Well, here we are in the Kingdom of Tonga, about the only remaining kingdom in the world. The Zaandam arrived to the Vuna Wharf in the capital Nuku'alofa on Tongatapu Island. There are over 170 islands in the kingdom, but only 40 of them are inhabited with a total of over 101,000 native Tongans. Located just west of the International Dateline, Tonga is the first Pacific nation to greet the new day. Like many of the islands, Tongatapu is a raised coral limestone island, while many others are volcanic, some of which are active.
There were only four excursions offered in Tonga. Historic Nuku'alofa was a ride in an island open-air bus for 2 ½ hours for $60. Oholei Beach and Hina Cave was 4 ½ hours for $100. You would see the blowholes (if the tide was up), have an "umu" lunch which is cooked in the ground, and a chance to swim. The buffet included roasted suckling pig on a spit, which is considered a delicacy here. To reach the beach with rocks and corals, you would have to navigate 60 stairs with 30 minutes to do it all on your own. If the tide was out (which it was), then there would be no swimming. And restrooms were described as very limited. There were two more tours, but by the time we looked them up on the TV, they had been erased. Nothing was over $100 per person. Quite reasonable compared to some of the previous ports in our opinion.
By the time breakfast ended, we went out to the promenade deck and caught the last of the police band welcome greeting. Usually there are dancers and singers in full Tongan costume, but not today. The row of vendor tents were not along the roadside either. They had been moved to more permanent-type open-air buildings in a parking lot near the port portal. There was an excellent info table set up with the nicest Tongan ladies, who handed us brochures and maps with tons of things to read about this capital of Tonga. The best map had a two hour walking trail laid out with each and every site to see.
We always walk past the Police Station and to the Talamahu Market where the local produce is sold. There are also arts and crafts tables with locally-made tapa cloth items such as hand fans, purses, and tapa art paintings. The variety of fruit and veggies includes huge taro roots, watermelons, long string beans, tomatoes and bananas. Plantains, coconuts, and pineapples are also sold here. Today there was a much smaller selection to choose from because the market was closed yesterday, a Sunday. Their busiest day must be Saturday. The shelves were half empty today. Last year inside this market, we purchased a necklace and earring set made out of pearly white oyster shells. The young artistic vendor carved my name and some palm trees and birds on the face of the pendant using a Dremel drill. We looked for her today, but she was not there, and no one else was doing that personalized artwork. Now I treasure the set even more.
Continuing up the street, we came upon the Catholic church of the Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua. Built in 1980, it was the first basilica in the South Pacific islands. It is also the newest of the many churches in town. Across the street was Royal Tombs, dating back to 1893. Except you would not have known this was here due to a high fence that had been built all the way around this entire complex. Signs on the fence indicated that the Chinese government was re-modeling the tombs. The new building project would include a parking lot for cars, a tour bus section, gardens, ponds, benches and new landscaping. Interesting to see that China has another investment here, as several other expensive projects, such as the Vuna Wharf, have been funded by that government. We fear the day may come that China will take over and the Kingdom of Tonga will be a relic from the past. Down towards the end of the street, we stopped to take photos of some local fellows working near the fence. They were being directed by a Chinese boss, who warned us and other tourists not to take pictures. This has never happened here on previous visits. What did he think we were? Spies or something? Maybe we are……
Surrounding the Royal Tombs are the high school with 1200 students. This building had burned down in 2000, and the Chinese government rebuilt it after the fire. Hmmm. The Queen Salote College, a girl's school, and has 1000 students, all of whom wear uniforms and keep their hair braided or plaited as they say here.
The most impressive of the older structures has to be the Centennial Church built of coral blocks in 1888. Unfortunately, time and hurricanes and even a tsunami have taken their toll on this church as the entire center section has been destroyed. At one time, years ago, we actually toured the interior of this church, but now all that remains are the façade and the side walls. It appears that restoration work has been in progress.
Near this church was a property that was fenced off with some animals. The first we noticed were the chickens….everyone has them and three little adorable puppies. They came one by one to the cyclone fence to see of we had any food for them. We did not, and they figured that out in a nano second. Looking deeper into the yard, we saw wooden crates that housed pigs of all sizes. Some of them were rather large, but their cages were not. Maybe those pigs we saw on Dravuni Island in the mud had it better after all.
Continuing down the road towards the ocean, we passed by the Centenary Church or the Free Wesleyan Church built in 1952. It seats 2000 people and is the church that the Royal Family attends on most Sundays. Across the way from here is His Majesty's Army Forces, which is situated right next to the Royal Palace, which used to be the residence of the Royal Family. These days it is used for official functions with royal archives and artworks. This palace was prefabricated in New Zealand, and shipped here in 1867. We can say it has to be the most photographed building in town.
