Safely into Tonga, but where did that day go?

After another very rolly night, with winds up to 27 knots (and sail plan reduced to a furled foresail only), we were delighted to be able to turn the corner at first light this morning and head south along the sheltered west coast of Vava'u. We rafted up with Stormvogel and Exit Strategy at the main wharf in Nieiafu for a very friendly clearing-in process which involved four different officials coming aboard. The crews of each boat looked pretty dog-tired after the challenging passage from Niue but, once again,we are really pleased with how Maunie handled the difficult conditions – Tom on Exit Strategy had to hand steer for a lot of the night due to the big waves knocking the boat off course, whilst on Maunie we had Winnie the Windpilot driving superbly well, with only the occasional drama. We did, however, have one rogue wave dump itself into the cockpit, just as Graham was snoozing in the afternoon sunshine.

 

The harbour here is a long and well-protected estuary with densely-wooded banks. The water's quite deep (and full of jellyfish) but there are commercially-rented moorings for only about £6 per night so we're on one of them, with lots of boats that we already know moored around us. Once we've recovered from our sleep depravation, we'll be in a fit state to explore ashore tomorrow.

 

Sleep isn't the only thing of which we are deprived; we appear to have lost an entire day! This is not as careless as it sounds – we crossed the international date line last night so moved seamlessly from Saturday 21st to Monday 23rd and are now 13 hours ahead of GMT. All a bit confusing but there we are. Luckily Sunday the 22nd September wasn't an important date for us – it'd be a bit of a bugger if it was a birthday.

 

Photos and more to follow once we've worked out the options for getting wifi here.

Rolling our way toTonga

We said a fond farewell to Niue yesterday after ten wonderful days there. The process of checking out with Customs and Immigration typified the friendly approach of the people there: the Customs officer apologised that he had no transport so couldn't come to us so could we manage to come to his office at the airport please? Now this is a 5km journey and we didn't relish the prospect of a hot walk but Ira at the Yacht Club came to our rescue: "There's a blue car outside, it belongs to a friend of mine. Just take that." 15 minutes later we were back with the important clearance form and our stamped passports.

 

The passage so far has been uncomfortably rolly. The easterly trade winds have been blowing at about 20 knots for the past two weeks so whilst we've been at a nicely sheltered mooring, the swell out at sea has built up to about 3 metres and were certainly feeling it. However we are making good speed (almost too good, actually, as we've had to reef down so slow our progress a little to avoid arriving at night. We should arrive in Vava'u, in the Kingdom of Tonga in about 24 hours time. We'll be glad to find flat water again!

Playing with a cat

Yesterday we were invited aboard 'Bounty', another German yacht, sailed by Harry and Lucy; we first met them in Panama. They wanted some tips on sail trim and boat handling so, together with Peter & Heidi, we had a lovely day sail. Graham was in his element, tweaking the sails to get maximum speed and suggesting a few tricks to make sail handling easier. It's the first time we've sailed a cruising catamaran and, at 44ft, Bounty is a little different from our last cat, a Dart 18 racing machine but we really enjoyed the experience.

After the sail we were treated to a delicious late lunch in the cockpit (or sofa area, as I think it's technically known in these boats) with roast pork. Harry and Lucy had visited the tiny island of Palmeston where all 60 residents are descended from William Masters who settled there with three wives in the 1800's. A pig was slaughtered for the Sunday lunch and they were given a joint to take away so this is what we ate - lovely!

Back aboard Maunie (which suddenly seemed very narrow) we were treated to a beautiful evening sky: 

Looking forward, we plan to sail to Tonga on Friday or Saturday. The weather looks pretty settled so we just need to time the 2-day passage to avoid arriving at the weekend, when it's not possible to clear in. The Tongans take the concept of Sunday being a day of rest and prayer even more seriously than they do here. So we have a few more days to explore Niue which is great.

Meeting the locals

Di with the lovely Hina, who gave us a lift

The Village Show on Saturday was quite an event. Having arrived at what seemed like the crack of dawn we fortified ourselves with a bowl of Nuie Porridge. This is Arrowroot boiled up in coconut water and is served in half a coconut shell. To imagine its texture, think Solvite wallpaper paste but it tasted ok.

The show featured dancing, singing, scary coconut crabs that would slice a finger off if you got too close and about six different BBQ's on the go; they certainly enjoy their food here.

Coconut crab - a delicacy that fetches about $120 apiece

 Entry No3 in the 'Shiniest Aubergine' class

 A pig roasted in an traditional earth oven

Puppy training 

Local craft work 

The village choir 

Ready for the dancing 

 The dance team

Solo dancers are rewarded by people putting $10 notes into the tops of their dresses.  Graham thinks he's seen this ritual elsewhere.

