09 Apr 2014

Eua Island, Tonga

We arrived in Tonga last night and completed customs and immigration formalities before sailing on to the small island of Eua, one of the oldest islands in Tonga and possibly the entire Pacific. There we anchored off the small village of Ohonua and went ashore at dawn to be warmly welcomed by the villagers. It appears ours is the first "tourist" ship to visit the island as most visitors arrive by air or ferry, so our visit was a novelty for the locals. They pressed various private vehicles into service to transport us around the island so we could enjoy a variety of walks in the forest.

Back at the wharf at 1300 we were treated to some traditional entertainment before we bid the villagers farewell and returned to the ship for a late lunch. We are now heading north towards the Vava'u group of islands.