We headed ashore this morning to clear out and get final bits. Clearing out was a straight forward task but meant a walk around town to visit the different offices.
We got some fresh bread and other bits before collecting our washing and heading back to Newt.
After lunch we went alongside the Aquarium dock to fill up with water. It is quite a rickety dock so Karl, Navara offered to come and catch our lines for us. The water pressure wasn't great so it took us about 1 hour to fill up our tanks!!
Back on our mooring buoy Jonny went up the mast to realigned our wind instruments and then Narava came over for a drink to say goodbye before we headed off for Fiji. It was great to meet Linda and Karl and hopefully we might met again if we get to visit New Zealand.
On our way ashore we decided to say hello to an American boat called Honeymoon who we have seen in a couple of places but never met properly. They are a young couple on their honeymoon and are heading to Sydney where they might stay for a while. We ended up having a few drinks with them and had a lovely time so we hope to see them again soon.
We headed ashore for some drinks and dinner with Miss Molly and Narava and had a lovely evening. After paying for our meal we donated our remaining Tongan money to the collection for the ferry disaster which has devasted the area and hope it goes to a good cause. The plan is for the money to be split between the 25 families in the island group who have been affected.
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
17th August, Neiafu, Tonga
While we were talking to Drimea on our way to town the Moorings support boat told us he needed our mooring later in the day so we would have to move. We knew that Andy was leaving his Aquarium buoy sp we planned to take that once he left.
We headed into town and dropped off our laundry and paid for our mooring buoy from around the anchorage when we bumped into Andy. He was heading back to Calysta and leaving his buoy so we decided to leave the rest of our jobs so we didn't miss the chance to get his buoy … after we had been sat on Newt for over an hour he finally stopped whizzing round in his dinghy doing other jobs and left his buoy!!
Back in town we carried on doing our jobs getting ready to leave for Fiji on Wed before heading back to Newt.
Equinox had arrived this morning so we headed over to say hello – it was good to have the chance to catch up with them before we left for Fiji.
James, Miss Molly, radioed us to see if we wanted to head ashore for a drink and a game of pool so we wanted for a break in the rain and headed ashore. The bar with the pool table was closed so we went to the CocoNet Café instead and watched the torrential rain. Eventually the rain stopped enough for us to leave and we headed to Aquarium for some dinner. As we were leaving Equinox arrived at Aquarium and convinced us to stay for another drink.
We headed into town and dropped off our laundry and paid for our mooring buoy from around the anchorage when we bumped into Andy. He was heading back to Calysta and leaving his buoy so we decided to leave the rest of our jobs so we didn't miss the chance to get his buoy … after we had been sat on Newt for over an hour he finally stopped whizzing round in his dinghy doing other jobs and left his buoy!!
Back in town we carried on doing our jobs getting ready to leave for Fiji on Wed before heading back to Newt.
Equinox had arrived this morning so we headed over to say hello – it was good to have the chance to catch up with them before we left for Fiji.
James, Miss Molly, radioed us to see if we wanted to head ashore for a drink and a game of pool so we wanted for a break in the rain and headed ashore. The bar with the pool table was closed so we went to the CocoNet Café instead and watched the torrential rain. Eventually the rain stopped enough for us to leave and we headed to Aquarium for some dinner. As we were leaving Equinox arrived at Aquarium and convinced us to stay for another drink.
Sunday, 16 August 2009
16th August, Neiafu, Tonga
The on and off showers meant that we had a relaxing morning on the boat. After lunch we took the dinghy to explore the harbour and after dinner Jeff and Merel (Miss Molly) came for a drink.
15th August, Neiafu, Tonga
We woke up this morning to bright blue skies which was a nice change.
After breakfast we headed ashore to the market to stock up on some fresh vegetables and other supplies.
After lunch on the boat we headed ashore for the fundraiser. Some of the cruisers and one of the local restaurants had organized a cruiser fundraiser to raise money for the families of the ferry disaster in which it seems that approx 90 people died. As part of the fundraiser there was a bbq, silent auction, Tongan dancing and people getting thrown in the harbour!!
We checked out the auction and caught up with some people and then Jonny dropped me off at Orono 1. Donna had arranged a jewelry making afternoon for the girls with Giselle from Monkey Feet who makes jewelry using stones and sterling silver wire. It was a lot harder than it looks but I ended up with a lovely necklace. Whilst I was doing this Jonny took our old dinghy ashore to sell it to one of the restaurant owners. He managed to sell it and got a good price for it.
