Blogs

tittle: A big day in Sydney It's been a big day.
First up, there is no conceivable way I could navigate Sydney in a car without a GPS. At one stage we were on the M5 in a tunnel that went for nearly 6km, which of course threw the GPS reception off, only emerged at the far end of the tunnel and miss our exit ramp while the gps was still figuring out where we had ended up!!! We are getting to see some off the beaten tourist route parts of suburban Sydney as we go, so it's all fun.
It was good to finally see Betsie again and the pop top in the flesh. The workmanship is great, we are really happy with what has been done. Looking forward to getting on the road and using it! I had a bit of a struggle getting the rest of the shelves to fit, as the fridge had to be moved slightly to fit around the new interior profiles, but I got them fitted in the end. A few more odds and ends to do tomorrow and it should be ready to roll.
Hoping to hit the road on Friday.

Many of the anchorages in the Vava'u group are in quite deep water but we have found some special places for great snorkeling. One of the outer islands, Avalau has a lovely white sandy beach and a beautiful reef with plenty of colourful fish. We thought this spot was amazing until we went to Kapa Island and went snorkeling at Barnacle Beach. Wow!We were swimming through schools of thousands of fish. Incredible!! It was like being in a snow storm, with tiny sliver fish zipping past everywhere we looked. Yesterday we had a look at Fotula Island reef. Not as many fish but the water was as clear as you can imagine. Even in 25m of water you can see the bottom clearly. Just beautiful. On Wednesday we collected our friends Pieter and Sarah from the airport, they have come to stay with us for a week and we have been looking forward to seeing them. Thankfully their flight was only an hour late - earlier in the week some people were delayed by a few days! Tt seems internal flights from Tongatapu to Vava'u are not very reliable. We all went to the Fakaleiti show Wednesday night, which was very entertaining! In Tonga, if a mother has too many sons, she raises one of them as a girl to help with washing and cooking etc. These boy girls are dressed in pretty dresses and are taught to be more feminine than natural girls who run around in shorts and t-shirts. As adults the Fakaleiti (Faka = in the manner of, leiti = lady)are very graceful and elegant. We thoroughly enjoyed the show, though some of them were more convincing as ladies than others! On Thursday we snorkeled at the Japanese gardens by Mala Island before heading into Hunga Lagoon for the night. Today we explored the Blue Lagoon area, unfortunately the resort was closed and visitors were clearly not welcome. A shame because it is a lovely spot and the water over the reef area is a very pretty blue. Now it is time for an afternoon nap!

Beachcomber island is welcoming to yachts and has moorings available. Free mooring with $10/person landing fee. It's a backpacker resort on a tiny island. (Etai island according to the charts)

After a lazy day on Sunday we collected enough energy to hike to the top of Mt Talau (130m)on Monday and we were rewarded with a great view over the harbour. Stopped by the market on the way back and loaded up with fresh banana, lettuce, tomato, passionfruit and papaya. Also paid a visit to immigration to extend out visas so we can stay in Tonga until August. On Tuesday we went for a tiki tour of the western islands and decided to stay in Hunga lagoon. Getting in is a little tricky, though a very narrow pass. We were only in 1.8m of water at one point, but passed through safely even though it was low tide! Inflated the new double kayak and tried it out in the lagoon, great fun. On Wednesday we walked through Hunga village with one of the local ministers and gave away more reading glasses to elderly folk. The minister had worked in Christchurch for a few years and his English was excellent, so he was a useful guide and translator. The village has no roads, so the houses are ju st dotted about randomly. Each tiny house (not much more than a shack) has a brand new solar panel (donated by Japan) for lighting and to charge the cell phones! Each solar panel installation would be worth more than each dwelling. Went diving and snorkeling today, 25m plus visibility, just outstanding. The weather is perfect, sunny skies and warm. We navigated out through the tricky pass at mid tide this afternoon, not quite as scary as coming in! Now we are in Vaka'eitu lagoon for the night, with plenty to explore tomorrow. The lagoon is enchanting with the light of the full moon dancing across the water forming lazy silk ribbons on the surface.