Tonga

Well we went to bed on Saturday April 6th and due to the fact that we crossed the international date line we got up on Monday April 8th.  Really confused my camera.  Our first stop in Tonganwas at Neiafu. Tonga is an archipelago of 169 islands scattered over 700,000 square kilometres of which 36 are inhabited.  The total population is 100,651 people and Tonga is known as the Friendly Islands.  Neiafu Island is home to 5000 inhabitants and everyone of them that we met had a huge welcoming smile. We were met at the pier with music and traditional dancing to start our visit.  We then went for a drive across the island which we always enjoy as you get to see the local homes and villages.  We visited the botanical gardens where after strolling through the lush tropical gardens we watched demonstrations on making products from coconuts and leaves and tree bark.  Done by hand these were very labor intensive prosessives.  A visit to the oldest church and the main town completed our visit here.  With some time to visit the market before boarding the ship we were off to the island of Nuku which is uninhabited but has a beautiful sandy beach and wonderful snorkeling right off the shore.  A wonderful way to spend the afternoon of our short visit to Tonga.  

Young dancers greeting us on arrival 

An enthusiastic boys band 

Someone needs to supervise 

The hostess had the most beautiful smile and danced along to all the music

Local guide through the botanical gardens.  Her husband owned the property. Women cannot own property in Tonga. Property is passed to the oldest son and if their is no son the daughter gets a lease only until a male is born and then he gets property ownership.


This lady is pounding the dried leaves to thin them out .  In the end they will be about 18 inches wide.

This is the Kava root from which the kava drink is made.  He is holding kava powder in his hand which is against the law to possess in Canada but not in the USA

There were pigs grazing wild all over Tonga. Different from the chickens we had seen in other places

Tongan homes in the town 

Thought this was a different name for a bar

Lots of unique boats anchored in the harbour 

Could not resist this face

This fish seemed to be smiling at Eric 

These fish mate for life


On the healthy coral the fish were abundant 


The number of fish and the colours made the snorkeling delightful and of course it certainly made it even better that the water temperature was so perfect