2023 Tonga

September 3rd to October 6th

The sail from Samoa to Tonga went better than expected (see blog post, 'Vava'u: Having a whale of a time').

Despite the wind being forward of the beam most of the way, and relatively strong winds, neither of us were sick. Unfortunately, the weather window available, coupled with advice from Jimmy Cornell not to enter Nuatoputapu (the first island) if it was windy, meant we headed straight for Neiafu in the Vava'u Island group

This is a really protected anchorage among a maze of islands and inlets. It is a cruising hub in September as boats gather before leaving for Fiji, Australia or New Zealand. After three weeks among this northern group of islands we headed to the middle group (Ha'apai group). These are 'San Blas esque' with just a sand covered reef and palm trees, few people and wonderful coral.

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Finally we moved to Nuku'alofa, the capitol in the south, to prepare for the passage to New Zealand, our final leg this year 

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Enjoy the photos, remembering to double click to get the story behind the picture.