Live from the 2015 QE World Voyage

[maggiemou]

Hi John & Andrea,

Thanks for your report from Pago Pago. Brought back memories of my visits there in the past. Also Apia. Were you with us there in 2013 on the Arcadia trip? We went to Agie Greys for lunch.

I await your report of Toni in Tonga. You will be OK understanding him as you are a Northerner:) The Australians will need an interpreter :D

He is so funny so keep your ears open as he is hard to understand at times. Oh! and take your swim wear as his private beach is out of this world!

If you have read my Tonga chapter in my book about his tour you will know what I mean . It is a stunning location. So take your swimwear and a beach towel. Have a great day. Hope it keeps fine. The band played us in and out in the rain last year, but it was just fab! Give Toni my regards and also John's. We do keep in touch with him, but say hi from us.

I have added a photo for the readers to save you Internet . I am not taking over your post. :)

THE FLOWER POT IN PAGO PAGO

 

and just to make us all jealous. here is what we are missing. Swaying palms in Pago Pago.

Edited February 22, 2015 by maggiemou

[MicCanberra]

Thanks to all for the updates.:D

[Austcruiser84]

For those of you on board during the Sydney stay, you're in for a treat entertainment-wise (well, depending if you're into that sort of thing that is planned).

 

Not going to say what it is (sworn to secrecy), but I certainly would enjoy it.

 

Guests on QV visiting Sydney Tuesday week are also in for the same experience I hear.

[maggiemou]

For those of you on board during the Sydney stay, you're in for a treat entertainment-wise (well, depending if you're into that sort of thing that is planned).

 

Not going to say what it is (sworn to secrecy), but I certainly would enjoy it.

 

Guests on QV visiting Sydney Tuesday week are also in for the same experience I hear.

 

 

Oh! don't tell me Vanity Fair is making an appearance again. The Queen of Drag :) It will be the Mardi Gras when the ship is there so you are all in a great fun time if you dare to venture out into the fun of it all. Vanity Fair was on board as we sailed into Sydney last year. Sat in a huge silver stiletto on the top of the ship. Many people did not like it as thought it was too tacky for Cunard.

We actually went to the parade walked all the way and had a fab time.

There will be a sunset cruise on the 3rd March which sounds fun.

http://www.mardigras.org.au/events/sunset-cruise/

 

Don't forget to change some money at one of these machines.

Edited February 22, 2015 by maggiemou

[Austcruiser84]

Maggiemou,

 

Gosh no! I said it was something I'd approve / like. Cannot stand mardi gras and what it stands for these days!

 

Yes, I agree last year was very tacky and not Cunard.

 

The entertainment planned is far more appropriate to Cunard. It's a shame I won't be on board to experience it :(

 

But I'm looking forward to spending most of Dec on her later this year :)

[Moonraker7]

Thank you all for posting live from the world cruises. I've travelled once with Cunard in 2013 which was my first cruise. I hope one day that I can do a wc, not holding out much hope mind! but I have learnt so much from following the wc this year and last year. Thank you so much (hoping a librarian job comes up on Cunard soon!!)

[maggiemou]

Thank you all for posting live from the world cruises. I've travelled once with Cunard in 2013 which was my first cruise. I hope one day that I can do a wc, not holding out much hope mind! but I have learnt so much from following the wc this year and last year. Thank you so much (hoping a librarian job comes up on Cunard soon!!)

 

 

Oh wow! a job as a librarian on Cunard sounds a great way to travel. I wish you luck with that. My book is in the library on QE. You could become it's carer. Stamp it in and out. :)

[maggiemou]

Maggiemou,

 

Gosh no! I said it was something I'd approve / like. Cannot stand mardi gras and what it stands for these days!

 

Yes, I agree last year was very tacky and not Cunard.

