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The Adventure that was'Tonga'!!!!
Malo e Lelei everyone!!!
So....the adventure continues!!!! And as always, I am surprised myself with the directions my travels take me!!! So on Saturday my Norwegian friend Annette and I headed back to Nadi airport for our Tonga trip!! We were both excited and slightly aprehensive about our destination. We had our first 2 nights accomodation booked on the mainland and decided that this should give us enough time to make plans for the rest of the week and were hoping to visit some of the offshore islands we had herd about. The only other advice we left with was from the host father of my family back in Fiji who had told me how far a bottle of Bounty Rum could take you in Tonga, and at less than 9 pounds a bottle we decided it was a good idea!! So with a bottle each, and our backpacks, we were ready!!!
Arriving in Tonga was an experience in itself!! We landed in a very tiny and very old airport in the evening and straight away had the feeling that we were the only tourists in the place!! Our luggage was all on the floor in piles, and we had to just claim it in a mad dash!! We then headed to the taxi rank and were off to our hotel, The National Dateline Hotel. We had a very nice taxi driver who chatted away to us about Tonga, he did however stop on the journey to pick up his groceries....a concept we were more than used to from our months in Fiji... and we were introduced to 'Tonga Time' very similar I suspected to Fiji Time that I had grown to know and love!!!
On arrival at the hotel we were impressed immediately!! A very large and grand looking hotel, we checked in and went to our room which was very clean and comfortable... all very good for the reasonable rate we had been charged!! We should have known better!!!!!
So we headed to dinner, a very large restaurant, however we were the only customers. Plus half the menu was not available but never mind.... tomorrow was a new day, so we headed to bed ready to make our trip plans the next day.
When we awoke the restaurant again was very empty....just us for breakfast. Were we the only guests??? We then went to the front desk to try and organise the rest of the trip- and having decided we were not keen to stay any longer than we had to in the deserted hotel. So we asked the woman at the front desk for some tourism advice.........of which there was none!! She told us that Sunday is sacred in Tonga so nothing is open, including the airport, no taxis run, and people are prosecuted for opening their shops. Ok thought.... a quiet day....but what about the rest of the week? We should have been suspiscious when the front desk clerk told us she didn't know what we could do in Tonga... but we just assumed she was struggling with her english. In typical tourist fashion, I pointed to my leaflet on Tonga (picked up in Auckland Airport the week before!!!) and pointed to a gorgeous island explaining that we wanted to go here. The lady then explained that we didn't quite understand... there is just one boat a week to this island (I realise that this is starting to sound all too familiar to one of my parents not quite so tropical holidays before I was born!!). Ahhh... slight problem, but never mind, we would just find some other islands slightly closer. The lady then explained that really you need your own boat to get around in Tonga.....something we had clearly forgotten to pack!!! But there was just one island 10 minutes away which we could visit by boat.. we then found out there was accomodation there and decided to book for the next 4 day....we were assured it was nice!!!!
So, not quite what we had expected, but we would still have a good time we were sure!! On with the next problem.... how to spend the dead sunday??!! To our amazement we suddenly spotted a rare species.....2 other tourists in our hotel!!!!! We headed over to try and find out some pointers from them...perhpas we had managed to miss all the tourist attractions???!! They however proved to be just as stumped as us!! They were a Canadian couple who had unfortunately ended up stranded in Tonga, they were supposed to be transiting through, just waiting for a connection. Unfortunately due to cyclone warnings further up in the South Pacific their connection had been cancelled. And with the airport closed in Tonga on Sunday they were stuck till Monday morning. So we chatted about any possibilities of what we could do....each of us with about as much clue as the others!!! Our first plan to share the hire of a car and tour round the mainland ourselves for the day was soon stumped... we phoned a hire company who said they were out of petrol and as it was a sunday they could not buy any!!!!!! Oh dear!!!!! Of course such a big group of tourists started to cause quite a stir with the hotel!!!! So soon we were joined by a host of staff, asking what the problem was. We explained our dilemma and after about 10 minutes the manager was sent for. A very small Japanese lady arrived and offered us a deal, that the hotel had a van and 2 members of staff would take us on a tour of the mainland for the day for a very cheap price!!! So along with the help of a bottle of our finest bounty rum we negotiated a price and off we went!!
