Nuku’alofa is the name of this the capital of Tonga …….Nuku mean small and aloha, something that you love. No one is in palace today.  The king is at one of his other homes. We passed by where they want to make a parking lot on sacred ground???

The blow holes on are on west side of the island.

The male guides wear “skirts”. They are cloth wrapped around along with decorated ropes.  He explained that it was like wrapping myself with my country.  Sisters outrank men.  

All girls college for handicrafts

Cemetery plots are 6-7 feet deep.

Tongans have conquered Samoa and Fiji amongst other Issland countries.  They used the stars for navigational purposes.

The country is composed of 170 islands that appear and disappear. 

2022 January 15th there was a volcanic eruption that caused a tsunami……more about later.

We pass by tapioca plantations, yams and taro

The Sabbath (Sunday )must be observed or you can be fined or sent to prison.  All animals…..pigs, cattle or whatever must be kept in pen or you can be fined but dogs run free but if they bite someone, you can be fined.

For the most part, the homes and gardens are cared for….people take pride in their places, decorate fences.

Coconut palms are totally used.  The roots are good for stomach aches and the like, wood for poles for buildings, leaves ….baskets, roofs and of course the coconut itself, for meat, milk, cream, oil, etc.  The husks are used for burning….makes good charcoal.

Land is given only to males not females (funny when considering that it is a matriarchal society, that the women are revered).   No ownership to foreigners only leased…50-100 years.

Rainwater collected into cisterns.  Wells don’t have clean drinking water so that water is used for toilets and washing.

Lemon trees help keep the bugs away. Diesel and solar are sources for power. Barn owls take care of rats and mice.  No poisonous snakes, no bears. Free running chickens need to be boiled to make tender.

Local cooking method……hole in ground….Wood sticks lit, then hard rocks to absorb the  heat, then taro leaf and meat, tapioca, etc….roasted

The legend of the Hina Cave is about a very beautiful 8 foot woman from Fiji that fell in love with a Tongan man.  They ran off to this cave but after a week or so Hina was hungry so the man went in search of food.  He never returned.  She looked out for him on the shore (where her soul is said to reside) but still he never returned.  She went back into the cave where she turned to stone.

The US 47th regiment hid out in Hina Cave during 2nd WW with 3 gun platforms on edge of the reef.

15 C is lowest temperature recorded here.

Bees on ground is sign of cyclone coming.

Most prisoners in the prison are there because of drug trafficking…250 is highest number of prisoners ever recorded.

Kava……it’s a drug but it doesn’t make you drunk like from beer. It just makes people sleep so is used as a sleeping aid. It’s also good for depression.

After coming back from seeing the cave, we were treated a a feast with foods that were baked in the special oven….incl suckling pig.  So many (15) dishes and traditional dancing and singing by local young people…   Before the dance performance came on we were entertained by 2 of the daughters of the big kahuna. One sang Anne Murray’s “Could I have this dance for the rest of my life”and Tina Turner’s “Simple the best”. They were very good.

Only a few died from Covid but many lost their jobs and the tsunami on Jan 15/22 destroyed so many peoples homes and businesses. I believe that the Oho’lei Resort was mostly destroyed by the tsunami. And so they feed 3648 people every day.

Off the island is the 2nd deepest trough in Pacific…with very high currents. It is off Oho’lei Resort so humpbacks travel through in front. 

No charge to go to doctor or dentist.  School is free up to and incl 12.

Vanilla vine grows up coconut stalk. Apparently, the plant needs another for support.  

Apparently Chinese run lots of shops here but are also into investing. There aren’t any South Asians here like in Fiji.