 

The entertainment planned is far more appropriate to Cunard. It's a shame I won't be on board to experience it :(

 

But I'm looking forward to spending most of Dec on her later this year :)

 

Now you have got me going I will be in suspense now till we hear the good news. :) December will be here before you know it. Just keeping forward. ;)

[Moonraker7]

Oh wow! a job as a librarian on Cunard sounds a great way to travel. I wish you luck with that. My book is in the library on QE. You could become it's carer. Stamp it in and out. :)

 

 

I keep looking!! I should be brave and send my cv in :-)

[alibabacruisers]

After crossing the International Date Line again, where we lost a day...

Sunday, 22 Feb

 

Before going to bed last night, I had a sinking feeling that I was "infected"

with the dreaded ship cold. Upon waking, that is defintely the case although

I do not feel too bad at the moment and have loaded up on appropriate meds.

After breakfast this morning, came back to take a look at the sail into Apia.

It is very cloudy, but does not feel quite as humid today and looks like it

may rain later. On the DP, the forecast says partly cloudy and 29C.

 

Apia is the capital of Samoa, which has a total of 7 islands; two main islands

Savai'i and Upolu, and 5 uninhabited islands. Apia is located on Upolu and is

44 miles long and 10 miles wide. It is slightly bigger than Tututila, where

Pago, Pago, American Samoa is located (18 miles by 6 miles).

 

We will be docking at Apia Wharf which is located at the northeast of Apia

Harbor. The harbor kind of resembles a loose "w". From the harbor it looks

like you can walk west towards the city center which is probably the way we

will go today as we have chosen to do it on our own versus an organized tour.

Just am not up to sitting in a crowded bus with more germs today. As an aside,

I had requested a quote for an half day tour with a company prior to the cruise

and the itinerary and cost was exactly the same as Cunard's tour.

 

We are about to dock and what I thought were low lying clouds is smoke. The

Deputy Captain has just announced that the ship is clear and we can get off.

He also has let us know that since today is Sunday, the locals have been

using fire to prepare their Sunday meals and that is causing all the smoke.

I hope it clears up or there will be problems for chronic lung patients as well as

asthmatics. When we got to shore, the smoke gradually began to clear up,

which was good.

 

We exited the ship and there were about 20 vendor stalls setup and ready for us.

We saw a lot of the same items that we saw yesterday in American Samoa. There

were many, many guys trying to get people to use them and their taxis! I haven't

seen a place with so many! It did not stop at the gate, but continued all the way

through town and beyond. We went out the gate and turned right and followed the

water until the tip of the "w" of the harbor, which was about 4 km. Since it

was Sunday, most things were closed. We saw many churches, governemtn buildings,

a Mcdonalds on a side street, a few stores, memorials for various events/people,

tombs, hotels at the further end, banks, police station, the visitor's bureau,

and the flea market. The flea market area was huge an there were lots and lots

of stalls, unfortunately they were empty with the exception of 3....yes 3. We

never did see Aggie Grey's which was supposed to be the first place you could see

according to the map.

 

It was a nice relaxing walk as we headed to the furthest point northwest of the

harbor, and along the way we got to hear the joyful singing of people in their

churches! It was wonderful. Towards that further point we saw quite a few hotels

that other vacationers were staying in. That was fun to see as well. We saw

more dogs today and they seemed to come out of nowhere, and were all female dogs.

It was funny that along our walk we saw one building titled the Dog Management

Bldg. and wondered what that meant.

 

On the return walk, we had to pop into the McDonalds for a cold drink. We had

brought 2 bottles of water with us, but they were long gone! It was more humid,

somehow, than yesterday and we were drenched with sweat and very thirsty. The

prices were in Samoan tala, but they accepted US if you asked. We asked the exchange

rate and were told it was about 2:1. So a meal that was 17.40 their money

ended up costing $9 US. We were just happy to get a bit of food with a large

cold drink. It turned out that we started the onslaught because when we left

a small horde was heading in that direction. Many were disappointed because

this McDonalds did not have Wi-Fi.

