Part 2: 8 July Broke camp after breakfast and packed the boats. For this leg, and all subsequent ones, Joyce had a water container in her cockpit, while I had the library (in a Pelikan case) and the double burner stove, wedged in place with four fins. We also had a 20 litre pail tied on top of our back hatch. By 9:45 we were on the water, heading south-east towards 'Uiha Island. There was a light southerly wind for the crossing, with waves from both the west and south-west making things a little lumpy, but not uncomfortable. During our briefing, Sharon had warned of the diuretic effect of tea and coffee, and explained that if you wanted to relieve yourself while paddling, the answer was to hop overboard, then reboard when you were finished. A rope loop was provided to aid re-entry. She then proceeded to make "Garfield" coffee each morning that you could stand your spoon upright in! On this morning, however, she was the one who couldn't wait, and was forced to give us a demonstration of the procedure. About 11 am we arrived at Felemea village on 'Uiha, finalised arrangements for the feast there that night at the 'Esi-'O-Ma'afu Homestay, and queued to use the flush toilet (at our camps it was squat over a hole). We then paddled to the south end of the island to set up camp again. Total paddling 9.2km. Following a swim and wash, shampoo etc, we dressed for dinner. A tupenu (lavalava) is acceptable for either sex, or long trousers for men, and a shirt/blouse should have at least short sleeves. More or less suitably attired, we all walked back to the village. The feast was being prepared, with the cooking being done in an umu, an underground oven. Later we went for a walk around the village, where we saw two horse and carts in use and only one motor vehicle. Communication to the outside world was by a solitary solar charged phone/vhf system in the centre of the village. The feast was great, provided you do not mind a whole roast pig staring at you from pride of place in the centre of the table. Most of the other dishes were fish based, including octopus, plus two desserts, one of which was delicious. The kava ceremony afterwards was interesting, more so the traditional dancing that accompanied it, but eventually we left the local men to finish the kava and headed off to bed. During the night it rained, and the fly rubbed on the tent inner, letting a small amount of water in (on Joyce's side of course). 9 July Breakfasted, packed up and paddled south for an hour and three quarters (7.5km) under a cloudy sky with occasional light rain to Uonukuhahaki Island, uninhabited except for one pig. After setting up camp on the western side for a two night stay we walked through to the eastern side, then around the northern end and back to camp via the beach. After lunch Joyce and I walked to the southern end and waded across to the next island, Uonukuhihi. Our return was via the eastern beach to complete a circuit right around Uonukuhahaki. At dusk the pig was spotted out on the beach, but retreated into the bushes on seeing us. 10 July The weather improved during the night, and we awoke to a fine clear morning. Mid morning we all went snorkelling in the channel to the north of the island, came back for lunch and a rest, then snorkelled again in the bay by camp. Luangahu may have been tropical paradise, but Uonukuhahaki was even more so. We would have been happy to stay here much longer. 11July Despite getting up at 7 am to pack up, and breakfasting at 8 am, it was 9:45 before we were on the water and heading back to 'Uiha on our return journey. The light wind was a helpful southerly. About 20 minutes into the trip a pod of dolphins was spotted heading in the opposite direction. At Felemea village we replenished our fresh water (and the flush toilet was popular again). We had brought with us a parcel of school exercise books, pencils and rubbers to give to a school somewhere, and were supposed to visit the only school on the island at 'Uiha village. As it turned out the tide was too low for us to be able to get in through the reefs there, so we left the parcel for delivery with Mrs 'Aholelei at the Homestay. Continuing northwards, we paddled past Tafata Island, then across the channel to the southern tip of Uoleva Island for a late lunch. The current in the channel can flow at 3-4 knots, so our crossing was timed for slack water. Total distance for the day 15.2km. After lunch camp was established for another two night stay. 12 July We were up late, with breakfast even later. About 11 am we decided to go for a short walk along the beach to look at the eastern reef, and