The Vava’u Island has a rustic but beautiful town, with friendly people. It’s the second largest town with just under 4,000 people. The Islands are an unspoiled tropical paradise and largely unpopulated. Clear water with abundant sea life surrounds these islands. White sandy beaches and seabirds are plentiful. Most inhabitants live off the land here, consuming fruits, vegetables, and fish from the surrounding oceans.
On the way to Tonga I sailed over the Tongan Trench. It is the second deepest trench on Earth. The depth is more than 35,000 feet, or 7 miles. The submarines on board could barely explore these depths as they are limited to only 1.400 feet. Would hate to press that limit and implode, much like the ill-fated Titan submersible did in June of 2023.A welcome dance performed by the locals. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly. The locals learn their native language (Tongan) and then English as their second language. Communication was both easy and interesting.Typical dwellings on the islands. No heat necessary, but air-conditioning would be nice. Forget about that, only fans are sporadically available. What electricity is available is created by generators. The bright side of this situation is that overhead power lines are virtually non-existent.Nearby farm being cultivated. I asked whether a tractor or manual plows were used to prepare the soil and was relieved to hear it was the former. Another homestead with adjacent farm. The people grow their own food crops on the land where they live. Notice the water collection system on the right which catches all the roof’s runoff. During the months long dry season this reservoir is heavily relied upon.Another performance for the visitors. The little kid on the end of course stole the show. The head Mama. The more colorful the garb, the higher one’s status within the community. She also led the kava ritual. Kava is a drink which produces differing levels of relaxation, depending upon how much is consumed.Pictured here is a visitor getting involved in the dancing fun. This enthusiastic tourist in the dance bears a striking resemblance to my housekeeper from my trip to Sicily in 2013. It is odd how I encounter other people who closely resemble her during my various travels. Everyone seems happy, and these tourists especially so. And why not, they have been enjoying the benefits of the kava drink for over an hour.This guy is a friendly local vendor who is very proud of his wares. It is written all over his warm, yet very confident face.Today’s snorkel/kayak landing sight. Unfortunately the skies were completely overcast. Consequently, the snorkeling wasn’t great.As mentioned before, since the skies were cloudy, the colors were not nearly as pronounced as several days ago.The very rare and elusive blue starfish. Not many of these are known to exist. I was fortunate to be able to capture this image.Some of the many nearby uninhabited islands are seen as I sail away from Tonga that evening..Almost sunset.
So that’s it from Tonga. I have a few sea days before I see land again. The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean on the planet. It covers just about as many square miles (64 million) of earth’s surface as all the other oceans combined. No wonder it takes days to get to these islands. The next stops are in Fiji. I hope you see me there.
First stop after two days at sea Aitutaki, an island within the Cook Islands. Today’s activities are diving/snorkeling and potentially kite boarding. The main reason people are drawn to this spot is because of the lagoon. It is approximately 15km by 12km. It’s filled with colorful fish, giant clams, and sea turtles. Aitutaki is filled with uninhabited motus (islands.) While there are great restaurant and tiki bars, I saw none of that as my time was spent on or in the water.
Map of the expedition. Follow the yellow trail as I proceed westward in my journey. At the extreme left of the image is the eastern coast of Australia. I will include this in my future entries all along the way.At this point it is important to see the expedition vessel. It accommodates 240 passengers. The Seabourn Pursuit is equipped with 24 zodiac inflatable boats of varying sizes, 18 kayaks, as well as two submarines, capable of depths of 400 meters (or 1200 feet.) It also is capable of dynamic positioning. Dynamic positioning allows the vessel to remain in a specific spot without the use of anchors. It does this using its GPS and all the thrusters and propellers the ship is equipped with. This allows it to remain in place without causing damage to the ocean floor or coral reefs. Also important to note is that there is a fabulous expedition team consisting of anthropologists, marine biologists, ornithologists, dive experts, naturalists, and lecturers. Image courtesy of JD Andrews.
On the zodiac out to the first dive sight. In the distance is the sparsely populated main island of Aitutaki..The beach (sandbar) nearby to the dive/snorkel sight. This was a stunningly sparse yet beautiful island. This place brought back images of Tom Hanks in Castaway.Here is a large hermit crab. I wish I had included an object for perspective. It was the size of a kid’s baseball glove. This island has no inhabitants and it’s only about 1 foot above sea level. Not sure if I’d do an overnight here, unless I was in the trees.Deserted Beach courtesy of my friend JD Andrews.Here we go. Nope, we don’t. Not nearly enough wind. So the only option was some pretty good snorkeling.Can’t go up, so let’s go down. Excellent visibility and colors in the reefs today.Beautiful colors as well as some small fish. Black tip sharks were seen in the area but I wasn’t lucky enough this time to capture an image.Giant sea clams were all around. These creatures were about 30 inches (76cm) wide. The approximate weight was 75 pounds (34kg). Think how much chowder you could make from just one of these.A few more of these beauties.My snorkel buddy in red diving for a closer look see.Just one more for color at this location.
Short entry, but that’s it for now. The next landing will be in Tonga, approximately 1,000 miles away.
This was the perfect way to begin a multi-week exploration trip across the South Pacific. The amount of time spent here was not too long, or short. I enjoyed this very special spot for 5 days. The Four Seasons Resort is located on a long motu (a small island created by an ancient volcano crater.) The resort has a water-taxi to the island of Bora Bora for those wishing to explore all of the beautiful areas the main island has to offer. I was content here and never left the property. However, for those choosing to, it is only a short 10 minute ride across the amazingly clear turquoise waters.
Bora Bora’s iconic mountain formation. This is what many people think of when they think of Bora Bora.One of the few beach front spots with a view toward the main island.Some of the overwater bungalows at the resort. The sun is so intense that an overcast day was a welcome relief.My favorite snack before lunch. I can still smell the fresh baked baguettes, and the beer is the local lager. Interestingly, it was created as a substitute over 60 years ago for the coconut liquor which was too strong for the islanders.Sunrise from my bungalow. When I am under the equator the sunrises appear to me to be sunsets and visa-versa.Lagoon’s beach. Also great for snorkeling. I only saw one person in the water the entire time of my stay. The lagoon reminds me of the Gilligan’s Island lagoon.View from the lagoon toward the main island of Bora Bora.View through one of the many gardens.Walkway out to the overwater bungalows. So easy to confuse the bungalows, especially after a few cocktails.Overwater shot of the bungalows and the stars in the sky.
So I am now preparing for the next leg of my journey. It will take me west for roughly 4,000 miles. As I travel I will be exploring several island countries all along the way to Australia. By for now.