 

We thought we may head and and look down the side streets, but saw nothing

that looked open in the directions we looked. So we headed back towards the

ship. Other than the taxi drivers, we saw quite a few kids trying to sell

plain sarongs for $20 (at the stalls today and yesterday the prices we saw

ranged $5-15), old wilted leis, or amateur put together baggies of Q-tips (or

ear buds/swabs as some call them). If you said no thank you, some of them

continued asking but then asked for money for food. The kids we saw had no

adults around and we wondered about that. The closer to the ship we got the

less the taxi drivers bothered us.

 

Finally back on board, we needed to replenish our bodies with copious amounts

of fluids and that was sooooo good. Then we just collapsed from being out walking

for 4 hours in the sun and humidity. That short nap was certainly needed and

we felt refreshed afterwards. We had to grab a bite and DH, who is feeling quite

a bit better, headed to the golf net to hit a few balls, while I work on the

blog.

 

It is 5:25pm and the Captain just announce that everyone is back onboard now

so we will be leaving very shortly. He also announced that it was 36C today so

no wonder we melted while we were on shore. The ride to Tonga should be ok

and the temp tomorrow around is to be around 30C. So nice to have a sea day

to rest after the past two port days.

 

We had a nice dinner in the DR before returning to the cabin for the night.

 

Job for tomorrow is to confirm whether we tender or dock as there is confusion about that.

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for the review.:D

I believe Aggie Grey's Hotel is right on the harbour front while the actual Resort about 30 km away from the harbour but close to the airport.

Edited February 22, 2015 by MicCanberra

[DreamflightPat]

Hi Barbara, thanks for the posts. So lovely to relive my voyage last year. Only just over a week now till I board.

Edited February 22, 2015 by DreamflightPat

[Oahucruiser]

Hi Pat,

 

I hope you will post often as several people on board have been doing. It's been wonderful to read differing reports of what they have been up to on board and in port. Thanks!

[maggiemou]

Thank you Barbara and I do hope you are feeling better. Take care and relax a few days if possible. I guess you will be in Tonga soon so be well for that experience.

It was good to read about Apia from you and also John and Andrea. I know it is an interesting place ,and we had a good run ashore there in 2013. The buses were so colourful and we saw a really good fish market. Lunch at Aggie Greys was over rated but worth a look inside the place.

Have a good time in Tonga.

 

Maggiemou. x

[DreamflightPat]

Hi Pat,

 

I hope you will post often as several people on board have been doing. It's been wonderful to read differing reports of what they have been up to on board and in port. Thanks!

I am going to when and where I can get a good internet connection. I have a blog page as well if you are interested. http://www.myhalfworldcruise2015.blogspot.co.uk.

 

A week today and I board. Can't wait.

[Oahucruiser]

I am going to when and where I can get a good internet connection. I have a blog page as well if you are interested. http://www.myhalfworldcruise2015.blogspot.co.uk.

 

A week today and I board. Can't wait.

 

Thanks, Pat. I have been following your blog and the fun times with your family. We have done two world cruises on QE so it is fun to see what others do in the ports and their enjoyment of what takes place on board. We'll be doing a lot of the same route again on the QV in 2016 and we already have some new ideas of what to do in a couple of the ports.

 

I'm sure you are very anxious to be on board once again.

Patti

[MicCanberra]

I am going to when and where I can get a good internet connection. I have a blog page as well if you are interested. http://www.myhalfworldcruise2015.blogspot.co.uk.

 

A week today and I board. Can't wait.

 

I will look forward to your contributions as well.:D

[alibabacruisers]

Monday, 23 Feb

 

Woke this morning to the full blown cold :( Had to eat some breakfast before

taking the meds. Will need to rest for a few hours.

 

One of the things I needed to take care of today is to confirm whether we are

tendering in Tonga or docking. On our itinerary, it said Tender, but when

checking with the Tour Office this morning, they said definitely docking.

That is what I thought I remembered reading in Kathi's blog last year. Thanks

Kathi!

 

The next item was to get to the shop and purchase more meds. I got there and

the shelf was bare! :o I asked the lady and she said they had been sold out

for awhile now but expected to get more in Auckland hopefully. That meant I

had to go to the Medical Centre in order to keep my healing continuous. Meds

restocked and I feel better already.

