We have absolutely loved the Ha'apai group of islands. Flat islands (only a few feet above sea level) with palm-fringed white sandy beaches and beautiful reefs for snorkeling and diving. Everything in Ha'apai seems very natural, no sign of any tourist trade. Quite refreshing! It has been interesting to see how life goes on in the local villages, where there is no industry, but people have their own pigs and chickens running around,grow their own veges and catch their own fish. A simple uncomplicated way of life. Our last stop in this group of islands was Haano, and we would have loved to stay longer to snorkel and dive the reef. There is a beautiful wall on the drop off from the reef, full of caves and canyons, coral and fish. It feels like heaven! However, our wonderful weather gurus, David and Patricia from Gulf Harbour Radio, advised us that Thursday night was the best time for a smooth passage to Vava'u as strong winds and big swells were on the way if we waited another d ay. The passage is not a big one, but it is still 70 nmiles, approx 130 km, so good to have a smooth ride! Thanks to the great advice from David we had a lovely 15-20 knot sailing breeze, a beam reach all the way, with slight seas. Perfect conditions! Arriving into Vava'u is a bit like coming in to Great Barrier Island, the islands have a completely different geology to the Ha'apai's. In Vava'u there are many more islands, closer together, with steep cliffs rising straight up out of deep water. Even the small islands are 40m high and the larger ones are over 100m in places. It almost looks like fjords here and the vegetation is different too with more bush and dense foliage replacing the swaying palms. A different world to where we have been for the last couple of weeks. It was great to go to the local produce market and stock up on fresh fruit and veges again and we have been exploring the local cafes and restaurants too. There are about 50 other yachts in the harbour, from all over the world, so the local cafes are a popular meeting place. The main harbour is very large and well protected with flat calm water which is surprisingly clean and clear. One of the local bars is screening the NZ vs England game tonight so we will pop along to that -though it does seem strange to think of winter sports being played while we are sitting in 27 degrees! Tongan time is one hour ahead of NZ so we have to wait until 8.30pm for kick off, not that time really seems to matter much anymore :-)