Author: richwest3

Back in Neiafu (Vava’u, Tonga)

October 18, 2012

When we headed back to Neiafu, it was mid-October and time to start making the decisions we’d been putting off:

  1. When did we want to make the passage to New Zealand?
  2. Did we want to depart for New Zealand from here (Neiafu) or make our way down to Nuku’alofa, the southernmost island in Tonga and a popular jump-off spot for New Zealand?
  3. Did we want to cruise the Ha’apai, a group of islands south of Vava’u? They had fewer protected anchorages and were more difficult overall (just the sort of situations we’d been avoiding) but were en route to Nuku’alofa and supposed to be beautiful.

For now, we would have some time to ponder these things as we had weather coming in and would not be going anywhere for at least a week. Meanwhile, our first decision had partly been made as we had decided not to leave for New Zealand until late November. -Cyndi

Note: I have some Neiafu sunset photos to add to the blog posts, and this seems as good a place as any.

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Return to Port Maurelle (Kapa Island, Vava’u, Tonga)

October 18, 2012

We finished our day at Port Maurelle and felt pretty good about seeing two weeks’ worth of islands in just an afternoon. We even had time to swim and snorkel before dinner.

I had a bottle of champagne left from our duty-free shopping in French Polynesia, waiting for the right time to enjoy it. Since we weren’t able to get back to our low-tide-only beach on Tapana, I figured this would be a good second choice. Getting out to see these islands was a turning point for us. We conquered our burnout, our jitters and our inertia, and had a wonderful time in the process! These islands had been a big undone thing casting a shadow over our time here. Now they were done, and we free to figure out what we wanted to do next (aside from drinking champagne).

The next morning we took our dinghy to the beach. We hadn’t realized how beautiful it was! Port Maurelle has got to be the most underrated, under-appreciated anchorage in Tonga. We would have stayed another day, but thunderstorms were coming and we needed to get back to town. -Cyndi

Note: The last two pictures are nearly identical but I could not choose between then so we’ll post them both.

Bright blue water under tropical vegetation.
Bright blue water under tropical vegetation.
Tropical vegetation and green water near shore.
Tropical vegetation and green water near shore.
Approaching the beach for a landing.
Approaching the beach for a landing.
The lovely beach at Port Maruelle.
The lovely beach at Port Maruelle.
Our footprints in amazingly soft sand.
Our footprints in amazingly soft sand.
Looking out at the boats. #1.
Looking out at the boats, #1.
Looking out at the boats. #1.
Looking out at the boats, #2.

Nuku and Kapa Islands (Vava’u, Tonga)

October 17, 2012

The final leg of our Vava’u islands motor tour consisted of heading up past Nuku Island and the sand spit connecting it to Kapa and the place that now felt like home, Port Maurelle. -Cyndi

A beach on Kapa Island. (Vava’u, Tonga)
A beach on Kapa Island. (Vava’u, Tonga)
The sand spit between Kapa and Nuku Islands. (Vava’u, Tonga)
The sand spit between Kapa and Nuku Islands. (Vava’u, Tonga)
Heading up towards Port Maruelle on Kapa Island. (Vava’u, Tonga)
Heading up towards Port Maruelle on Kapa Island. (Vava’u, Tonga)
Back in Port Maurelle. (Vava’u, Tonga)
Back in Port Maurelle. (Vava’u, Tonga)

Sisia Island (Vava’u, Tonga)

October 17, 2012

After deciding that our hoped for destination, #16, looked a little crowded, we opted to head back to Port Maurelle. We took these pictures of Sisia Island on the way. It’s pretty but there’s not a lot of room and it’s not well protected from the wind; so we didn’t consider staying. -Cyndi

Sisia Island (Vava’u, Tonga)
Sisia Island (Vava’u, Tonga)
A white-sand beach on Sisia Island (Vava’u, Tonga)
A white-sand beach on Sisia Island (Vava’u, Tonga)
A fellow cruiser enjoys Sisia Island (Vava’u, Tonga)
A fellow cruiser enjoys Sisia Island (Vava’u, Tonga)

Avalau Island (aka Ovalau) (Vava’u, Tonga)

October 17, 2012

Right near Mounu Island is another small island called either Avalau or Ovalau, depending on which source you consult. This is another cruiser favorite, and it’s easy to see why with its perfect white sand beach and bright blue water.

We were very tempted to stop here but decided to keep going as we were hoping for a good spot to snorkel and had our eye on Anchorage 16. Looking at the pictures now I think we should have stayed! Oh well. -Cyndi

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The west side of Avalau. (Vava’u, Tonga)
The west side of Avalau. (Vava’u, Tonga)
Approaching Avalau on Legacy (Vava’u, Tonga)
Approaching Avalau on Legacy (Vava’u, Tonga)
Approaching the point of Avalau with small islands in the distance. (Vava’u, Tonga)
Approaching the point of Avalau with small islands in the distance. (Vava’u, Tonga)
Beautiful blue water around Avalau Island (Vava’u, Tonga)
Beautiful blue water around Avalau Island (Vava’u, Tonga)