 

Next I needed to call those on the Tonga tour I organized to let them know the

place and time to meet up so we can go ashore as a group.

 

Met up with some CC friends at the Afternoon Tea in the Queens Room. It was nice

to catch up and just chat. Before we knew it it was quarte til 6 and DH and I

have dinner at 6! :0 So flew to the cabin (DH was waiting with a cute little

smile...he knows I can sure talk) and dressed quickly for dinner and headed

to the Lido.

 

Back in the cabin and not too long after went to bed for our early tour.

[alibabacruisers]

Get ready for a long one...I decided to go ahead and write the blog before I go to bed and while it was fresh in my mind. Its pretty detailed and I hope it makes sense.

 

Tuesday, 24 Feb

 

Had a good nights rest but woke up a bit early anticipating the tour today.

DH decided he wasn't feeling 100% so chose not to go on the tour. I had a

quick breakfast and said hello to a couple of CC friends who were there too.

When I got back to the cabin had a call from another couple who had to cancel

the tour because of illness. Down from 18 to 15 people for our tour. Then

packed up the backpack with everything I thought I would need (just in case)

and went to meet everyone at 7:30 on Deck 1 Atrium. I always like to meet

early to make sure everyone is present and accounted for and be ready for when

then Captain says we can go. Sometimes it happens fast and sometimes slow;

you just never know. Five minutes before 8 I realized there was a couple

missing so I had to call them and I felt bad because I woke them up. It turns

out that they did not get my message yesterday (my fault...I think I must have

dialed the wrong room number because of my handwriting...sorry!!!!) and she

was still not feeling well and chose not to go making our number 13. Then

around 8:15 or so the Captain opened the gates and said we were free to go so

off we went. Also, in port today was a Japanese cruise ship, which Toni, our

tour guide, said was a first. That, probably, meant a bit more traffic than usual was in

store for us.

 

Originally, on our itinerary, it said this was a tender port but since I

talked to the tour people yesterday, they said we were docking. I later found

out it is a new pier and I was glad for this because it made meeting up for

our tour much easier. We met Toni, from Toni's Tonga Tours, by the gates for

our tour. We had 13 so we split up into 2 groups; one of 5 and the other had

8. Another couple had contacted Toni after he had told us we could add no more

to our group, and he made arrangements for that couple plus a single tourist

that had been on the island waiting for a tour. They were in a separate van

and someone else waited for them (a different driver) while we began our tour.

 

Our group of 13 had 2 vans, one Toni drove and the other had a local driver

that works for Toni. Toni was a very friendly, funny, direct and knowledge-filled

man. Even though the vans were small, they were roomy enough for us. In our

van Toni had a microphone to help us hear him a little better, but the other

van driver did not, according to the others in that van, and that made it a

bit hard for everyone to hear what he was saying at times.

 

We were going to stop to see the Royal Palace and Royal Tombs, but Toni chose

to show us these on the way back to the ship because most of the other tours

were stopping here, and us moving on at this point would buy us sometime to get

ahead of those groups.

 

So we headed to the Stongehenge-like Ha'amonga 'a Maui, or Trilithon. There was

a sign which said that in "1967 the late king proposed that the purpose of this

structure had to do with the lunar calendar and served as a guide for establishing

the new year. When the sun rose on the shortest day of the year the bearing

matched perfectly with one the Tropic of Cancer and the other with the Tropic

of Capricorn. This would appear to confirm that the 2 points do in fact mark

the position of the rising sun on the shortest and longest day of the year".

 

A short walk behind the Trilithon, was another rock called the Leaning Rock.

The sign there said oral folklore recounts Tui Tatui (11th Tonga King) often

sat against the rock and struck out with a staff to keep people at a safe

distance in fear they may attempt to assassinate him.

 

Also in the fresly mown grass here were small fern-looking plants. When you

looked at them they looked like regular little ferns, but if you touched them

they closed their leaves. Cool.

 

There was a bathroom here for those who needed it. There was several souvenirs

tables set up as well. There was also a school across the road where the

students had made things that also were for sale, and you paid a donation that

you thought appropriate.

