Approaching the Vava'u Group in what would prove
to be fairly typical Tongan weather.


A view of Swallow's Cave on one of the islands in the Vava'u Group.


And here's a view looking out from inside Swallow's Cave.


Looking up from inside Swallow's Cave.


Another inside view of Swallow's Cave.


This is a good representation of the geology of Tonga.
We never figured out if these islands were made of coral or rock, but it
was interesting the way they were all eaten away at the waterline.


A humpback whale, just after it had breached alongside our boat.
The Vava'u group is home to a huge number of whales who come here
to mate and give birth to their calves.


Every Friday night is the local yacht race in Neiafu. All the charter boats
and a bunch of cruisers get together for a "fairly relaxed" regatta.


A view of the harbor at Neiafu.


This is "The Mermaid" - the cruiser's hangout in Neiafu
and the scene of many great parties.


Some local kids giving a Tongan dance presentation one evening at the Mermaid.


The Skipper, sitting in with the local band at the Mermaid.
That's Mony playing the Skipper's bass and Holly,
the owner of the Mermaid singing.


This is the farmer's market in downtown Neiafu.


Here's the First Mate doing what she does best: relaxing on a beach in Tonga.


A nice view of the reef at Nuapapu Island in Vava'u.


This is the "Kick-Ass Kiwi Kickoff Party" - a farewell party
for all the boaters leaving Tonga for New Zealand.


Yeah, the Kickoff Party featured an awards ceremony, hosted by
Fred from "Mary C." and assisted by Flo from "Flocervida".


A view of the Tapana anchorage in Vava'u.


This is a typical Tongan motu. There are hundreds of these
scattered all through the Vava'u group.


One afternoon, we were invited to a jam session
at La Paella Restaurant at Tapana. The owner, Eduardo,
is a Spaniard who plays Cuban music. He was joined by
Gordon from "Ascension", Greg and Sujata from "Maaji Re"
and, of course, the Skipper.


A basket weaver preparing handicrafts for the weekly Tongan feast.


The flowers in Tonga are incredible. We have no idea what the names
of these are but we couldn't resist taking a picture of them.


Another view of the Tapana anchorage.


A bunch of boaters sitting around drinking kava,
waiting for the Tongan feast to begin.


Young Tongan girls demonstrating some of the local dances.


And some Tongan boys doing their more macho style of dancing.


The food, prepared in the tradition Tongan manner,
was presented wrapped in taro leaves and served on palm mats.
Lots of fish and fruit - yummy!


Gumbo anchored at Kenutu Island in Vava'u.


While at Kenutu, we beached the dinghy on a rugged beach
at low tide so that we could hike over the jagged rocks to watch the surf
crash on the other side of the island.


And here's what we saw.


This is a view from half way up the mast of the water at Port Mourelle.
We were anchored in about 15 feet of water and could easily see the
fish swimming in and out of the coral interspersed in the sand.


While Tonga has lots of gardens and grows some wonderful produce,
lettuce is not one of their specialties. Here's a typical head of iceberg lettuce.


This is "downtown" Neiafu on a Sunday afternoon. Just like Samoa
and Fiji, Tonga shuts down completely on Sundays.


The First Mate climbing the trail to the top of the hill above Neiafu harbor.


A view of Neiafu harbor from the top of the hill.


The First Mate loves babies of all persuasions,
whether they're human or not. So here's her favorite photo
of some piglets we saw along the way down from the Neiafu hill.


Here we are anchored at The Blue Lagoon anchorage.


One of the many colorful and interesting graves we saw when
we hiked from Neiafu over to Old Harbor.


And these are a bunch of flying foxes (BATS!) that were nesting
and flying around the inner Neiafu harbor.