Year Two
Date: 14/7/2009 17:00
Weather: Perfect
Location: Vaka'Eitu Island (18 43.28' S, 174 06.03' W)
Author: Peter.

When cruising we are often asked "don't you get bored?" The simple answer to this is no. If you forget all about the beautiful places and different cultures we sail through there is always plenty to do. For example unlike a land based house ours is constantly on the move and is in some harsh conditions. It is important to look after the boat so that you always stay ahead of any possible future problems. That way our self destructing house will continue to look after you. This is not as major as it sounds but does take up spare time here and there. A second example would be to think about something simple like the sandwich that you may have had for lunch today. In our case we cannot just go down to the shops and buy a loaf of bread. If we want sandwiches we have to start off by making our own. Every third day or so we have to mix, knead, and bake our bread which takes time and requires some pre-planning.

So it is the small things you can take for granted back on land that start to occupy your time aboard. Other problems can arise with this lifestyle also. If you think about how much rubbish a house makes each week and then think about what you do with it. It is quite simple when you have garbage collection each week. We on the other hand must try to minimise our rubbish as we may not be able to dispose of it for three weeks or more. As a result you want the least amount possible. Anything smelly gets stuffed into used milk bottles, and then where do you store it? Here in Tonga there is also no way of disposing it like you would find back home in Aus. Most villages burn it. The big towns as we have mentioned before can be somewhat untidy.

This brings us to yesterday and today. Currently in the Vavau group there is a tidy village competition going on. I think this is a fantastic thing and I wish it could be applied to schools back home (are garbage bins so hard to use????). The result has been that the last two villages we have visited have been beautiful. Even the pigs have been put into pens. The only downside was the fact that each anchorage we visited this week was full of smoke as each village burnt off its excess waste. One village created so much smoke you would have been forgiven for thinking there was a major bush fire. On the daily radio sched they have been asking for donations to provide garbage bins for the schools, currently they have none.

We were anchored off Nuapapu Island (18 42'.49 S, 174 04'.20 W) when late in the day a local boat came around covered in kids (sitting on the roof and around the sides of the rickety, decaying boat). The mother on board asked to trade banana's for lollies or biscuits which we had neither of. We did however trade a bag of marshmallows for the bananas which were superb. She then asked if we would like to come and visit her village (Matamaka Village, 200 people, 4 churches that I saw, and the nicest village we have yet seen) and go to church the following day. This was our first look at a Methodist Church and it was somewhat different to what I grew up with. There was alot of singing, a little dancing and plenty of tears. Yes I said tears, in a normal service. Some of the service was translated to English which we "Palangy" were all grateful for.

The kids lined the boat roof and loved posing for pictures


during the church service










It was during this visit that we learnt about the contest and about the Tongan Princess coming the following day to judge the contest. So the next morning we waited along with the two nearby villages for her arrival. It was during this time that we had "our" (we had heard plenty of stories from other cruisers) first "give me" experience. Three teenage boys paddled out in their dug out canoe and hung off the back of Jura asking for Lolly pops. When we responded with "no", they then asked for a drink (soft drink) and this continued. Our friends on Biakal have been asked by kids for money, I think the request or demand was "where's my money?". They just put there hands out and demanded money. Later that day Tanya had her thongs stolen out of the tender. This is also apparently normal.

It was not until after lunch that she arrived so we all made our way over to the village of Nuapapa and quietly sat with the locals while gifts were presented and speeches were made. It was a wonderful spectacle as the whole village sat there on the stone wharf, but we felt a little let down as the Princess never left the boat and Kylie and I were seated up the back, so never really saw her. Kylie was however presented with a frangipani necklace, and we did meet some nice young locals before we toured this village.

Waiting for the princess to arrive


The Princess arrives by whale watch boat

It is a little funny how things are the same yet different. Last year we walked through ruins of war training camps. This year we are walking through the remnants of old resorts. It seems such a waste as it is obvious alot of money was spent back in 1994 to set up todays "old resort" but now what is left is truly lost in the jungle. We have seen alot of this in Tonga, good ideas that have been let go or are still there but very run down.



On a different note I am not sure why I love cruising because I also love and miss my friends and one takes you away from the other. On our wedding day Andrew talked about how I missed Kylie while we were away in Melbourne and how much I wanted to go back home to see her. Right now I feel similarly about Andrew, our other friends, and our families. At times it can be difficult. We were hoping some of you would come and visit us (and help alleviate some of this pain) but we understand many cannot. It is a pity as we miss you all and it would be great to share so many of our wonderful experiences.

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