March 15, 2008

After 3 hours of sleep, we had to be packed up and ready to go.

We arrived to the domestic terminal at the airport. We were not quite awake. A few people didn't bother going to sleep the night before. The terminal is a concrete box that could use a fresh coat of paint and some minor repairs and maybe some more seating. This is where we had to check-in for Airlines Tonga, which is a desk with a weigh scale. We had handwritten paper tickets for our flights to Vava'u. It's a small 18 seat prop plane and takes about an hour to fly to Vava'u.

We were met and were taken to our accommodations for the evening, the Puataukanave Hotel in Neiafu. The staff at the hotel greeted us with beautiful leis.

The Puataukanave Hotel has 130 rooms. The superior rooms are large, tiled floor, air-conditioned, balcony, fantastic ocean front view overlooking the Port of Refuge, modern décor, large bathroom.

We met Scott from Dive Vava'u a company that specializes in diving.

We also met a company called Moorings that charters out sailboats, with or without a skipper. We got to check out one of their sail boats at the dock. It was really nice. It can fit up to 6 people, but they recommend max of 4 adults.

We then went to the Twin View Motel for a site inspection. It's very high up on a hill. The view is amazing. The rooms are nice. All 2 bedroom with kitchen and living room, high ceilings. (And larger than my own apartment here at home!)

We then went to the Hakula Lodge. We were met by Sammy the dog. They specialize in Marlin fishing. They have 2 rooms that are shared by a balcony, and overlook the water.

We had some time before our next appointment: lunch. Rev. Bruno took us for a drive around his village. The roads were dirt and very windy and bumpy, and there were dogs, pigs, and children running around.

Next we were off to the Tongan Beach Resort. The owner Dieter is German and he has a Tongan wife. The resort is on an Island, although you don't need a boat. A man made road will get you there. There are 12 units, all ocean facing. One restaurant/bar.

We had a special lunch on the beach. Tables and chairs all under a great tree right by the ocean's edge. We had fresh coconuts with a straw to drink, and fish and chips to eat. Yummy.

After lunch, headed back to our hotel. We got a couple of hours to rest and get ready for dinner. We were supposed to leave at 5:30PM, but didn't end up leaving until 6:30PM, more of that Tonga time!

Then we got on the Paradise Hotel bus and went to Lucky's Beach Houses for dinner which was hosted by TVB. The atmosphere was family BBQ buffet. I had the best BBQ fish I have ever had. I don't even know what kind of white fish it was (probably snapper). Everyone who attended was a supplier, or one of the hosts of our trip. We didn't get to see the accommodations. They had a long table set up on the beach with a canopy over top. Dogs were barking and running around everywhere. They belonged to the people attending as well as the host. We left at about 9:30PM.