 

Along the whole of our trip today, Toni gave us so much information about Tonga

as he has lived here for over 23 years. We learned information such as the history

of Tonga, local cultural customs and beliefs, religious info, family structure,

geography, animal, lots about their plants and crops, environmental issues,

food that Tongans eat, and much, much more!

 

As we drove we saw the terraced tombs of previous royalty as well as the many

cemetaries. The graves were big and sometimes elaborately decorated. The more

elaborate the decorations, the more respect you were showing the dearly departed.

In one cemetary we saw a grave for a famous ukelele player who could play it

with his teeth. His relatives are said to still play the ukelele the same way

on special occasions.

 

Then onto Cook's Landing, where a banyan tree stood when Captain Cook first

came ashore in 1777. This was one of the points where the passengers from the

Japanese cruise ship first shared the same tour location with us. It was a

time for alternating for position to take the photos, but we all got our turn.

There were souvenirs here for sale too, both outside on the grass, and in a

small building. On the building it said that this place was funded by NZ.

 

We got to stop and take a picture of a rare multi-headed coconut tree. Toni

told us if you had a picture of this it proved you had been to Tonga. :) Past

this was a Royal Coconut Plantation in which the trees were very tall and had

some coconuts on the trees but many were just lying on the ground. This is

because they don't use the coconuts and just leave the trees to fend for

themselves. There are coconuts trees all over the place but only the smaller

trees with the green coconuts can be gotten easily. Then those can be used

for coconut water for cooking, sometimes the meat is used and the rest is

discarded.

 

Another interesting fact was the telephone poles. They used to get them from

NZ and many were splintering, breaking and needed to be replaced. They started

using a native tree that they grow on a plantation on another of the Tongan

islands. The old ones looked so weak and puny compared to the locally grown

ones. As Toni said though, they have not been tested in cyclonic winds. ;)

 

There are lots of plants and crops on this island and much of the time all

you see is what looks like weeds. Some of the crops we saw throughout our

day were: tobacco, breadfruit (lots and lots), mango, limes, papaya, bananas,

sweet potatoes, green peppers, tomatoes and pineapple.

 

We saw a few pineapple plants growing here and there and we were told that if

you let them grow a bit more, you could take the side leaves and plant more,

but they just don't do it. Then there was a plant that they grow for food

(sorry I can't remember the name) and they plant vanilla plants beside them.

It seems some country has offered to clear out the weeds and help harvest the

plants, if they will let them have the vanilla. I am sure the story has more

to it than I remember. Remember I said earlier, we learned lots of information

today, so please forgive me if I don't have every detail complete.

 

As we headed up the northwestern tip of this island, we got to see the Flying

Foxes, or fruit bats. There used to be a Sanctuary here for them awhile back

but bad weather destroyed it so now they are spread out all over the island,

but many are still here.

 

Now as we head back down the northwestern coast, we come to the intersection

of three roads. There is the high road, the middle road and the low road.

The low road is the southern road to which we get to see the long expanse of

coast that has the most blowholes I have ever seen! It was so beautiful to

see the waves crashing into the fissured rocks and see water forced up through

those fissures creating blowholes. For a 5 km stretch it looked like the best

Mother Nature Fountain Extravaganza EVER!! We all got great pictures and videos!

We could have watched them all day, but had to leave as it was nearing lunch

time and swim time.

 

Next we had to take a bumpy road to arrive at Toni's Beach House on the south

coast near Keleti Beach. Toni's wife and company had spent all morning preparing

a most wonderful lunch spread for us. So we rested, ate and drank all the while

enjoying the beautiful scenery surrounding this peaceful place. The beach house

has a nice garden which backs up to the beach and ocean. Several people

decided to have a swim and said the water was nice. I chose to walk around

and get pictures of the scenery, plants/flowers and any creatures I could find.

