South Pacific Day 2

          We survived the overnight flight (the $89.60 Charlie paid for first class round-trip tickets helped him sleep like a baby) and found ourselves on the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga with 5 hours to kill.  A friendly taxi driver offered to show us around for a “nominal” fee, and we were off to see the island.

Blowholes of Tonga

          First stop was the world famous blowholes on the coast, followed by a tour of the main town, Tongatapu.  We didn’t get to meet the king, although the presence of his personal flag flying above his palace indicated he was there on this particular day.  This was followed by a delicious lunch at a local restaurant, where we left the obligatory souvenir of Camden County, Georgia, for posting on the lounge wall.

 The King’s Palace

Presenting a Camden County license

          Then it was on to our first destination, Foa Island, many miles north of Tongapatu, where we are staying at the Sandy Beach Resort, on a beach many describe as the most beautiful in Tonga.  That description would be tough for us to argue; before we travelled, we had been told by another visitor that the king and queen had just spent time at this particular resort.  In fact, when we arrived and were shown to our room, the owner pointed out that the king and queen had slept in this very bed.

Where the king and queen slept

 View from the room

 

          While we await our first whale-watching trip tomorrow, a little of the history of this beautiful place.  Tonga had no written history before the  visit of Dutch explorer Captain Abel Tasman in 1643.  He discovered Ha'apai islands for the Europeans, although the area had been inhabited for well over 1,000 years by Polynesians, who had originated in Melanesia.  By the way, Foa, where we are staying is one of the Ha’apai islands, which you will soon learn are steeped in history since Tasman’s arrival.

          Captain James Cook made three visits to Tonga in the 1770’s, and two of those visits included the Ha'apai group.  His second visit, in June, 1774, began and ended in the Ha'apai group. During this visit he first made friends with Finau - the then-chief of Vava'u and Ha'apai.  He spent 10 weeks in Tonga on his third and final visit, and he was so taken with the islanders that during his five week visit to Ha'apai he gave Tonga the nickname of 'The Friendly Islands'.  Little did he know that he sailed away just in time to foil a plan the islanders had to kill and eat him.  Later we will tell you how we know about this plan, when we write about the visit of William Mariner.  For now, it’s time to get fitted with our wet suits.

Charlie and Tricia

© 2015