Tales from Tonga

Since our last update it has been windy, rainy and at the best very overcast - a slow-moving convergence zone stretching over the whole area. We stayed longer than planned in Rarotonga (Cook Islands) because of the weather, but the only harbour on the island was fairly exposed and quite uncomfortable too - we had to be tied stern-to to a concrete wall, with a bow anchor out. Such was the slop though that we couldn't be close enough to the wall to step off the boat, but had to keep the dinghy as a 'stepping stone' between - a bucking bronco between would be more accurate. The slop caused huge pull on our mooring lines, and although we didn't have problems (good, thick, fairly elastic ropes) others had lines breaking. By the time we decided enough was enough we had two anchors out and six mooring lines; and one very nervous Dane who spent most of the day and night pacing his decks to check on things, had three anchors and 13 lines, a bit of a spider's web.

From the Cook Islands to Tonga was a 5 night trip, fast, but fairly rough with squalls the first couple of nights (they always seem to hit at night time). Still we arrived safely in the Vava'u group, happy to be in this ideal cruising area of sheltered water.

Tonga is about the only independent group of islands in the South Pacific - it has never been colonized. It is a monarchy, and you may have seen in the press that the latest coronation was an occasion of great pomp and ceremony (and expense) only a short while ago. But it is quite a poor nation, with little aid coming in, and no welcoming destination for migrant workers though many do manage to get work in New Zealand and Australia. The capital is Nuku Alufa in the south; and there are no other towns of size. The main town of this group has very healthy looking pigs and piglets running around the streets, and the 'supermarkets' only sell very basic goods. It is quite a 'yachty' area, there is a Moorings charter base here, and sailing people provide most of the visitors except for a cruise ship that anchors off every now and then and floods the little town with 2,500 people.

The Tongans are tall and heftily built, helpful and friendly. Their singing is wonderful, and going to a church service is one of the 'highlights' in all the tourist info! We were walking through a little village last Sunday and passed a pastor calling his flock to worship by banging a hollowed horizontal tree trunk with a large wooden mallet. The sound was very loud, and much more mellow than a bell or gong. There were two tiny churches very close together, and the singing was loud and harmonious, - and competitive! The missionaries in the early 1800's did a very effective job here, as religion is firmly embedded in the culture. Sundays are strictly observed, to the extent that no one is allowed to swim or go out in a boat, and everything is closed. Dress is very conservative, and clothing should be below the knee and over the shoulders.

The formal Tongan dress is a woven panandus 'mat' which both men and women wear wrapped around them like a rather stiff skirt. Traditionally the more mats you have, the wealthier you are, and they are used for sitting on, sleeping on, things are carried in them, and they go over the head to keep the rain off. The panandus palm leaves are boiled trampled in the sea, rinsed, sun dried and made into thin strips. They are then finger-woven. The best quality mats are creamy white, supple, and they gleam like silk. Everyday mats are brownish, and rather stiff. Even if mats are not worn, a wrap-around skirt is very common for men. The school uniform seems to be a choice of skirt or trousers for boys, worn with a shirt (and tie for church). Trousers are hardly ever seen on women, and are forbidden, or at least frowned on, for church. And as in other Pacific islands, a slim figure is not seen as any more beautiful than a large one. When wrapped up in a mat like a flat-bread wrap it would be difficult to look slim anyway!

On many of the islands we have visited disposal of rubbish is a big problem. Here, lacking a regular collection service, all the boats are asked to bring their rubbish to a particular jetty in town between 9 and 9.30 3 days a week. Happy is there with her car, and for a small charge loads her car up and takes it all off to the tip. As there are 100 boats anchored off the town at any one time, she has taken on a major task. She says that it gives her a chance to advertise the fact that she also does laundry and sells meat!

This area is one of the best in the world for seeing humpback whales, and most people we have talked to have seen them and even had mothers and babies in their anchorage. We haven't as yet, but are keeping fingers crossed.