Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Bora Bora to Tonga
Greetings. Well, its been almost 5 weeks since the last update and we have covered quite a bit of territory. We departed Bora Bora and said good bye to French Polynosia after being there for 90 days. It was a phenomenal experience despite being the most expensive place I've ever been to in the world. Our next leg was to Rarotonga, capital of the Cook Islands. We were a little apprehensive as the harbor is very small and can be exposed to N or NW winds. Sometimes the harbor master tells you to keep going(after 5 days of trying to get there) and head for Niue, the next stop. No problema, there was plenty of room and we were welcomed with open arms. Officialdom in F. Poly was scary, not so, here. The harbor master did all the paperwork in 5 minutes and we were free to roam the country. We loved it so much we stayed for 11 days. Pat and I rented scooters for 8 days. We had to get Cook Islands drivers licenses which took $15. NZ, a photo and a 5 min. test drive around the block. The scooters gave us the freedom to roam wherever and whenever which we did, everyday. Linda and I found a little resort 1/2 way up the main mountain on the island to get of the boat for awhile. Pat turned Don Pedro into a party palace..amongst other things, I'm sure!! We met great people, forged new friendships and had a wonderful time. It was also much less expensive the F. Poly. AND they spoke English.
Next it was on to the very small island nation of Niue(2 day sail from Rarotnga). Both of these countries depend on New Zealand for aid. Canada also contributed aid to rebuild the high school after a cyclone destroyed close to 90% of the homes and buildings on the island in 1999. The thing that made Niue 1 of our favourite stops was the people. The friendliest people we have EVER met in any of out travels anywhere. The Cook Islands were more beautiful and dramatic and the people were very very friendly, but the people of Niue are unbelievably friendly. The island is heavily wooded and flat but there are caves, caverns and chasams to be seen just off the main roan so we rented a beater(bush car) and headed off to explore. Niue had a King until the early 1900's and some of these chasams were used by the royals for bathing as the sea comes into them from 1 end and fresh water flows into the other end from underground streams. The only downside to Niue is the lack of a good harbor. The "Yacht Club" has placed mooring buoys to promote yachts to visit. It is a bit rolly but safe. As there is no beach and a surge from the waves, the only way to get ashore is to make a bridle for your dingy and hoist it out of the water onto the dock using the hoist supplied by the "yacht club". The yacht club's clubhouse is the local ice cream parlour and you can become a lifetime member for $20. NZ. Needless to say we enjoyed our short time on Niue and were sad to depart. Tonga was next( a 2 day sail).
We are now in the very well protected harbour of Nieafu(capitol of the Vavau or northern island group). Its a small, very old, a bit rundown and funky town-just what we like. A place to hide from the IRS or whoever may be after you. Tonight we are off to Tonga Bob's Cantina for the weekly Wednesday night Drag Queen show. Tonga's new(58 yrs. old) King is due to arrive here in Nieafu next week and the town is in a tizzy. No one can get any supplies from the main island because all the supply ships are filled with stuff for the King's visit. (Cars, security stuff, food, booze, women whatever) He owns and runs everything so you just gave to grin and bear it until his visit is over and life returns to normal. We have been to the outer islands(there are lots) for the last 3 days and there are beautiful golden sandy beaches everywhere, reefs for snoreling and palm trees for shade. It's an ideal cruising ground so we'll be here for another 5-6 weeks before braving the 10 day sail down to Kiwi land NZ. The great thing about this island group is all these outer islands are no more than 2 hrs. for Nieafu so we can come back anytime to reprovision.
Thats it for now. I'll upload some photos to go with this text. You will see a whole bunch of silly adults in a dingy built for 1 person. We had a dingy reggata and sail race in Bora Bora and tried to see how many we could get in a 1 person dingy-the answer is 7 people. It stayed afloat for about 30 sec. before going under. No prblema-the water temp was 85 and we were feeling NO PAIN. Love from me, Linda and Patrick. Hope you are all well.
Next it was on to the very small island nation of Niue(2 day sail from Rarotnga). Both of these countries depend on New Zealand for aid. Canada also contributed aid to rebuild the high school after a cyclone destroyed close to 90% of the homes and buildings on the island in 1999. The thing that made Niue 1 of our favourite stops was the people. The friendliest people we have EVER met in any of out travels anywhere. The Cook Islands were more beautiful and dramatic and the people were very very friendly, but the people of Niue are unbelievably friendly. The island is heavily wooded and flat but there are caves, caverns and chasams to be seen just off the main roan so we rented a beater(bush car) and headed off to explore. Niue had a King until the early 1900's and some of these chasams were used by the royals for bathing as the sea comes into them from 1 end and fresh water flows into the other end from underground streams. The only downside to Niue is the lack of a good harbor. The "Yacht Club" has placed mooring buoys to promote yachts to visit. It is a bit rolly but safe. As there is no beach and a surge from the waves, the only way to get ashore is to make a bridle for your dingy and hoist it out of the water onto the dock using the hoist supplied by the "yacht club". The yacht club's clubhouse is the local ice cream parlour and you can become a lifetime member for $20. NZ. Needless to say we enjoyed our short time on Niue and were sad to depart. Tonga was next( a 2 day sail).
We are now in the very well protected harbour of Nieafu(capitol of the Vavau or northern island group). Its a small, very old, a bit rundown and funky town-just what we like. A place to hide from the IRS or whoever may be after you. Tonight we are off to Tonga Bob's Cantina for the weekly Wednesday night Drag Queen show. Tonga's new(58 yrs. old) King is due to arrive here in Nieafu next week and the town is in a tizzy. No one can get any supplies from the main island because all the supply ships are filled with stuff for the King's visit. (Cars, security stuff, food, booze, women whatever) He owns and runs everything so you just gave to grin and bear it until his visit is over and life returns to normal. We have been to the outer islands(there are lots) for the last 3 days and there are beautiful golden sandy beaches everywhere, reefs for snoreling and palm trees for shade. It's an ideal cruising ground so we'll be here for another 5-6 weeks before braving the 10 day sail down to Kiwi land NZ. The great thing about this island group is all these outer islands are no more than 2 hrs. for Nieafu so we can come back anytime to reprovision.
Thats it for now. I'll upload some photos to go with this text. You will see a whole bunch of silly adults in a dingy built for 1 person. We had a dingy reggata and sail race in Bora Bora and tried to see how many we could get in a 1 person dingy-the answer is 7 people. It stayed afloat for about 30 sec. before going under. No prblema-the water temp was 85 and we were feeling NO PAIN. Love from me, Linda and Patrick. Hope you are all well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)