Our second village.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Year Two
Date: 23/6/2009 18:00
Weather: What did that old add campain for QLD use to say.
Location: Ha'ano Island (19 40.30' S, 174 17.40' W)
Author: Peter.

Due to the flu and some poor weather we ave not been able to see many of the villages we would have liked to have seen. We have spent the last few days anchored off Pangai, Lifuka Island (19 47.89'S, 174 21.26'W). Pangai is basically the capital of the Ha'apai group and perhaps its largest island. It was somewhat different from Nuku'alofa in that it is much much smaller and more rural.

The cars however all seem to be in much better condition. We were fortunate enough to catch a local "A" grade rugby match on a very uneven field. The crowd were very vocal, lining both sides of the field along with cars full of viewers parked at both ends. Some kids even watched the game from up a nearby tree to gain a better view point. We had no idea who won, but both the crowd and ourselves had a good time.

On Sunday we once again went to a local church where the singing was again amazing. They can produce such a load sound with just a few people, it is beautiful. This island was much cleaner, but had more live stock roaming around. Pigs and piglets were everywhere and chickens and roosters just seemed to jump from yard to yard. Some tourists thought it a little boring, but Kylie and both like it. We would have loved to explore further on our bikes but two days of rain and one night of winds up to 43 knots put pay to that. As a result we spent one evening aboard the 58ft cat Twin Image for dinner and Star Wars episode one and another evening aboard Jura with Tanya and Dudley Off Baikal. We have been really enjoying the company of both these two boats over the past few weeks as we keep bumping into each other at various anchorages.

Tanya and Dudley off Baikal from New Zealand

Today we moved up to Ha'ano Island in preparation for our jump up into the Vavau group on Thursday. We had a great 7 mile sail under headsail up to Ha'ano before spending the afternoon ashore. I spent at least an hour making sand castles with Sam and Taylor, the 5 year old twins off Twin Image as they really seem to like me. Tomorrow we will spend the morning snorkeling and perhaps picking a few mandarins before setting the boat up for offshore sailing, ready for the following morning.
Twin Image from New Zealand

Peter, Sam and Taylors race car sand creation