The Cafe Tropicana is centrally located in town, and while it is not as large as the Aquarium and does not have the view, it does have a pretty balcony/patio and is a real internet cafe (they have their own computers or you can bring in your own). It is also the other frequent hangout of cruisers. People will cart their laptops to the Aquarium, but because the Tropicana has a better internet connection, they will bring those same laptops there when they really want to get things done. Often you will see people at the Aquarium and the Tropicana the same afternoon!
The Tropicana is primarily an eatery, coffee bar, and internet cafe, but it is so much more than that. It is run by Lisa, and she is the number-one caretaker of the cruisers. Aside from serving coffee drinks and meals and presiding over the computers, she does laundry, sends faxes, makes shipping arrangements, receives shipments and mail, makes baked goods, can book you for events and special restaurants, and make travel arrangements. She also runs the local animal rescue and has several dogs she has rescued and cares for (plus at least one cat). She may be the busiest person I have ever seen, but she proves the old adage, “If you want something done, ask the busy person.” If the Aquarium can be called the heart of town, the Cafe Tropicana can be called the soul.–Cyndi
The dining area of the Cafe Tropicana.The deck of the Cafe Tropicana.“Stinky,” one of the rescue dogs.Nothing like a good, frothy cappuccino.
Neiafu has several eateries, bars and hangouts, but the heart of the town is the Aquarium cafe. It is on the second story of a waterfront structure. The dining area is an open-air, covered deck that is nestled up against a hill, making it open to the breezes yet protected from the wind. It has an incredible view of the harbor and sits above one of two dinghy docks in the town. It also happens to have good food, coffee drinks and bar drinks.
A view of the harbor from the Aquarium.
The Aquarium has a lot going for it, but what makes it the most special is the ambiance. They have internet access there (one of only two places in town that do), and if you order a drink or some food, you can use it for free. All the cruisers use the internet regularly; so at any given time of day, the yachties are in with their laptops or socializing with the other yachties. It’s like a big clubhouse. On top of that, people walking to and from the dinghy dock are in full view of the restaurant, which means friends are always spotting each other. It is the kind of place you can sit for hours and just chat with various people coming and going, and many people do just that, often enjoying many cold beers as they do so.
A typical afternoon scene at the Aquarium.
We had the perfect introduction to the Aquarium the day we arrived. After resting up from our passage, we headed ashore for a late lunch/early dinner and ran into some friends we hadn’t seen since Bora Bora. They invited us to come with them to the Aquarium for a bite and some drinks, and that sounded good to us. What followed was food and beer, lots of beer, over the rest of the evening and well into the night. The burritos were pretty good, but the pizza was fabulous! Most of the faces there were familiar, almost everyone there a cruiser, and many of the people we had either met before or seen more than once (in the cruising world this alone can be the basis for a friendship: seeing someone at more than one anchorage). We had a great time eating, drinking, talking, swapping stories, and laughing.
The festivities ramped up after dark when the Pub Crawl came along. The Pub Crawl is one of the first events in the week-long cruising Regatta festivities. To partake, you dress up in a silly costume and then group up at the first chosen pub or bar, have a drink, then follow a truck blasting loud techno music to the next bar/restaurant. There it is your job to invade the establishment, get more to drink and dance amid the tables and people there! It is a ton of fun, and I could not believe all the costumed people coming in and literally dancing on the benches and tables. It was a blast! After a song, they all headed off, dancing behind the truck to the next restaurant. Our well-rested friends decided to follow the party, but Rich and I were feeling our lack of sleep and opted to head back to the boat. By now I decided I liked the Regatta quite a bit and was glad we had come!
Our first dinner at the Aquarium with Tom and Monica from the boat Tanga.The Aquarium is invaded by the pub crawl.
Over the weeks to come, we would spend a lot of time at the Aquarium, which became our second home. Sometimes it was hopping with people, and sometimes it was relatively quiet, but it was always a good place to be. We had many great pizzas, great conversations, cold beer, quiet computer time, cappuccinos, delicious pasta, good burritos, fun partying, funny moments, tropical rain showers, Regatta talks/presentations, American football on TV, New Zealand rugby (discovering what the All Blacks are and why they are extremely important!), cold bottles of water after an afternoon’s hot shopping trip, friend reunions, group dinners, gossip and news exchange, group weather analysis, and the occasional glass of wine with a candle-lit dinner. This is truly a special place on earth and will always be one of our favorite things about our cruise. –Cyndi
Our favorite pizza: the vegetarian.Cappuccino, internet and football.A candlelit dinner with friends (Iris, Alex, Sabina and Dean).Another surprise reunion of friends at the Aquarium.Pizza and beer afternoons were frequent.One of the busier nights at the Aquarium.
Neiafu is a waterfront town, but most of the businesses sit perched on the hill above it. It is at once green and tropical yet dusty, new and sturdy yet old and in disrepair, modern yet rustic, lovely yet funky. It is a place where you can buy a phone or computer but may walk by free-roaming pigs along the way. You can get a cab, but it will likely be junkyard-ready and you’ll be driving around a few potholes. The markets are small, but you may find a treasure like Kirkland paper towels or Cattleman’s chili.
There is also an interesting mix of people as most of the businesses are owned by palangi (foreigners). Most of these palangi are Australian, Kiwi or even American, while several of the markets are owned by Chinese. Most of the businesses in town are tourist-oriented and frequented by palangi, but most of the people in town are Tongan.
The Tongan people are laid back, warm and friendly. The palangi business owners are harried and busy, some of them trying to get their Tongan employees to be more harried and busy, too. But it all comes together and the mix of cultures makes this a vibrant, yet low-key, town. It’s an easy place to be (as evidenced by the fact that Rich and I stayed here nearly two months!). -Cyndi
Neiafu’s main street that runs along the top of the hill above the waterfront.Some of the waterfront area of Neiafu.The taxi stand tree.The open-air produce market.A business by the waterfront.Some local Tonga boys in their school uniforms.Pigs roam free through the town.
For almost all the Puddle Jumpers (cruisers who have crossed the South Pacific), Tonga is the last stop before the passage to New Zealand. And the vast majority of these cruisers check into the country in the town of Neiafu, Vava’u.
Neiafu is crowded with waterfront bars, restaurants and business catering to yachties and tourists. It’s a good place to shop, and a great place to eat out and socialize! It’s also a home base for exploring the islands of Vava’u as most cruisers will go out and spend a few days in the islands, then come back to re-provision and spend more time in town.
Most people arrive here with a month or two to spend before they have to head south. Thus, there is no real feeling of hurry or worry at this stage of the game (well, there’s plenty of worry about the New Zealand passage but it’s still far enough away to ignore for awhile longer). We’ve now made it across the South Pacific, and all there is to do is rest up and enjoy life for awhile.
As a Puddle Jumper in Neiafu, you can expect to run into pretty much everyone you’ve met along the way, friends past and present. Plus, you’ll make fun new acquaintances who may well become friends. Thus, Neiafu has a reputation for being Party Central of the cruising fleet, and we would find this reputation is well deserved!–Cyndi
A view of Neiafu from our mooring.A view of Neiafu harbor from the dinghy dock.A view of the boats in the harbor.An evening ride into Neiafu.
Sorry for the slow update but we’ve had trouble getting internet access here. Now, we have only a marginal connection and it’s like pulling teeth trying to get an email out. Oh well. We’ll send more of an update soon, but for now, Tonga is wonderful. -Rich