We headed back ashore for the results of the auction and to watch the dancing which was a very relaxed dance after the knee knocking Polynesian dancing.
As we hadn't managed to buy any meat ashore (supplies are starting to get low in town due to the ferry sinking) and we had sold the dinghy we decided to treat ourselves to dinner out again.
Chriselle joined us for dinner which was great as they are heading off to Fiji tomorrow and as they are heading to a different part we are unsure when we will cross paths again.
After breakfast we headed ashore to the market to stock up on some fresh vegetables and other supplies.
After lunch on the boat we headed ashore for the fundraiser. Some of the cruisers and one of the local restaurants had organized a cruiser fundraiser to raise money for the families of the ferry disaster in which it seems that approx 90 people died. As part of the fundraiser there was a bbq, silent auction, Tongan dancing and people getting thrown in the harbour!!
We checked out the auction and caught up with some people and then Jonny dropped me off at Orono 1. Donna had arranged a jewelry making afternoon for the girls with Giselle from Monkey Feet who makes jewelry using stones and sterling silver wire. It was a lot harder than it looks but I ended up with a lovely necklace. Whilst I was doing this Jonny took our old dinghy ashore to sell it to one of the restaurant owners. He managed to sell it and got a good price for it.
We headed back ashore for the results of the auction and to watch the dancing which was a very relaxed dance after the knee knocking Polynesian dancing.
As we hadn't managed to buy any meat ashore (supplies are starting to get low in town due to the ferry sinking) and we had sold the dinghy we decided to treat ourselves to dinner out again.
Chriselle joined us for dinner which was great as they are heading off to Fiji tomorrow and as they are heading to a different part we are unsure when we will cross paths again.
14th August, Neiafu, Tonga
After a blustery night at our anchorage we headed back to town after breakfast. We are planning on spending the weekend and the beginning of the week in town catching up with people and getting ready to head to Fiji.
After picking up a buoy (we are not yet sure whose??!!) Andy came over for a coffee and then we headed into town where we met White Hawk, Ishka and Orono 1 in one of the cafes.
From the cafe we picked up some bread and postcards and then headed back to the boat. We decided to drop the bread off and then go and see a couple of other boats. After we dropped off the bread we were met by a dinghy where the guy asked us if Newt was a Colvic (only the second person to recognise her!!) - he is from Ipswich near where the Colvic were originally made and said they had been his dream boat. He invited us back to his boat for a drink - he is crew on a 66ft oyster called Miss Molly. A cup of tea turned into a couple of beers as we watched the Friday night race from the back of their boat with Navara.
From Miss Molly we headed to the Yacht Club to catch up with the others. James (one of the crew from Miss Molly, he is 17 and his dad (Jeff) is the captain) asked us if he could join us for dinner which was great. He is a very ambitious 17 yr old who wants to end up working in the yacht industry. We hope that all his plans work out and he is successful. After dinner at the Aquarium we headed back to the Yacht Club for another drink and then back to Newt.
After picking up a buoy (we are not yet sure whose??!!) Andy came over for a coffee and then we headed into town where we met White Hawk, Ishka and Orono 1 in one of the cafes.
From the cafe we picked up some bread and postcards and then headed back to the boat. We decided to drop the bread off and then go and see a couple of other boats. After we dropped off the bread we were met by a dinghy where the guy asked us if Newt was a Colvic (only the second person to recognise her!!) - he is from Ipswich near where the Colvic were originally made and said they had been his dream boat. He invited us back to his boat for a drink - he is crew on a 66ft oyster called Miss Molly. A cup of tea turned into a couple of beers as we watched the Friday night race from the back of their boat with Navara.
From Miss Molly we headed to the Yacht Club to catch up with the others. James (one of the crew from Miss Molly, he is 17 and his dad (Jeff) is the captain) asked us if he could join us for dinner which was great. He is a very ambitious 17 yr old who wants to end up working in the yacht industry. We hope that all his plans work out and he is successful. After dinner at the Aquarium we headed back to the Yacht Club for another drink and then back to Newt.
Thursday, 13 August 2009
13th August, Vaka Eitu, Tonga
Another overcast and windy day in Tonga. We have loved it here but the weather hasnt been great and this morning i had to dig out our blankets because it was so cold last night!!
