November 11 to 16 - Tonga

Happy New Year!!

I'm going to attempt to catch up in the few hours that I have here since we have a good, unlimited internet connection for today! Though it was a while back the memories haven't faded and the only reason we can't get all details into the blog is simply due to time constraint! It looks like Diane is the official blogger going forward for the same reason and I drew the short straw. (Just kidding!)

HERE GOES.....

November 11 we flew from Samoa to the main island of Tonga, another South Pacific BEAUTIFUL island with great people and lots of South Pacific stories and legends passed down from ancestors. Tonga is a little more developed and touristy than Samoa but not much! And the usual European influence was present (we had Pizza at a real Italian Restaurant/Hotel owned by an Italian/Tongan couple.)

We crossed the International Date line and the time to us remained the same as Samoa but one day into the future! Yippy, one day of aging gone forever!!!

We had decided to stay only four days in Tonga but would go back for three weeks anyday! It was beautiful and there are so many islands to choose from. There's snorkeling, diving, hiking, relaxing, touring and it's so interesting! There's even an island with wild horses! Lot's of New Zealanders and Aussies visiting here. Tongans and Samoans both have a large population in New Zealand as it is easy to get a visa and citizenship.

Matthew and Sarah also had many interesting temporary pets in Tonga including hermit crabs, drunken geckos (they like wine), cats and dogs that are so cute! We even saw the most wild looking sea worm....or snake....or something....it was eating off sea plants on the beach. I thought it was a piece of rope!

We had a chance to go sightseeing in a rental car one day (first time driving on the wrong side of the road!) and visited one of many Captain James Cooke landing spots. One highlight for our little stay was the market downtown where Rob and Matthew had hotdogs for 50 cents (ask Matthew about his little stomach problem!) We brought fresh fruits including a yummy watermelon.

We also drove on a really cool bridge naturally formed of coral and visited a structure known as Stonehenge of the Pacific.....the "stones" used are actually coral weighing about 30-40 tonnes each! It is dated around 1200BC and as usual, there are legends around it's origin. One nice one about brotherhood. Interesting that the centerline matches the sun's position at equinox.

The island is surrounded by coral and there are many blowholes around. Our "beach" was inside the coral "wall" and the water from the waves comes rushing through natural vents in the coral and blows into the air. Very cool!

I should mention that this really interesting Swiss couple who have been travelling for 25 years around the world (in their Landcruiser!) were staying at our resort in Tonga. That should give an idea of how 'budget' we were getting!! Check them out, their names are Emil and Liliana Schmid. The side of their truck lists all the places they've been with dates! I think they were the reason we actually had wireless internet there because they carry their own router. It was still really slow though!

Needless to say, no formal schoolwork was done this week by the kids but we all saw and learned so much! By the way, trying to fit Math and English in while travelling must be an acquired skill and we are getting slightly better at it but it really gets in the way somedays! Other days, there is just no time!

Okay, goodbye Tonga. We are off to Auckland!