One Of My Favorite Places On Earth

On the morning of June 16 we arrived at one of my favorite places – Vava’u, Tonga!

Some the things that make Vava’u so special are the huge number of bays and little places to tuck in for a safe anchorage with crystal clear water, great snorkeling, and very comfortable temperatures! There is a decent sized city, Neiafu, with stores, restaurants, chandleries (stores with boat parts) and you can get things shipped here. Add to that a ‘morning cruisers net’ on the radio every morning that builds the community and can help in locating resources. There is a volunteer group, Vava’u Radio, that monitors the VHF radio 24×7 and will respond to any emergency, issue, or question that you have. Vava’u is beautiful, has lots to do, and makes boaters feel welcome and appreciated.

Navigating into the bay in front of Neiafu was easy – plenty wide, deep and well marked. We took a mooring buoy in front of the Beluga Dive shop and went in to Mango Cafe for some beers and an early dinner. The next day we checked in – when you move between island groups in Tonga, they want to know. It was fast and no charge. In town we went to the Tropicana Cafe which is sort of a hub for cruisers. Greg, who runs the place, does many things for the community, like keeping maps of anchorages, doing weekly runs to fill propane tanks and responding to many “where do I find such-and-such” requests from boaters.

Over the next few days we went into town several more times, provisioning, looking for boat parts, having coffee, lunch, dinner, etc. There are several nice docks you can take your dinghy to, and the town really does cater to the boating community. Cruisers spend quite a bit of $ there, and it is a good deal for all concerned. You may not get the perfect croissant that you can in Tahiti, but the food is quite good, costs half what it would in French Polynesia, and the smiles are worth even more.

We walked into a small hardware store and found that they were selling clear flexible plastic 1 meter wide, any length. That gave me an idea – I love charts (maps), and we have a large table in the salon that we put charts on. But I have to move the charts when we use the table for something else. What if I can fit the clear plastic to the table and put the chart under the plastic? Then I can have the chart for our current area always on the table! We bought some of the plastic and I cut it to exactly fit inside the fiddle (raised outer edge) on the salon table. I am very happy with the way it worked out! 🙂

Over the next three weeks we visited a number of anchorages, returning to the main harbor at Neiafu when we needed provisions or wanted to eat at some of the restaurants. The map below shows a number of the routes we took. It is an interactive map so you can zoom and scroll if you want to look at any locations more closely.

Our first trip out was to Mala Island, the gold line and gold anchor symbol. It was a beautiful and peaceful bay with one or two boats a good distance away from us. We took several long swims and did lots of snorkeling.

Not far from our anchorage is Sparrow’s Cave, one of the most famous attractions of this area. We hopped in the dinghy and went for a look.

After a few days back in Neiafu, we went out again (red line and anchor marker) to Vaka Eitu. This is a very well protected bay in front of an island owned by one family with 11 children. Most are now adults and off working in New Zealand or Australia. David, the father, runs the farm and every Saturday night puts on a ‘traditional Tongan feast’ for tourists. It is a real family endeavor. They do all the cooking, serve the food, play guitar, sing and dance. It is not like the slick professionally produced event you can see in Tahiti or Bora Bora, but very honest and real.

The next day we took a walk across the island, led by Rosemary, David’s 13 yr old daughter. She was a bit shy in the beginning but became very talkative by the end. She says she would like to be a doctor someday and was eager to ask many questions when she found out that Peggy is a doctor.

After Vaka Eitu, instead of heading back to Neiafu, we went to Port Maurelle. This is one of the first places Europeans anchored in the 17th century. See the green line and anchor marker on the map. When we arrived (June 26), we found about 8 boats already there, but the anchorage is plenty large and did not feel crowded.

This was not a quiet anchorage because the air is thick with the screeching sound of Flying Foxes, a type of fruit bat that has great eyesight and does not use echo-location like most other bats. These appeared to have a wingspan of about 2 to 3 feet. Even with the bat noise, it was a nice, relaxing place to spend a couple days.

One day we went ashore and walked through one of the very small villages. Everyone was very friendly, especially the kids who tried out the few English language phrases they knew. We found a man who was very happy to sell us about 10 nice limes from his tree. We also helped out a goat who had gotten hopelessly tangled in her tether with one of her hind legs suspended high off the ground. She was much happier after Peggy unwound the rope so she could walk again.

After a couple days back in Neiafu, we went out to Mounu Island where there is a resort that is the only thing on the island. (Orange on the map) It was a bit windy and choppy but we had some good snorkeling and a good long swim. This was also the first time this year that Peggy has worn her wetsuit (a shortie) as the water temp is no longer in the low 80s. At about 77 degrees, I have been using my shortie for quite a while.

By July 4 we were back in Neiafu. That evening we went to a fund raising dinner and bingo night at the Kraken restaurant. Proceeds went to “Host a Vet” which brings veterinarians from Nukalofa once a year to handle as many of the animal needs as possible. They also do many video calls for acute needs through the year. The night was a lot of fun and we made some new friends!