The Ha’pai (19th May to 31st may)

Kelefesia


At almost the same time as I was born 40 years before, we were up in the dark on my birthday brushing our teeth and then pulling up the anchor from Big Mama’s. As we made our way through the reef that morning the sun rose and shone golden through the bank of clouds on the horizon. We sailed North to central group of islands in Tonga known as the Ha’pai group. It was a very pleasant day sailing and by lunch time we were approaching our anchorage for the night. A little island called Kelefesia. In our guide it said for the adventurous, sounds perfect. It is difficult to explain just how beautiful this anchorage is. Imagine striated sandstone bluffs, white sandy beaches fringed with swaying palm trees, turquoise water surrounded by reef, breaking at the entrance and not a cloud in the sky. It was breathtaking and we had it all to ourselves. On approach it seemed a bit tricky but once inside the reef we relaxed, dropped anchor and set out to explore.

We walked along the shoreline amazed at the coral and fishlife so close to the shore. One little brown fish was disguised as a leaf, mimicking the way a leaf would float and swirl in the water - incredible. There was also a lot of coral pieces washed up on the shoreline and many, many shells. We noticed a brightly painted wooden boat cross through the lagoon and realised then that perhaps we weren’t alone. Later we discovered that there was a small fishing camp around the point.

We went to the shore twice that day, the second time late in the afternoon, where we swam off the sandy point in the crystal clear water. It was lovely splashing about and having fun with Duncan and the kids in the warm water. The fishing boat we had seen earlier was anchored around the corner and we met Moses who owned a nearby island. He held up a writhing octopus offering it to us for our dinner. We thanked him most courteously but explained that we already had something out of the freezer. He showed us his handmade lure/jig which looked like it had been made from a beer can cut into strips attached to a wire with a shell on it. It was most impressive and I was surprised and excited to see such traditional methods of fishing still being used.

Just before sunset we went back to Catina, showered on the back steps and then remembered that it was actually my birthday and we had presents hidden away! It was an exciting time and the kids helped me rip into all the wrappings while we popped a cork on a bottle of bubbles that Duncan had managed to sneak onto the boat. A big thank you to everyone who sent cards and pressies before we left and for the birthday emails I kept receiving for weeks afterwards! It was truly a special day for me and to spend it alone with my family in this magical place was the best birthday present I could have wished for.

Kelefesia was also the place where we met our new dear friends off the Sol Maria. The lovely Lica, the crazy madkeen freediving spearfishing champ Gavin and their beautiful teenage daughter Shae (who also swims like a fish!) Travelling with them was the 25yo Flying Dutchman Dida who is training for the world ironman championship in Hawaii later this year. They came in on the second day and it was great to meet some other people in the rally. Who would know that we would become such good friends in such a short time.

Nomuku Iki


With the weather expected to take a turn for the worst we set sail for Nomuka Iki. (Iki just simply meaning the “little” island) We were tucked inside the passage between the two islands protected by a reef and rode out a few windy days. Our visits to shore were brief and only spoilt by the surging waves that threatened to swamp our dingy. The kids played on the white sand and we explored the wreck on the beach.

Oua

A few days rest and the winds dropped. We moved out to a reef lagoon surrounding Oua. On our passage to the island we were surrounded by rain showers and right on cue as we approached the reef entrance we were caught in a heavy downpour. Unable to see any further than a few boat lengths we were forced to stop and hold our position under motor for 15 minutes or so until the rain passed. This turned out to be a good decision as two of the marker buoys were nearly non-existent, broken off at water level. Oua was another calm anchorage, this time with milky green waters. As we arrived, Kokomo were leaving, but we were soon joined by Sol Maria, Scott Free and The Godspede, all ICA rally boats. We thought we would be social and so invited them all over to Catina for a Pot Luck Dinner.

What a funny night that turned out to be. Each boat contributed to the dinner and it was a wonderful feast! There were fishing stories, recipes swapped and the kids got to play with someone not quite as old as their parents. By the end of the night we were all happy and had made friends with some extraordinary people. It is in these moments when different people with a common interest are flung together that you end up having a memorable time.

The next day we all went ashore for a visit to the village. As we climbed the hill escorted by their spokesperson I was aware of his big machete. One little man (perhaps a bit simple?) was hovering around giggling and I thought to myself how he reminded me of “Baldrick” – perhaps there is one in every village! The track was lined with mango trees and I saw a few bush lemons. Along the path was a purple flowered “sensitive” plant that closes it’s leaves at night and whenever you touch it. First stop was the little school. A neat well kept lawn surrounded the white 2 classroom building. A blue plastic shoe lay on the grass. A small brown bantam hen scratched with her chickens and we were led up towards the classroom . Monica was the teacher there and she chatted to us outside as we presented her with some gifts of chalk and stickers for the children. All the while the children in the classroom were becoming more curious and had ventured to the doorway. Barefoot but beautifully dressed in uniforms with matching ribbons and big brown eyes they looked us up and down taking in all our peculiarities. Cheeky smiles, giggling and pointing at us they were getting more and more vocal until their teacher hushed them. We took some photos and spoke with them and then took a peek in the senior room where the bigger kids sat, a broken orange plastic chair lay upside down near the window. We noticed the classroom rules and one caught our eye… “Do not hit the little kids”.

A tour down the “main street” took us past well kept gardens and homes. Women sitting outside on mats weaving, hushed voices as we passed by windows, a child crying somewhere and pigs running across our path. We stopped at the last house and negotiated a bunch of bananas. Paul from Scott Free was also hoping to get a little pig and was ushered around the back of the corrugated iron building and was gone a considerable amount of time. We were wondering if somewhere in the translation it might have been suggested that he was to be roasted over the fire when again someone appeared and escorted us all out to the back garden. Freshly cut lawn, paw paw trees and a neat pig pen to house the bustling hogs were a welcome surprise and there was Paul with a giant bunch of bananas that took two men to carry. Our visit to the village was a great experience and as we climbed back into our dingies we left the older man on the steps with some fishing lures. His eyes lit up like pearls. “Malo” “Malo” he said, which is thankyou, thankyou in his native tongue.