The Tongan Way

One cruising couple discover the simple, unspoilt and breathtaking islands of Tonga en route to New Zealand

A round a week after we arrived in Tonga we had slowed down and learned to accept the Tongan way. Life here is unpolished and nothing happens fast, or even at all. Church, feasts, sleeping and relaxing seem the order of the day.

We arrived late August in 2019 aboard our yacht A Capella, an aluminium Allures 45.9 that we had bought two years earlier with a view to circumnavigating the globe. Tonga was the final country we visited before heading south to New Zealand to avoid the cyclone season. It would mark the end of our amazing trip across the Pacific Ocean.

SIMPLE BEAUTY

Tonga consists of 170 islands, 36 of which are inhabited and they are spread over a vast expanse of sea. The country is divided into four regions: Niua group, Vava’u group, Ha’apai group and Tongatapu, with a total population of just over 100,000. The climate is tropical and the easterly trade winds are warm and reliable.

The Tongan people are lovely, with a confident, smiley nature. The houses are small, open and decorated in simple ways, agriculture is basic and animals roam freely. The ladies run the markets and make a reedy weaving material used for making ta’ovalas – woven mats worn round the waist. These are traditional garments unique to Tonga and are the equivalent of a coat and tie and worn by both men and women. On Sundays the world falls silent apart from church bells and enthusiastic singing and later on, feasting.

We spent a week in Niuatoputapu, in the northerly Niua group where the 700 or so residents live very simple lives. Only 28 sailing boats had arrived before us this year.

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