Vava'u, Tonga

Vava’u, Tonga (September 28 to October 14)

We quickly shot down from Niuatoputapu to Vava’u to make sure that we were there before our friends Mari and Gary Campbell arrived from Alameda.  Mari and Gary are our neighbors in Marina Village and also members of the Oakland Yacht Club.  We value Gary’s 40+ years of sailing experience, including a Baja Ha Ha and blue water sailing in the Marshall Islands, south of Hawaii.

We left early in the morning, sailed all night and arrived at Neiafu late afternoon.  We hauled-ass the 175 miles because the unpredicted winds of about 20 to 25 knots kicked us along with some pretty nasty squalls. Other cruisers (Night Fly, a Dutch boat and Kagetora, a Japanese boat) who took off at the same time, were also caught off guard by the poor forecast.  Needless to say, this was a very long overnight due to rough sea conditions.  Despite all of this poor weather, at least Dennis was able to catch a 30 pound Dorado along the way.  After we got settled, we finally relaxed just long enough only to be bumped off our mooring ball a few minutes before darkness – we scrambled to find another mooring but ended up anchoring.

The Vava’u Group, in my opinion was cruiser haven, as it had a town with everything that cruisers desired – restaurants, internet, ATMs and laundry and was close to many beautiful anchorages.  We loved Neiafu; it was a cute town with great restaurants, including the Aquarium Café and Café Tropicana which were our favorites.    The town hosted a lovely produce market where there was a vast array of tropical fruits, vegetables and Tongan crafts.  Our ultimate decadence while in Neiafu was having fresh lobster caught by local fisherman for lunch on our boat!

As an added attraction, we got to experience “Rugby Mania” in Neiafu when Tonga beat powerhouse France.  The town literally went wild with jubilant celebrations - everybody was dancing in the streets and jumping on police cars; and then promptly at 10:00 p.m., the streets went dead silent as locals explained that they had to get ready for church the next day.

Sunday is a religious holiday and is strictly observed….most businesses are closed and swimming is strictly forbidden on Sunday.  In Tonga, going to any church service, is a very reverent and formal occasion where traditional Tongan clothing is worn.  We attended St. Joseph Cathedral for mass where I got to wear my lovely traditional Tongan dress made by our Samoan friends’ family. 

We spent a day in town with Mari and Gary Campbell before taking off to two lovely anchorages – Port Maurelle (#7) and Tapana (#11).  We all loved these anchorages because of their tropical settings, climate and of course warm aquamarine water.  Port Maurelle was a beautiful well protected anchorage with a sandy beach and sheltered cove which was nice for swimming.  It’s about a half hour walk to the village.  Tapana was also another beautiful South Pacific anchorage where Oregonians Sherri and Larry, owners of the Ark Gallery, now live in their cute little houseboat/gallery after escaping to Tonga a little over 20 years ago.  After they sailed here, they decided to make Tonga their permanent residence and now they run an art gallery, a delivery boat service and maintain mooring balls for yachtees.  While anchored at Tapana, we hoped to have a Tongan feast however there was no feast that night as the chef was too busy watching rugby games.  Close by was the La Paella restaurant run by a Spanish couple who also escaped to the South Pacific many years ago.