Hunga

0800 Position 18-42S 174-08W. At anchor in the Hunga lagoon, Vava'u, Tonga

Yesterday morning some local boys came by Van Diemen in a skiff and did a good job talking up the "Tongan Feast" that will be held on their island of Matamaka on Thursday night. The crew decided that it sounded like fun so we are planning to attend.

In the meantime the forecast calls for increasing trade winds. We wanted to do some exploring but need to anchor someplace sheltered. One of my favorite Tongan hidy holes when the trades are up is the totally landlocked lagoon on Hunga. The only entrance to this mile long by half mile wide lagoon is a heart stopping 150 foot wide crack in the cliff on the western side of the lagoon. A sharp turn as you pass through the narrowest part of the channel is necessary to keep from hitting the stones just inside the entrance. It was always an exciting passage on my little thirty five foot Moku pe'a. On sixty four foot Van Diemen it was ridiculously tight, but we made it unscathed. I'm glad Rob was driving.

Once through the pass Van Diemen entered a calm lake surrounded by a panorama of cliffs. We powered over to the eastern edge of the lagoon and anchored off a white sand beach in the lee of a high hill. There is a village and a small resort on the northern edge of the lagoon, but the rest is uninhabited. We can't see any sign of habitation from our anchorage. All night long we could hear the strong winds in the coconut trees on top of the ridge above us but where we are anchored it is flat calm. It is so calm here that this morning that Rob and Rene decided to inflate their stand up paddle boards. As I write this they are off exploring the sheltered eastern edge of the lagoon.

Lori and I spent a lot of time here in 2014. The entrance is so sketchy that it scares most boats away and we were usually the only boat in the lagoon, just like last night. We had great times hiking and exploring ashore too. Lori and I transplanted a young ti plant from just behind the beach here to a vase on Moku pe'a's saloon table. Our little memento, "Hunga", is still growing happily there three years later.

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