Found some cute little lizards after I searched for awhile, busy red ants,

a large disgusting grasshopper (didn't get his picture though as I ran away),

and two black pet dogs frolicking in the sand. Later, as we passed by another

field I looked up to see a large spider web with a big, ugly spider! I asked

Toni to stop to get a picture! I always try to get pictures of revolting

spiders to show people that Australia is NOT the only place where such creatures

live. LOL.

 

On the way back to the ship after our long day of learning about Tonga, we

were shown the Healthy Village 2011 of Tonga. The sign said Tobacco Free,

and alcohol free...the funny part was there were only 4 houses in this village.

 

Lastly, we went back to view the Royal Palace and Royal Tombs which we had

avoided earlier in the day, due to increased tour activity. That being the

last items on our itinerary, we were taken back to the ship where we thanked

Toni (and his wife for the great food) for the great tour and bid him adieu.

We had a great day today and highly recommend Toni for Tonga Tours!

 

Now to relay the days events to hubby, download my pictures to the laptop and think about dinner. To the Lido we went, as usual especially on port

days, and it was Mexican Buffet night. The food was pretty filling and now

am back in the cabin trying to get the details of the trip today posted so I

can drop into bed. Good night all!

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for the update, hoping that you and your hubby are feeling better tomorrow.:D

[maggiemou]

Thank you Barbara for your detailed review. I hope you and DH are feeling much better .

It was good to read about the tour as It was just like reliving it from last year. Toni was a great find for me when I was researching booking tours for our cruise roll call. He was always helpful and I used to think what a good command of English he had. I got the shock of my life when we met and he turned out to be a broad Lancastrian from Leigh Lancashire in the North of England. His strong accent is still there after all this time in Tonga. He really does make you feel welcome and is do knowledgeable about Tonga.

I am sure he will be booked up again next year.

It is always a shame when people miss out on these tours. I swore I would never arrange tours again after last years as I had the same thing with people dropping out , people not turning up as you are about to depart. It can be a thankless task. However, I am sure it was worth it once you all got going and it turned out to be a wonderful day.

Did you have the Police band playing on the Quay side and the local singers and dancers? They were very good last year and carried on even in the rain. The Quay was new when went last year built by the Chinese if I recall.

Thanks again Maggiemou. x

[dancourt]

Barbara

 

What a wonderful detailed description of your day in Tonga.

 

Thank you for letting us share your day.

 

I hope you and your husband regain good health soon.

 

Susan

[brigittetom]

Barbara....I've been following along from the beginning as well and want to thank you. I hope you and your husband get back to feeling 100% quickly.

[Janix]

17:30 local time Wed 25th Feb and we are currently steaming at around 20 knots again, towards Auckland where we are due to arrive on Friday at around 7am in the morning. It is a wonderful sunny day and the sea surface is pretty smooth, although the odd roller does wobble us sometimes. We are 461 miles from Tonga with 664 miles to go to Auckland, and 5712 miles from San Francisco. The current Temp is 26C with 72% humidity and a gentle breeze.

 

Tuesday 25th Feb – Tonga, a day in Paradise ?

 

QE docked at the new Chinese financed pier in Nuku’Alofa and the Cruise critic crew were ready to disembark at the earliest opportunity. Several of us had arranged via Barbara to take a tour highly recommended by Kathi and maggiemou last year, utilising the services of Toni’s Tonga Tours. Toni originally hailed from Lancashire, and his strong accent had not abated one bit. In fact it was very refreshing in a way, we did not have to concentrate so hard deciphering words for whom english was a second language. It was great when he said ‘look over thur’ and referred to Captain James Cook as ‘little Jimmy Cuuk’ ! However being from Lancashire he didn’t seem to like to mention the Yorkshireman’s name ?

 

Toni had altered the spelling of his name to Toni from Tony as the letter ‘y’ doesn’t seem to exist in the Tongan language. He had left the UK over 23 years ago after reading an article in Readers Digest which said that everyone should spend 6 months in Tonga at least once in their lives, and enjoyed the way of life so much he stayed a year. He then had to make a choice return to the UK or move permanently to Tonga. After flying home to dispose of all his UK assets, he chose the latter. He married a Tongan girl and has to daughters, and an extended family which help him in his business of providing value accomodation to visitors, tours and taxi rides.

