M/Y Iron Lady

We are currently anchored in Maurelle Bay (still in the Vava’U area – the most northern group of islands in Tonga). I am a bit behind in my posts, but today was so neat I will jump ahead and catch up on some other places later.

Not far from here is Swallow Cave (2 of them) which are large enough to drive the dink in to around low tide. Deb and I went in to the caves on the dink while Steve held the boat off. It made for some great shots.

This is the entrance to the smaller cave.

Inside the smaller cave, the roof is open to the island bush above.

This view is inside the larger cave. The chamber is probably a00 feet across and 75 feet high. There are side chambers which go back in further – we decided to pass on that.

Finally, a view of Iron Lady from inside the first cave as she passes by the opening.

More on Maurelle Bay in a bit – it had great reefs for snorkeling, a nice beach and we had it all to ourselves.

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Pete and Deb

While in Pangai, we spent some time researching where we should go next. Of the many sources of information, a pretty good one is the local cruiser’s bar populated with Palange (white folks). We were having a cold Maka beer and using the WiFi at Mariner’s Cafe talking to the locals and they put us on to Haano. While there, a English fellow named Darren Rice stopped by and we were told he was the proprietor of Matafonua Lodge on Foa island. Darren introduced himself and suggested we stop by when we were at Haano.

After snorkeling most of the day, we decided to run Iron Lady down to Foa and stop at the resort for a quick look before returning to our anchorage at Haano. As we were dropping the dink in the water, Darren was paddling out to us in a kayak and gave us directions on how to negotiate the reef and anchor off the beach.

We spent a delightful few hours with Darren, his wite and 3 children. Turns out that Darren owned and operated a fight school at Clearwater Executive Airport in Florida – a place I have been in and out of a number of times in my flying days. Small world. The business went south when gas prices skyrocketed and Darren sold the business and moved on. In his other life, he is a professional videographer and specializes in underwater filming. As such, he was familiar with Matafonua from his travels and jumped at the opportunity to buy it when its former owner put it up for sale.

The accommodations are simple but very charming. It can accommodate roughly 20 guests. The season is just starting here and we were the first cruisers to come around and they have had only 4 or 5 guests so far. Just one while we were there and he was from Vienna, Austria. Another small world thing.

Guests stay in huts on stilts overlooking the ocean. Bath facilities are shared in a separate building. All guests take their meals at the Lodge.

While there, Darren was showing us video of Cyclone Wilma which made a direct hit on Foa. While he was filming the storm surge, three enormous waves over 25 feet high washed over the resort destroying three or four of the huts. Before and after pictures showed a beautiful tropical paradise turned in to a waste land. Four months later, they are still rebuilding. The generator is still out but new plantings are taking hold.

Darren also told us about the humpback whales that visit here each year. The mothers come from the Antarctic to calve in the very bay we were staying in at Haano. They seek out the protected waters of the bay to shield their calves from the predators that pursue them in open water – primarily great white sharks that travel here all the way from New Zealand to prey on the calves.

Darren had some spectacular footage of his 4 year old son swimming with a mother and her calf. The mother even brought the baby to within touching distance of his son. It was breathtaking footage and is posted on YouTube. Darren is supposed to send me a link which I will post on my blog.

Unfortunately, the whales don’t arrive until sometime in June.

As the shadows started to get long, it was time to get back over the reef while we still had good light and get the dink aboard and move Iron Lady back to the safety of the bay at Haano.

Just another great day and tomorrow, we are off to Nava’U.

Tonga has three main island groups – NukuAlofa to the south, the Ha’apai in the center and Vava’U to the north. We are currently anchored at Haano which is the northern most island of the Ha’apai group. A local dive shop suggested we stop herre for the snorkeling which they suggested was the best in Tonga – they were right.

Our target was a mushroom shaped rock in a bay at the center of the island.

The water dropped around the rock very quickly to over 100 feet. Numerous coral reefs projected up from the bottom just shy of the surface. A fairly hairy area to get the boat in to – our scanning sonar paid for itself on this one. Unfortunately, weather moved in the day we arrived and it rained in torrents. We had planned to move on but decided to stay an extra day to see the reefs. What follows are some pictures I took with our cheapy HD underwater video and still camera – pretty good for $200. The water clarity wasn’t as good as usual due to all the run off from the island, but here they are.

We also learned that humpback whales some to this very bay to have their calves. They are typically here between June and November. More about that in another post.

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Pete and Deb

We were hoping for cray, but after waiting for Joe to show up with a suitable allowance for Tongan promptness (1 hour later than agreed) we gave up and raised the hook bound for Pangai. Pangai is about 35 nautical away as the crow flies, but due to other island groups, rocks, shoals and reefs, the total travel distance for us is about 60 nautical.