Directly across the street, there was another new build taking place, compliments of the Chinese government no doubt. It appears there will be a new convention center here. It also borders the British High Commissioner's residence with a flagpole and cannons from Port au Prince. Next to this white house is the Royal cemetery.
From here, we followed Vuna Road for a couple of miles, walking along the seawall once again. The tide was out, revealing the mudflats of the shallow reef. Today there were many birds, but mostly the white face herons that expertly wander in the water and fish with their spear-like beaks. We also saw some intermediate morph Pacific reef herons that are black and white. Soaring up high in the sky were some frigatebirds, and along the grassy areas and mature trees, we saw numerous common mynahs. We were hoping to see the "fishing" pigs out in the mudflats, but there were none today. These pigs come from the yards of the houses that line the reef. We have seen them rooting in the mud for whatever hides there. Some years ago, we did see locals pulling out some kind of seaworms, collecting them in buckets. Ever since the hurricane Gita hit in 2019, much of these mud flats are off limits to fishermen. We were told it will take years for the reef to replenish itself.
There is a nice small hotel and restaurant along this road where we usually have lunch and ice cold beers. Unfortunately, they are closed to the public on Mondays and possibly Tuesdays. Our timing has been off for a few years now. For that reason, we did not go out to lunch today. Many of the establishments in downtown are coffee shops, bars, or take-out. We made it as far as Little Italy, another resort/hotel, but also closed until 5pm. There were several benches in the shade along the way where we could watch the activity in the water. There were a few people out near the reef's edge with nets, and some were even taking a dip in the deeper pools of the mud flats. A few locals were tending their palm leaves, soaking them in the salty water to soften them we assume. We saw piles of these dried palms used for weavings in the marketplace earlier.
On the way back, we searched the trees for the flying foxes, or fruit bats. Seeing none, we realized the trees that housed them have been cut down. These creepy creatures can still be seen at a different part of the island, which happens to be included in one of the bus tours. We did pass by the Nuku'alofa Club, a private men's club where the elite gather to sip beer and play a game of snooker. Further up the street is the town's main center and Raintree Square. The post office and Public Service Commission Office are located there, along with a few souvenir shops and a café or two. We sat on benches under the canopy of the huge rain tree that has been here since WWII in 1941. Gosh….it is older than us.
Most of the government buildings are here as well as the grassy field called Pangai Lahi, that is front of the Royal Palace. This field is only for Royal and government events like royal feasts, kava ceremonies (yes they do that here also) and parades. We had completed the full circle in 3 ½ hours , and were ready to head back to the ship. But first we wanted to look at the souvenir tables in the parking lot. Most everything offered here was in the local marketplace, but we suspected the prices were higher. Much of it looked imported, because we have seen identical jewelry in many other countries. Even up the Amazon River, which we did on the world cruise this year.
Back onboard, we made a visit to the Lido for lunch. It was far less crowded since many folks were still on tours. Instead of dried pizza, we opted for tuna sandwiches, a portabella mushroom with tomatoes and lettuce sandwich, and one ham and cheese torpedo roll. Sounds like a lot, but their rolls are very small. The containers of cookies have been moved to the opposite end of the ice cream counter. Now there is no bunching up there as we have seen almost every day. Duh….what took them so long to figure that out?
It was almost cool again sitting on the veranda while perusing the brochures and maps. Since tomorrow's port in Vava u is also part of Tonga, we have ample maps and info on that town. All aboard was 5:30pm, but we heard the Captain blow the ship's horn at least four times prior to that time. Sometimes when everyone is back on the ship, he can leave sooner. By 5:45pm, the tugboat showed up as did the pilot boat. We were ready to leave. There was a nice sunset, not really extraordinary, but colorful. And we got to see it from the comfort of our veranda for a change.
Time for dinner, we noticed that the upper dining room was not really busy. The lower center dining room was void of customers. This seems to be the case on port days that are long. We assume people are tired after a day of touring, and do not feel like dressing up. So they go to the Lido early and are finished by 8pm or earlier. Can't say we blame them.
One of us ordered an empanada with chicken and a curry seasoning, which was very mild and also good. Smoked chicken soup was a starter for the other, and we both had the Caesar salad.
Mains were the blue plate special (Club Orange) chicken and the other entrée was rigatoni with prosciutto with a white wine and cheese sauce. Nice for a change. Desserts were one serving of vanilla ice cream and a strawberry sorbet. So light and tasty.
Finally, entertainer, Annie Frances has arrived to the Zaandam World Stage for a singing performance. She was slated for another evening almost week ago, but we assume she did not make it to the ship on time. The schedule was re-arranged making room for her tonight. We know she has a good show, because we have listened to her singing on many of the South Pacific cruises.
Tomorrow will be another tender port and the last one for the Kingdom of Tonga.
Bill & Mary Ann
