Sailing to Vava'u, Tonga in the Pacific

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August, 1993
Here we are in Neiafu, Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga after a less than wonderful sail from Niuatoputapu. Because our single sideband radio wasn't working we decided to sail in company with another yacht who was in a hurry to get to Neiafu, so we shelved our better judgment and left under less than perfect weather conditions. It took us 48 hours to sail just 180 miles. With two lousy trips under our belt this year, we have hardened our resolve to wait for good weather windows before setting out. Although not dangerous, the two wet, uncomfortable sails we've had show the folly of being in a hurry.

The Vava'u Group is extremely lovely - like the Virgin Islands it's a group of islands, all close to one another, with sheltered sailing and lots and lots of anchorages all within an hour or two of each other. Different from anything in the Caribbean in that tourism is a new and barely established industry here, so there are just a fraction of the people one would find in the Caribbean. One does not find luxury hotels with fantastic accomodations and great food - one is lucky to find mediocre food. Right now there hasn't been any beef on the island for about two or three weeks. One's choices from the store are: canned corned beef (at least five different brands), chicken legs or drumsticks, leg of lamb, lamb flaps (look like, and are about as appetizing as, pig's ears - pure fat), and turkey hot dogs. The reefs here, we are told, are dying, and there is an alarming lack of fish or lobster (a relatively new problem - friends tell us that just two years ago there was fish and lobster in abundance).

As we walked up and around Neiafu, Tonga, we thought of our friendly and reliable building inspector, who would be more than horrified by some of the things here. Neiafu is basically built on a cliff overlooking the bay, so one either goes up steep slopes or climbs lots of steps to get up to the road. The Paradise Hotel has lots and lots of stairs going up from their dock to the hotel proper - and each and every step is a different height and width, and there are no handrails to be found anywhere. I hated going up to the hotel, hated coming down those steps even more.

The little restaurant down the road also has a dinghy dock, and even steeper steps, but at least they have a double handrail at the steepest part, and a single handrail further up (but the place was built and maintained by a German - everything there is quality and sensible). Neiafu is a cute town, but so shabby looking because they really don't paint anything again after it's been built. A New Zealander we met spoke bitterly about the Tongan mentality of getting money and stuff from New Zealand and then letting machinery rot when something goes wrong. Maintenance and repair is not part of their vocabulary or their culture. We could joke about the repairmen in the Caribbean with their vice grips and hammer, or the crumbling infrastructure throughout Latin America, another place where maintenance is an alien concept.

We went to a Tongan feast, where traditional Tongan foods are served. Peter hated it - he said that even the tiny chicken drumstick he was able to stomach wasn't particularly good. They cook a lot with coconut cream and canned corned beef. I can't say that I enjoyed the food, either, although I was able to eat more of it than most of the others there. On the other hand, the people were very friendly and worked very hard at giving everyone a good time, so it was enjoyable. We also had dinner at the "best" hotel on the island (we think), and the food was overpriced and mediocre, and the service was mediocre to poor. We've been warned that service will be slow here, but at times the delays border on the ridiculous. I'm still waiting to find one place that is professionally run (there's a nice place, called The Bounty Bar, run by a Kiwi couple, that is just as slow and inefficient as any other, so maybe the Tongan's relaxed attitude is contagious).

On the good side. The people are very friendly and lovely, and the islands are beautiful (although the weather the past several weeks leaves a lot to be desired it's been very windy and cold). I've found lots of nice shells, to Peter's dismay. Because the food selection is limited, I've been experimenting with the local produce - I don't like ripe papaya, but cooked green it tastes like squash and is very good, and I've made quite delicious papaya bread and pie (using recipes for pumpkin). Their sweet potatoes are different (one variety cooks up purple - naturally, Peter won't touch it) - the white variety is used in the local version of French fries, and is quite tasty. I still can't stomach taro - one would do just as well to eat library paste or cardboard boxes. Fortunately we have provisioned the 'Melon quite well, so we do not suffer from any deprivation, just occasional boredom (just how many ways can one prepared a canned ham?). A friend of ours has been working off and on for the Moorings as a cook for them whenever they need an extra one for one of their crewed charters. The cook (invariably European/American/NZ/Aussie) is paid $80 a day. The Tongan captain is paid $40.00 per day. It's unfair, but everyone says "don't rock the boat, that's the way it is." Peter has decided that $80.00 a day is a pretty good deal, and he wants me to try to get a job as a cook also (oh, lord, could you see me with all those lubberly-legged and demanding charterers? Moorings would never get a return booking).