Tidings From The Land Where Time Begins

Ever imagined what it would be like to stay on a remote tropical island with no one around but you and a handful of other likeminded people? To be surrounded by nothing but the jungle and the vast southern seas with the gorgeous reefs, lagoons and vibrant marine life? To spend your days kicking football on the beach, snorkeling, cracking open coconuts and napping between meals? I have, pretty much every day of my life. And arriving to Tonga's Ha'apai islands fulfilled those daydreams perfectly.

Four of us travellers got together in the awesome Mariner's Cafe on the tiny Lifuka island, loaded a boat and got taken away to a place even more beautiful and even further from the hassle of the so called civilization. We stayed with a local couple who'd apparently also hosted the folks from Madventures in 2002. They'd cook us breakfast and dinner and oh my was the food great. Obviously no electricity there but a gas stove and icebox worked their magic nicely. The days and nights were steaming hot and we even got to experience our first earthquake that hit at 6.1 Richter some 100km away on the second morning. When it happened I thought the shaking was caused by one of the larger pigs walking on our porch, only to be corrected at the breakfast.

The kingdom of Tonga is located in western polynesia, right next to the international date line on its western side, making Tonga the first place in the world to welcome a new day. The people are mostly big, occasionally loud and generally overly welcoming, a happy bunch in a happy land. Being able to visit their turf was a long awaited and exhilarating experience for sure! The eye of the cyclone Wilma had crossed over the islands some weeks ago and there was some damage to buildings, but nothing major except for the sad fact that both the dive
shops were closed.

On our way out we stayed overnight at the semi-famous Toni's guesthouse outside the capitol Nuku'alofa and took the chance to check out the city. There'd been a riot in 2006 and many buildings were still being rebuilt from most of the city having been torched. With the most relaxing week behind us its time to return to Fiji and kick off a week of some serious diving - and maybe even party a little.


See all the pictures from Tonga here!