The Kingdom of Tonga
0900 : Neiafu, Vava'U, Tonga
There were three other boats tied up to the Customs dock on the Halaevalu Wharf awaiting inspection. We spent the next hour circling around until an opening came up. Rain was coming and going and the wind was going to be pushing us onto the dock. And an ugly dock it was with rough pillars covered in barnacles and a jagged cement lip.
This required a little more preparation on our part. The first thing was to extend our mooring lines. We were lucky that two of the guys from the other boats were on shore to give assistance. I nailed the bow line but the stern line came up a little short. At that precise moment the motor stalled out.
We are still having issues with our starter so David had to leave the helm, go down below, lift the cover off the motor, tap the starter and pray that she would turn over. In the meantime I recovered the stern line and connected with one of the guys on shore. They were able to secure us before we came down on a boat that was anchored at the end with extra mooring lines all over the place. None of this was as easy at it sounds. A large pike of gravel around one of the shore cleats and wet and mucky surface added to the excitement. But we finally got everything tied down, moving the fenders to keep us off the barnacles.
1100: Customs official came on board and we completed the paperwork and the quarantine flag was lowered. The Immigration officer did not want to step down onto the boat ( about 2 feet) so she instructed us to pick up our mooring buoy and return later in our dinghy with the rest of the paperwork. They also took the garbage off our hands. We were lucky to pick up the last available mooring buoy as a lot of boats had come in from neighboring moorage due to weather.
1200: Position: 18* 40' S 174* W
We spent a couple of hours reorganizing the boat, collecting the laundry, putting the dinghy in the water and enjoying a nice brunch. Then it was time to head to shore and finish our check in.
So where are we? We are in the Vava'U Group - in the northern region in the Kingdom of Tonga. Tonga is the oldest and last remaining Polynesian monarchy and the only one never brought under foreign rule. It occupies 691 square kilometers over 700,OOO square kilometers of ocean! It is made up of 171 coral reefs, 36 of which are inhabited. It is bordered by Fiji to the west, Samoa to the north, the Tonga trench ( second deepest ocean trench in the world) to the east and New Zealand 1300 nm to the southwest.
Tonga is the country west of the International Dateline and as a result calls itself " the place where time begins".
Most of this background can be read on many websites but because of its uniqueness I felt that it was worth a mention. The government is in its final phase of democratic reform led by the present King but initiated by his father 150 years ago. So even though the King rules, they do have an elected Prime Minister and a parliament in accordance with the people's wishes. Sound familiar?
Tonga is not a rich country and less than half of the people live from subsistence farming, fishing and handicrafts. The general consensus is for a family to have four children. As they become older, two will go to New Zealand, Australia or the US to be educated and work in order to send money back to the family and the other two will stay in Tonga to help with the farm. All families are given two parcels of land (though the monarch owns the land) - one to live on and one to grow food.
No foreigners can own land but can be awarded 99 year leases. For this reason the big name hotel chains cannot be found in Tonga. You will find lots of foreigners setting up small resorts and businesses.
What makes this country special is its emphasis on the family. Each family member plays a role with the women commanding more respect than most Polynesian countries. It is not uncommon for children to be raised by grandparents or aunts and uncles. They are an extremely religious country, Sunday is sacred and dress is conservative. Dresses are below the knee, men often wear a type of wrapped skirt rather than pants, bare shoulders are frowned upon. A few of the tourist facilities are able to function on Sunday's but all other businesses are closed. In fact, any contract signed on a Sunday is considered to be null and void.
So ends my brief description of Tonga. We plan on staying here until the end of October, waiting for our weather window to New Zealand, and giving us lots of time to relax and explore the islands and different anchorages. As a result the following blogs should allow my armchair travelers to share this experience with us. And if our first impression is any indication of what that experience holds, I know you will not be disappointed.
Confidence is the sailboat right there n the middle of this photo with the blue sail cover!
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