arrived back at camp 3 hours later, having walked the 9km right around the island. Luckily we had taken a Camelback with us, as the day was bright and sunny, quite warm for walking. After our late lunch we set up the Thermarest chairs and browsed some of the flora and fish books from the library. There were also numerous skinks and geckos wandering in the shrubbery to distract us. Later we went for a swim/wash/shampoo in preparation for our return to (relative) civilisation the next day. 13 July The up at 7am, breakfast at 8 am, leave at 9:45 am routine was repeated. We were obviously not getting any more efficient at it, but nobody really wanted to leave anyway on such a lovely day. As the tide was low, we went out past the inner reef before turning north-east towards Lifuka. A turtle was seen early in the trip, and the southerly breeze made paddling pleasant. Opposite Pangai we negotiated our way through the reef and in to the harbour. Fresh bread for lunch! Joyce went to the airline office and checked our departure time for the next day, not going to be caught out again. Paddled out of the harbour after lunch, and on to Mele Tonga's, 11.7km for the day. the kayaks were unloaded, and everything carried up onto the lawn and sorted out. Joyce, Daniella and I went back in the van with the luggage on the first trip to Billy's, so I had no competition to be first to the men's shower. Then it was unpacking, hanging things out to dry, and sorting out so that we would only need our cabin bags once in transit again. That evening we biked down to Mariners Cafe for the trip dinner: garlic bread, tuna and chips, apple pie, and more beer than on previous visits. We started riding home afterwards, but found that Joyce's front tyre was flat, so had to walk. 14 July Breakfast, final packing and took our bags to the main room. Biked off to town, with Joyce on a new steed, and checked the flight time again (no change). Cycled to the eastern beach where they mine sand, then back to Mariners for lunch. We made our farewells to Doug and Sharon after lunch, and pedalled quietly to the southern end of the island, looked wistfully at the islands where we had been paddling, and returned to Billy's. The taxi arrived, and off we went ot the airport. The plane was a twin engined Otter, and to avoid overloading (Tongans can be an imposing size) all the passengers were weighed as well as the luggage - I was impressed with this. The plane actually had plenty of grunt, it took off in about a quarter of the runway, and was fifty metres or more up by the time we passed the terminal. There were good island views as we headed south to Tongatapu, where "our" taxi driver was waiting for us - we had told him when we would be back. This time we stayed at the Harbour View Hotel, but we were on the ground floor at the back, so no view. For a change of cuisine we had dinner at Lilly's chinese restaurant, good food and a glass of wine. Getting to sleep was not easy as Friday night is live it up night, not Saturday night - when you have to be home in bed before Sunday arrives. 15 July Plenty of hot water for a shower (only cold at Billy's), but warm was enough. After a self service breakfast we crossed the road to the Saturday market. Joyce bought a better lavalava than what we had been able to get on Lifuka. Bargaining is not practiced, so the conversation was something like: "How much for this one?" "Thirteen" "What about this one?" "Fifteen" "O K, I'll have it." Someone was trying to sell a stereo, and demonstrating how loud it was (very). The neighbouring stalls were probably hoping that its batteries would go flat quickly. Our taxi arrived as arranged, and we went off on a tour of the eastern end of the island, including Captain Cook's 1777 landing site, Paepae 'o Tele'a, a tomb constructed with huge blocks of stone, and Ha'amonga 'a Maui Trilithon, the Tongan Stonehenge equivalent. This time we arrived at the airport with a couple of hours to spare, giving us plenty of time to watch Tongans plastic wrapping cartons of food to take with them to Auckland. The plane left a little late, and the flight was uneventful. At Auckland the plane descended through a threatening cloud layer, and landed into a blustery north-easterly wind - nothing had changed. At customs we handed over our tent for fumigation, and watched while most of the food in the cartons was confiscated. By 6 pm we were having a meal and a bottle of wine at our motel. The dream was over. Allan Singleton www.voyager.co.nz/~alsjfs/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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