Month: October 2011

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Welcome to the Kingdom

Vava’u, Tonga

Of all the different nations of the South Pacific Tonga is unique in that it is the only one to have never lost self-governance.  While every other nation out here has at one time or another (and most are currently) subject to the protection / governance / colonization of a foreign power, Tonga has always remained their own country.  They can trace their monarchy back to its founding and the different chiefs of islands before that.  Considering there was an age of time where colonization was what the West pretty much DID, it is impressive simply that Tonga is, in fact, always and still Tongan.

What it also means is that if you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you blended modern times with ancient Polynesian culture all you need do is look at Tonga for your answer.

Continue reading “Welcome to the Kingdom”

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No Flux Capacitor required!

Talking to you from…

THE FUTURE!  (cue Sci Fi music – dun dun duuuuuunnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!)

Those of you that have been following along may remember that Tiffany and Greg earned the most auspicious title of “Trusty Shellbacks” by participating in an equator line crossing ceremony a few months back.  What you may NOT know is that “Trusty Shellback” is only the most well-known of a plethora of unofficial awards that celebrate assorted feats of nautical daring-do.  For example, both of us also hold the “Order of the Spanish Main” for sailing in the Caribbean.  (No Black Pearls, though there were some drug runners) and Greg holds the coveted “Order of the Ditch” for successfully navigating thorough the Panama Canal and is also a “Plank Owner”.

There are certificates for all kinds of feats from circumnavigating the globe (Order of Magellan) to sailing in the Arctic Circle (Blue Nose) to crossing the Equator & Prime Meridian at the same time (Emerald Shellback).  But the reason this matters today is that today, or, more accurately for you, tomorrow is that day, whichever it is, is the day we cross the International Date Line and become members of the Empire of the Golden Dragon!

 

Continue reading “No Flux Capacitor required!”

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Sharks That Make Cookies?!

So, on another note of why the open ocean is dangerous, let’s talk about Cookiecutter Sharks.  You may be saying to yourself “What in the world are you talking about!?  Cookiecutter Sharks?  Sharks that make cookies!  AWESOME!”  And we would agree except for what the sharks use a cookie dough…because that would be flesh.

The first time we ever heard of these vicious little suckers was when we were snorkeling with dolphins in Niue.  Now, I don’t have any footage to show you of our snorkel trip, but it was awesome!  We were in a couple of inflatable dinghies on our way to a dive, when a pod of Spinner dolphins started swimming off our bow.  (Called “spinners” because of the amount of spins they perform on their jumps.)  No matter how many times you’ve seen dolphins while underway, it’s still an amazing experience and what made this even better is that we were able to get in the water and be towed by the boat so we could swim with them.  It was fantastic!

While we were in the water, I noticed a few of the dolphins had circular wounds on them in various places.

The first thing that came to my mind was that they had some sort of flesh eating disease (which worried me since I didn’t want to catch it!)  Continue reading “Sharks That Make Cookies?!”

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A Bad Place to Sink…

At sea enroute Tonga

All that was left to do in Niue was to go shopping to restock our boat for the voyage to the next island chain.  We have found that the simple day to day things, like shopping, can often provide keen insight into the difference between the island way of life and our own.

We get underway a bit sobered this time.  You see, the reason we had the opportunity to help the whale research team is because the boat that originally volunteered capsized when it was sailing to Niue from the islands of Tonga.  The crew was rescued but the boat is still out there – upside down, unlit and floating just above the waterline.  This is the exact same patch of ocean we are sailing over right now. Continue reading “A Bad Place to Sink…”

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Whale Sex

Alofi, Niue

Did we say the Humpback whales woke us up with their singing?  Well, if that’s not enough to get us roused and play then they get a little more insistent by rubbing themselves against the hulls of the ships at anchor!  While they didn’t do this to our boat, other people in the anchorage reported it happening to them.  Tiffany was even startled one evening out on the deck while we were moored when a whale blew off the stern of the boat.  It was pitch black and unfortunately we couldn’t see it.  Our current captain never being one to pass up an opportunity to play with whales, we “volunteered” to help out a visiting whale research team by taking them out for the day.  The fact that we benefited from being able to use their gear to listen to whale songs and track down the whales ourselves was purely coincidental.

We learned that the researches were primarily interested in pictures of the whales’ humps and the undersides of their tails.

Continue reading “Whale Sex”

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How exactly do trees grow on coral?

Alofi, Niue

…cont from previous post

The absolute best place we went to was Togo Chasm.  On the opposite side of the island from Alofi, the chasm is reached by hiking through a forest.  Which as we mentioned before is not a normal sight on an island made of coral.

 

In fact, no one is really sure how these trees arrived.  Unlike Rarotonga which had a thriving forest, Niue no longer has volcanic soil.  It’s just coral with a thin layer of sand and organic debris.  Not much for a tree to thrive in, but somehow these do.  The trees are related to mahogany, but we never did figure it out (hey, we’re sailors not botanists!).

 

Continue reading “How exactly do trees grow on coral?”

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How did it all GET here?!

Alofi, Niue

We took a driving tour around Niue with a few of our cruising friends in order to better see all that Niue had to offer us.  The car let us reach a few really amazing places: Limu Pools, the Talava Arch, the King’s Bathing Chamber and Togo Chasm.

The most striking thing about the flora of Niue is the massive amount of diversity contained in such a tiny island.  It took us less than a full day to drive all the way around the island while making several stops and during this time we saw tropical rainforests, mahogany forests, went spelunking and climbed over ancient coral mountains to find soft sandy beaches at the bottom of a 30 foot gorge.  Niue does a lot of nature and it does it all ridiculously well.

 

Continue reading “How did it all GET here?!”

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Volunteer Crewing 101

What are the three biggest unavoidable expenses of Travel?

1) Transportation

2) Accommodation

3) Food

Now what if, in order to not pay the first two, you were forced to spend your days in tropical splendor visiting the remote places completely inaccessible to common travelers?  Continue reading “Volunteer Crewing 101”

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Then we swam under the island!

Alofi, Niue

Let’s start our exploration of what is arguably the most beautiful island in the South Pacific with the diving.  Hey, you know what? Let’s start with just the freaking snorkeling, because it was that good!  The water here is crystal clear and no, not what you’re imagining – it’s better.  By more than a little.  You have not seen water this clear in your lifetime.  Ever.  Seriously.

 

One of the advantages to having almost no one on the island a tiny tourist industry is that there is almost no pollution.  Not having a coral reef encircling the island means that what little runoff there is gets immediately swept out to sea. Continue reading “Then we swam under the island!”

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