Kingdom of Tonga

The main reason for doing the Bounty Cruise was the history of the Bounty. A bonus was visiting two ports in the Kingdom of Tonga.

First port of call was the capital Nuku'alofa, on the island of Tongatapu. Nuku'alofa means 'Place of Love'.  We docked at Vuna Wharf and the weather was beautiful - perfect for me, and a little warm for Peter 😊. Local vibrant and colourful dancers were at the wharf to greet us and market stalls were set up along the wharf. Local currency is the Tongan Pa'anga, but many of the market stalls took credit cards. We didn't have any local currency (but will next time) to buy trinkets and we would have liked a Tongan flag for Jonnie. Most locals speak English, but we did come across some Chinese locals who didn't speak a lot of English - and we were surprised at the Chinese influence in Tonga. Tonga is the only PAcific Island with its own Royal Family and the king is known as Tu'i Tonga, and the royal family goes back at least a thousand years. The royal family have two residences, one official residence near the wharf to welcome visitors and another private residence located inland on a slight rise. We were told the rise was to to keep the residence above any flood waters. This is the official residence on the waterfront, and was built in1867. It was prefabricated in New Zealand and shipped to Tonga.

 We chose a historic tour booked from the ship. Bob 😀 was our tour guide and he was excellent. His real name was Lopeti, but he said to call him Bob. We learnt a lot about the history of Tonga and the local Tongan customs. It was a tour well worth doing.

 The first people on the islands were Polynesians from surrounds island groups about 3000 BC. By 1600's European navigators started visiting. It is documented that Able Tasman sailed in the area. However, it wasn't until 1773, when Captain Cook landed on the island of Tongatapu and named the islands 'The Friendly Islands', that traders and missionaries followed. We were told a lovely story by Bob about how the kingdom became Christian. I won't spoil the story by writing it here, but if you really want to know leave a message and I'll tell you.

We visited the Royal Tombs and although one couldn't get up close to them, there were interesting. Next stop was Captain Cooks Landing Place and then came The Ha'amonga, located 30 km from Nuku'alofa. The Ha'amonga is known as the Stonehenge of the Pacific and is said to be over 800 years old and is a trilithon, a structure consisting of two vertical stones and a third stone on top - similar to Stonehenge. This one is made of coral limestone and is about 5 metres high. Bob told us that the stones are not local and no one knows where they came from. There are a lot of legends around the Ha'amonga. One is that the King of the time had it built to symbolise his two sons and the top is the bond of family. Bob told us about the notches on the top that correspond to the rising of the sun at the different times of the year, so maybe it was a type of calendar. Two paths have been made to show the sun rise in winter and the sunrise in summer. It was also the entrance to the ancient Royal compound, and indeed it is recorded that this was the place where the King would welcome visitors. The welcome area was moved to the location where Captain Cook arrived and today it is at Vuna Wharf where the ship docked.

The 'Kings Throne' or Maka Fa'akinanga (leaning rock), also made of coral limestone and is about 100 metres from the Ha'amonga and is said to be a stone where the King would lean up against to rest. It stands 2.7 meters and indents can be seen indicating where the King would lean while talking to his people.

 We only toured the eastern side of the island. Next time we may hire a car and travel all around the island, there are so many other sites to see. We sailed north overnight to the Vava'u Archipelago and tendered off Port of Refuge. A market had been set up where the tenders arrived. We had a look around the markets and then ventured into the town of Neiafu.

Neiafu is the second largest town in Tonga and boasts a deep water harbour. The first recorded European visitor was Don Francisco Antonio Mourelle of Spain in 1781. He named the harbour Puerto de Refugio.

We walked around Neiafu, mostly small business and a few market stalls.

The Utukalongalu Market sells mostly fresh produce and a few handicraft stalls, but was very interesting. The stall sellers were very helpful and told us a lot about the crops and how they were grown.

A very beautiful place is Tonga.