After all this excitement, we went to church on Sunday. 

All scrubbed-up; first long trousers for months!

The proceedings were nearly all in the unfathomable Nuie language but the singing was amazing. The congregation of about 35 could certainly produce some volume and the 4-part acapella harmonies made the hairs rise on the back of your neck; this wasn't a choir, just the members of the congregation. Feeling suitably virtuous, we hen hitched a lift to a brilliant little beach-side cafe for a very good value and delicious lunch.

Diving at Niue

Graham's dives yesterday morning took him to two dive sites - the first was called Snake Alley and has lots of venomous sea snakes. "It's ok to stroke them", said our dive guide, so we did!

The visibility was amazingly good and we swam into a huge chasm and, with torches, into a cave that was full of very large and surprised-looking lobsters.

All in all, it was a fabulous experience. When we get to somewhere with a more robust internet connection we'll upload some video.

Today (Saturday) we've been to a Village Show (essentially a fete where everyone attends and there are competitions for the biggest taro root (no, me neither),etc. There was singing and dancing from the local kids so it was entertaining, even though it involved meeting Hina, the lovely local lady who'd offered us a lift, at 6.00am! 

The weather looks nicely set for the next 7 days so we're in no hurry to move on whilst the moorings here are so well-sheltered from wind and swell. There's still a lot to see on the island.

Niue above and below water - Wow!

Small photos aren't going to do this place justice but at least you'll get an idea! As well as a couple of days touring by car, Graham also did two dives off the SW corner of the island and had his best diving experience so far (and, yes, he's feeling very privileged to have dived in some pretty amazing places.

The above-water tour has some well sign-posted viewing points and trails:

Huge swell breaking on the SE coast - we were glad not to be at sea!

Below: more sheltered routes to coves and beaches:

Excellent signage at the start of the trails; there were good toilets and showers at all of the swimming coves

Exploring caves

The wifi connection here is terribly slow so we won't tempt fate by trying to add more photos just now - hope to add some from Graham's dive later!

Exploring Niue with a Bongo Friendee

 

Above: The Niue moorings and one of the spectacular sea caves on Niue

 

We were delighted to discover that the mooring area just of the west coast of the island was sheltered from the wind and free from swell when we arrived on Tuesday at lunch time. We were met ashore by two customs and immigration officials for a very easy clearing-in process and then went into the 'city' of Alofi to the Niue Yacht Club whose local members don't have yachts but work tirelessly to look after the needs of visiting boats. It's they who have provided 20 very good and well-maintained moorings in the deep and coral-strewn water, where anchoring would be perilous, and the NYC 'clubhouse' is the downstairs 'lounge' of a backpackers' hostel. Their website www.niueyachtclub.com gives more information.

 

Niue is about 4 times the size of Raratonga, with a coast road of 62km in circumference, and geologically unlike any island we've seen before. It's known locally as 'The Rock' and is built of porous limestone, with no lakes or streams but lots of caverns and caves;  it's pretty flat with the highest point only 69m above sea level. The water surrounding it is incredibly clear so there is good snorkelling in the many little coves; well-marked 'Sea Tracks' lead you down to amazing caves where ropes are provided to allow access.

 

The island has a tiny population of 1200 as many families left after the devastating cyclone Hattie in 2004 (waves of up to 100ft were reported) so there are lots of deserted houses and it's hard to see how this self governing state (its tiny parliament has 20 MPs who elect the Premier and 3 Ministers) without substantial aid from New Zealand.  During the 5-month tourist season (June to November) a weekly plane from NZ brings in about 160 tourists and a supply ship arrives every month or so to replenish the shops. Each year about 120 yachts visit (we are number 105 this season).

 

We hired a car yesterday (a people carrier called, rather wonderfully, a Mazda Bongo Friendee) and did a little tour up the north west coast with Heidi and Peter. It's a bit like driving in the outer isles of Scotland as the driver of every car you meet (not that many, to be honest) gives you a little lift-one-finger-from-the-steering–wheel wave and everyone seems delighted to welcome you. Today we'll continue the exploration with good walking shoes and snorkelling gear so will add some photos to the blog tomorrow.

 

It looks as though the easterly wind is nicely settled for the next week or so which means that we won't have to leave in a hurry. The moorings become very uncomfortable in a westerly wind and landing ashore becomes impossible so we'll keep a careful eye on the forecast.