Whale Tales

Staff · Issue 29, Mar/Apr 2006 · pp. 31–33

There is a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean that are the jewels in a royal crown. The Kingdom of Tonga is where times begins as it straddles the international dateline. Tonga is an archipelago of 170 tropical islands scattered across 425 km of the South Pacific between Hawaii and New Zealand. Fewer than 37 of the islands are inhabited. There are four major island groups in Tonga. From South to North: Tongatapu, Ha’apai, Vava’u, Niuas. Getting to Tonga can be a logistical challenge with connecting flights and baggage weight limits of 22 kg (not enough for laptop computer, topside photo gear, underwater photographic equipment, diving equipment, and if you have any room; clothing). After a long journey of 36 hours I still was not in Tonga. By this time I was in a semi-zombie state with my body on auto pilot. After boarding a small prop plane for an hour flight to Vava’u airport I was m…