Moasi, Ian and Julia and Navara, Karl and Linda came over for coffee this morning. Navara brought some lovely banana and chocolate chip cake and Moasi some chocolate brownies (which Jonny said was yummy but I couldnt eat because it had almonds in it :( ).
After lunch we headed ashore for a walk and enjoyed one of our favorite Pacific pastimes - exploring resort ruins!!
After some jobs on the boat we headed over to Navara for drinks and had a nice evening chatting to them. They are from New Zealand and exploring Tonga for a season but are planning to do a longer trip in the future and were asking our advice about different things we had on the boat and what works and doesnt. It was nice to be able to pass on some of the things we have learnt throughout the year.
Moasi, Ian and Julia and Navara, Karl and Linda came over for coffee this morning. Navara brought some lovely banana and chocolate chip cake and Moasi some chocolate brownies (which Jonny said was yummy but I couldnt eat because it had almonds in it :( ).
After lunch we headed ashore for a walk and enjoyed one of our favorite Pacific pastimes - exploring resort ruins!!
After some jobs on the boat we headed over to Navara for drinks and had a nice evening chatting to them. They are from New Zealand and exploring Tonga for a season but are planning to do a longer trip in the future and were asking our advice about different things we had on the boat and what works and doesnt. It was nice to be able to pass on some of the things we have learnt throughout the year.
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
12th August, Vaka Eitu, Tonga
After some jobs with other boats in the Port Maurelle anchorage we decided to head off to a different anchorage.
It was windy outside the protected anchorage but was a much more sunny day then we have had recently.
We got to Vaka Eitu and picked up a mooring buoy. After lunch we went to say hello to Moasi, Ian and Julia, a British catamaran we had seen briefly at a couple of anchorages but never had chance to chat to properly. We had a lovely couple of hours on Moasi chatting before heading back to Newt.
Moasi were going to come over later to get some books of us and for a drink once Ian had fixed their generator but unfortunately he was struggling to find the cause of the problem and had to take a rain check.
It was windy outside the protected anchorage but was a much more sunny day then we have had recently.
We got to Vaka Eitu and picked up a mooring buoy. After lunch we went to say hello to Moasi, Ian and Julia, a British catamaran we had seen briefly at a couple of anchorages but never had chance to chat to properly. We had a lovely couple of hours on Moasi chatting before heading back to Newt.
Moasi were going to come over later to get some books of us and for a drink once Ian had fixed their generator but unfortunately he was struggling to find the cause of the problem and had to take a rain check.
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
11th August, Port Maurelle, Tonga
We were hoping to go to Hunga today but the tricky entrance requires high tide, no swell and good visibility and as it was overcast, rainy and the swell was due to increase throughout the week we thought we would give it a miss and head to another option.
Before we left Port Maurelle we headed over to T Rex to swap some books and ended up staying for tea and cake. As we were leaving T Rex Chriselle came into the anchorage who had decided that they were going to head to Hunga anyway so we went over to find out why they had changed their minds. They convinced us to spend another night in Port Maurelle by inviting us for dinner and to play a board game.
We spent the afternoon on the boat and then headed over to Chriselle where we had a lovely evening with jelly and ice cream for dessert!
Before we left Port Maurelle we headed over to T Rex to swap some books and ended up staying for tea and cake. As we were leaving T Rex Chriselle came into the anchorage who had decided that they were going to head to Hunga anyway so we went over to find out why they had changed their minds. They convinced us to spend another night in Port Maurelle by inviting us for dinner and to play a board game.
We spent the afternoon on the boat and then headed over to Chriselle where we had a lovely evening with jelly and ice cream for dessert!
10th August, Port Maurelle, Tonga
We left the Art Gallery anchorage this morning to explore further. Within the anchorage it was flat calm and boats were swinging in the current, 10m away there was 20 knots of wind!! The anchorage we had initially planned on visiting wasnt very protected so we decided to head back to Port Maurelle.
After lunch T Rex arrived so we went over to say hello and spent the afternoon with them catching up.
After lunch T Rex arrived so we went over to say hello and spent the afternoon with them catching up.
Sunday, 9 August 2009
9th August, Tapana, Tonga
We woke up to more grey overcast sky so had a lazy and relaxing day reading books and watching dvds. By mid afternoon the sun had come out so we had a swim before sundown drinks in the cockpit. A lovely peaceful day.
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