We left the Ha’apai group in Tonga and headed north to Vava’u. Where there was a lack of many cruising boats in Ha’apai, we found them all in Vava’u! This seemed to be the cruising hub in Tonga, and we initially had a hard time even finding a mooring in Neiafu, the main harbor. There are also a lot of charter sailboats here, and with good reason. Vava’u has such a variety of anchorages to explore and easy sailing. There is a beautiful anchorage within a couple of miles of anywhere you are, and the conglomerate of islands together block any swell creating calm seas.
After checking in at Neiafu, gathering some provisions, and catching up with some old friends, we headed out to explore all Vava’u had to offer. As we pulled into our first anchorage, a protected bay sheltered by islands and reefs all the way around, we dropped the anchor in the middle of about six other boats. We were contacted by one of the boats at anchor as we came in, who informed us that some locals were holding a traditional Tongan feast on shore that night and we were invited.
At sundown, all the boats in the anchorage dinghied to shore where are local hosts had set up an outdoor shelter with homemade picnic tables where they did a local feast for cruisers each Saturday night during the season. Of course, this was a business making venture for them, but the price was more than reasonable, and we are always wanting to help support the local communities in the islands we visit.
As our hosts began to lay out the dishes in a buffet style, the roast pig was just finishing up on the outdoor fire adjacent to where we were eating. We have been to quite a few “traditional” meals in the South Pacific, but this was by far the best one we have had so far. There was such a variety of dishes, from the roast pig to raw fish, teriyaki chicken, sweet yams, a taro leaf dish similar to spinach, and a curried tuna dish. It was all delicious. And, we made quite a new few friends from several different countries.
We explored several other bays in the coming days with lots of snorkeling, searching for lobsters, finding beautify cowry shells, trying to fish (with no luck), and just overall enjoying the beautiful scenery and nice weather. But, the best thing we did was to visit Swallow’s Cave. This is really a must-do in Vava’u, but more than worth the hype.
We were anchored in a nice bay called Port Mourelle less than a mile away from the cave and made a plan with our friend Roy on a boat anchored nearby to head out in our dinghy in the late afternoon to find the cave. As the cave faces west, we had read that the light was best in the afternoon to really get a good experience. As we had been hearing about this cave so much from others, I was initially skeptical about how great it might be and afraid it had just been talked up as some sort of tourist experience. I was delightfully surprised.
First, the cave is HUGE. I was expecting something small that you could just fit your dinghy into, but as we came upon the cave and started motoring in, we realized how far back it went. And, the opening was so tall with all kinds of stalactites and stalagmites where fresh water continued to drip creating great effect. We’ve seen caves like this where the bottom was land you were walking on, but this cave just continued on below the water for about fifty feet down to the bottom. The afternoon light coming in the cave created this amazing glowing blue color through the water that reflected up on the cave walls. Its almost difficult to describe, but we loved it.
After securing the dinghy inside the cave, we all jumped in to explore below the water. Freediving down to check out the underwater cave was just as exciting as seeing what was above water, and when you swam to the opening of the cave, you were greeted by a coral reef teeming with fish that then rapidly dropped off into the deep. As we were swimming through the opening, we noticed a school of about eight rather large bluefin trevally. As we sat and watched them, suddenly a dogtooth tuna joined the group as they patrolled back and forth across the cave opening looking for a meal. This is not something you see everyday, and we couldn’t believe we didn’t have the speargun with us!
We spent a couple of hours playing around in the cave until the sun started to descend. There aren’t too many places that I definitely want to make a point of seeing again, but I’m already ready to go back and do it again!
Alas, our cave diving will have to wait a bit. As we started to think about the trek south to New Zealand in a short time, we realized we really needed new anti-fouling paint on the bottom of the boat. So, we made arrangements in Neiafu to haul the boat out of the water to be painted. We are sitting in the boatyard right now waiting to be finished and dreaming of being back in the water soon.
~katie