I'd been so careful to reserve. I feel a bit mean, but the photos I take are worth it. My airport pickup isn't there, so into a taxi I get, to find that of course I have missed the boat to the island I am staying on tonight. It's 3.15, the next isn't til 5. Of course, we don't leave til 5.30, but I meet a Dutch Jewish preacher who gives me a sermon, and a Tongan high school teacher who shares a coconut with me. Soft and sweet, yum. Finally on the boat for a 15 minute journey; I take a stroll beneath a gorgeous sunset and just about stay awake for dinner, until I go to bed, weary from travelling.
The next day I laze for most of the morning, reading and dabbling with my paints. Then I explore the reef which rings the island- my first trip out is unexciting to start with, I find weed and not much else. But a few lonely corals soon become a garden; the colours are amazing and the fish are stunning
02 Flying over the Vava'u group
. There are sea urchins, starfish, more anemones and clownfish than I can count. I start to get cold and sit on the beach for a while, then go back to snorkel again. This time I know where to look, and what I find is fantastic. Elongated trumpetfish, moray eels, a blue-eyed porcupine puffer, a magnificent lionfish, and a 15cm long Spanish dancer nudibranch. The water is clear, and soon I have to go back to land to get more batteries for my camera. By 5 I am dry, clothed, packed, and getting on the boat to leave the island. It's not meant to be, the taxi I had arranged is not at the wharf, and I need more money. None of the ATMs are working, the whole network of cash machines is down. For the first time ever I do not have the little plastic packet with a photocopy of my passport and a small pile of US dollars. The bureau de change do not give cash from credit cards here. I find a cab, the driver is confident of finding a cash machine, but all are broken. The driver agrees to take a money transfer when I get back to New Zealand, he adds $20 onto my bill but at least I'll get to the airport on time; I give thanks that the people here are so trusting and unstung by tourism so far.
The plane away is only delayed by an hour (not bad), and we are nearing New Zealand when there is a bright flash
03 The Ha'apai group of islands
. The plane shakes and bangs, we've just been struck by lightening. The lights stay on and everything seems ok; the pilot announces that no essential systems are damaged and even the entertainment system still seems functioning. The skies stay turbulent but there are no more flashes, however, it is a relief when we have all wheels safely on the ground. We get to the gate and the seatbelt lights blink off, there is the usual rush to get up and grab belongings from the overhead lockers. I stay seated, there's no room for me to go anywhere. Nobody's moving. The bridge is broken, there's an electronic fault and it won't work (was it hit by lightening? Is it related to the ATMs?). Someone goes to get some stairs, finally we can get off and descent into the damp cold of the Auckland night. It's gone midnight, I get through customs and biosecurity quickly and get a cab. For a holiday it often seemed like a lot of hard work. But that was part of the charm of the place, and I'm sure I'll end up back there one day. I have to check out the visibility in January, for starters. 