Along the way, we passed Kao and Tofua. Kao is an almost perfect pyramid shaped volcano (currently inactive) rising some 4500 feet above sea level. Tofua is the more flat island rising roughly 500 meters above sea level. Tofua has a large central fresh water lake and has been reported to be actively smoking. Due to clouds about the top, it was difficult for us to tell if we were seeing smoke or clouds. As a historical note, Tofua was the actual scene of the mutiny aboard HMS Bounty. Bligh was put off with some crew in a longboat and landed there in an attempt to get water and food for his historic journey. Natives apparently assaulted him with sticks and stones and one crew member was killed before they made their escape to sea. Both islands are currently uninhabited.

Shortly after departing Nomuku, we put out the 50 pound class rod with a lure we call the Purple Wonder as it has yet to fail us any time we have had it out. After several tuna and the large wahoo, it is starting to look pretty beat up, but a Mahi Mahi liked it just fine – all 50 pounds of him. Nothing grows small out here. The rod and reel are taking a pretty fair beating from these large fish and some repairs will be in order this evening. I was afraid I was going to lose the reel on this one.

We have been hoping for WiFi (there was no chance of that in Nomuka) but we thought that Pangai might. No such luck. We were able to briefly get connected to our email accounts at a local cafe called the Mariner but the connection was very slow and intermittent. Pangai is home to about 4500 people and is the seat of government for the Ha’Apai island group. It is still part of Tonga but is something like a state would be in the US.

Deb was off early this morning and got to know many of the locals as only Deb can do. Steve and I stayed behind and tried to catch up on maintainence on Iron Lady – she needed a very good bath, some stainless polishing and a good check up around the engine room. We joined Deb in town for lunch at the fish market (not much more then a stall really) and did some touring. THen it was back to the boat to escape the heat of the day.

We were also told a story about the local Fire Department – these are some of their of their vehicles – only issue is that they don’t have any hoses.

Finally, the obligatory sunset.

Thanks to our late departure from Nufa Aloka and a 60 mile run, we did not arrive in Nomuka until late in the day. The anchorage is between Nomuka and Nomuka Iki which is uninhabited. With the light fading and numerous reefs and bombies (coral heads) about, the decision was to keep the dink aboard and grill up the nice little blackfin tuna we caught on the way up.

The evening air was delightful and we simply opened the boat up and enjoyed the wonderful breeze – no AC required. A brief shower after midnight and the wind died and with the light airs, we went thru a mosquito attack. The mosquitos lost – Deb was well prepared with bug spray and it was showdown at the Nomuka coral. Subtle reminder to put the screens in place before going to bed.

Next morning, it was time to throw in the dink and visit the island. We made friends quickly and Nomuka only has around 200 permanent residents, a Methodist church, a Catholic church and no stores or commercial operations of any kind. More pigs and chickens then people. The town is supplied with generator power 5 hours a day and the island trader comes thru about once a week but life here is supplied by fresh water springs, the sea, the pigs and chickens and what the bush and their gardens can provide.

As part of its history, famous seamen stopped hear to replenish their water supply from the fresh water springs along with fresh fruit supplies – the likes of Tasman, Cook and the infamous Captain Bligh of mutiny on the bounty fame. The mutiny actually occurred close by here on a volcanic island.

Most of the morning we walked the island talking to folks and learning about their lives. The primary means of transportation and beast of burden is the horse. We met one fellow who was off to the bush on his horse with a chain saw over his shoulder. He intended to harvest a tree for an outrigger for his pangy. Another fellow was coming back from the forest with a basket full of fruit. A third was showing Debby a tree that they harvest and sell overseas as it produces a wonderful perfume.

Along the way, we met Joe Finau, a Tongan who has lived in Australia and now wants to move back to Nomuka. He is building a cafe as a commercial enterprise for the cruisers that come this way. He said there was once as many as 16 boats anchored here. He is headed back to Australia to earn some more money to complete his dream. The name of his cafe will be Mini Luisa named after his mom and scheduled opening is in July of 2012 when the Prince of Tonga is supposed to come by for his birthday. If you happen to be out this way, stop by.

In the afternoon, we took the dink to Nomuka Iki, a small uninhabited island off Nomuka. The afternoon was spent swimming, walking the beach and beach combing. On the way back to the boat, we stopped by Joe’s again as he said he might go hunting crays tonight. It turned out that they intend to go, so we put our order in for 4 big crays to be delivered to the boat tomorrow morning between 6 and 7 AM.

Dinner tonight will be more wahoo.

Just a great day.