And our random bunch of 'tourists' actually had a very nice day!! We toured the main highlights of the mainland. Captain Cook's landing site, The Royal Palace, the magnificent sea 'blowholes', some nice beaches and also a strange structure, likened by the Canadians to stonehenge..although I am not so sure!!! The staff member from the hotel was great, she explained everywhere we went in great detail, told Tongan legends and explained a number of aspects of their culture in detail...the most interesting to note, when a mamber of a Tongan's extended family dies, they have to spend the next year with a woven, wicker mat tied over their clothes, around their stomachs...we were lucky enough to observe this in practice on a later occasion! We also stopped at a Tongan church and were invited to take part in a Kava ceremony. A large feat was being prepared and one of the ladies insisted on giving me a gift....the largest water melon I have seen in my life!!!! Very kind of her, and just what my backpack needed!!!! We stopped for some lunch and returned to the hotel later in the evening, had dinner together (the only people in the restaurant, and ordered 3 times before we found items on the menu which that had ingredients for!!!) and were then off to bed to prepare for our 4 days on paradise island.
The next morning we arrived at the harbour, a freight harbour, and were loaded onto a little tiny boat. So off we headed to Pangimotou Island. Just us, the captian and one Tongan lady... not quite the hub of tourism we expected but still, at least it would be quiet!!! When we arrived the island was just as deserted, quite a nice beach, although we had to say not a patch on Fiji's tropical paradise but we were sure we could spend a relaxing few days here nonetheless!!! The lady proudly told us when we arrived that we were the only guests....not sure if this was a good or bad thing??!!!! Then we were shown to our accomodation!!!!! A woven hut is probably the bext was to describe it. We realised straight away that it was without a flushable toilet, full of mosquitioes and absolutely filthy!!! But just to make us feel better the lady came along and delivered our kerosine lamp.........no electric!!!! Of course!!!!! I have to say, our 4 days in paradise seemed not quite so enticing now. Still we decided we had to give it a go, so got changed and went to the beach.
Unfortunately, a few hours later the beach had all but disappeared, so we decided that with nothing else to do on the island, swimming was maybe our best option!!!! After a little while in the water, trying to assess what we had gotten ourselves into, Annette turned to me and suggested what I had been thinking for the last hour.....'Shall we see if we could get an earlier flight back to Fiji???' So one rather expensive phone call to Air Pacific later we were sorted!!! For some reason there is not a high demand for Tonga flights!!! So we were transferred over to one for the next morning, with quite some ease!!! It was early, so unfortunately we needed to return to the mainland for the night!!!! Well one bottle of Bounty Rum later, we had managed to cancel our accomodation for no charge and a full refund and were off on a boat back to the mainland!!
After some enquiries, we found the only tourist shop on the island and I managed to send a postcard home!!! We then found the tourist information centre- a very tiny shack, the very few leaflets they had sat gathering dust. They were pleased to see us!!! We managed to book some accomodation by the beach very easily and cheaply....amazing how nothing ever seems to be booked!! We had a nice evening there, we arrived to find a whole pig being turned and roasted on a spit, very Tongan indeed!!!! After a much needed drink, we went to the Tongan feast and were also treated to some dancing by the locals!! Just us, one japanese man and a group from the Czech Republic staying there. A good end to our Tongan adventure all in all we decided!!!
Early the next morning we headed for the airport. Slight panic when checking in, the lady told us we were still due to fly in 5 days time....but all resolved very quickly thankfully!!!! Then we were off, and I have to say we have never been so glad to see our dear home of Fiji!!!! We actually cheered when we landed!!!!
So, overall an interesting adventure which we are glad we took part in...but also glad we were only there for 3 days!!!! It was amazing to see such an underdeveloped country. It made us very grateful for what we had in Fiji....which I never thought I would say. It is quite sad really, such a beautiful country, but from what I now understand they only have an average of 4,000 tourists a year, most of which have their own boats!!!!!! Again the South pacific hospitality and generous spirit was evendent throughout the trip, and although we set out looking for an adventure, I think we were both in shock at what we found!!!!! We very much appreciated the time we spent there, but have been glad to return to beautiful Fiji this morning!
There were a group of volunteers painting a local Kindergarten, so we decided to turn up and surprise them!!! Which we certainly did, as were not expecting us back for another 5 days!!! We had a great time relaying our stories, and are looking forward to drinks tonight to update everyone further!!
So I now have 1 week left in Fiji until I fly to Australia for 2 weeks before home. And I feel grateful as I am now going to appreciate everything about this wonderful country even more as I experience it for the last time.
So here's to what I hope will be a quiet and uneventful week for my last days in the islands!!!
Love and miss you all xxxxx
- comments
Glenn Rossi Hi Sarah, Your dad shared this blog link with Veronika and me. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your experiences and will share this with Katharina, as well. Hope that is OK. Have a wonderful remaining stay "down under"! Best regards, Glenn