 

Shortly after we docked another cruise ship followed us in and docked in the commercial port. Toni said it was the first Japanese cruise ship to arrive in Tonga, and in a normal year they only receive around 14 visits from Cruises. He explained about the culture of the island, their role of the Royal family and the nobles, and how they had just elected their first commoner Prime Minister. In fact the present King who ascended the throne around 18 months ago after the death of his brother, was reputedly in London looking for gifts for his coronation which Toni said was due to take place on July 4th this year.

 

Toni was our driver for the trip around the island and we had Barbara and Dave and Lin (Brinney) as companions in our van, and there were 8 others in a second van. And we visited all points of interest around the island according to the tour literature. This included the Trilithon (a Stonehenge like structure), Captain Cook’s landing spot, Abel Tasman’s landing spot, Flying foxes, a fantastic view of Blow holes along a 5km section of beach, the multi-headed coconut tree, Mormon temples by the bucket load, the surfing beach, before heading to Toni’s Beach house for a buffet lunch and optional swim. We also saw the Chinese Road, the Japanese Road and the Canadian Road as we covered the majority of the roads of the island, some a lot better than others !

 

In several villages there were 3 or 4 churches sometime next or opposite each other, one perhaps was Tongan free church, another Wesleyan/Methodist, another Mormon and another Jehovah’s Witnesses, plus the odd catholic church as well. Toni said the competition when singing was sometimes horrendous ! The people all speak English and are well educated now, however employment is not good, and because of the free availability of food, employment doesn’t appear to be a necessity as the family structure is to look after all the family, with much respect for the elders.

 

Every village had its own cemetery with land donated by a local landowner in order to gain more points on the road to heaven. It appears that the more decorated and garish the graves were, the more respect was being heaped on the deceased. There were also several graves laid out in pyramidal form which elevated the resident closer to the sky for the same reason. Sometime these tiers were made from beer bottles, and Chinese plastic flowers were much in evidence in many plots.

 

The Chinese and Japanese appear to be in competition as to who can provide the most/better facilities, along with the Mormon Church and its schools and universities. The Japanese built the main hospital so the Chinese are building heath centres. We also passed through the ‘healthy village’ which was awarded to it in 2011, for which a sign said no tobacco or alcohol was allowed for the 4 or so houses there ?

 

Although the weather was grey when we arrived and quite pleasant, the temperature rose quite considerably as did the humidity and after lunch all I wanted to do was to take a plunge in the sea to cool off. After doing this I had a short period of relief until I was re-heated again, so the effect was short lived  It was nice and cool in the water though.

 

Some people in the second van had decided to leave early and were therefore taken back to the ship early, but we enjoyed the time at the Beach House and the little sandy cove protected from the crashing waves by a circle of rocks. Toni told us that later in the year this area is where many whales come to mate in the waters only yards away from this beach and his Beach House on the Northern Shore. All too soon it was time to leave this little paradise and return to the ship, on the way passing the Royal Palace and Royal Tombs, which were viewed from afar.

 

On returning to the ship, the Tonga Police Band was keeping everyone entertained along with a troupe of Tongan Dancers and two drummers beating some massive drums, which continued until the ship left the quayside. The weather forecast for the day was for heavy rain and thunder and lightning, fortunately it did not rain except for a few spots until QE pulled away from the pier. I’m sure the Tongans would have been grateful for the rain as they were in the middle of a drought ! They apparently have not had the usual winter rains for some time, and of course the highest point of the island is only some 150 metres above sea level, so any tsunami would be devastating, as would sea level rise owing to global warming. The Tsunami warning signs suggest heading for higher ground when the sirens sound, which is somewhat problematic there.

 

Toni was then off to collect his children from school and then head to the airport for a transfer. Everyone in our van really enjoyed the day, and hope that Toni continues to prosper and provide employment for his family. Definitely one for the ‘tick list’ as Gavin our port presenter would say.

 

John

[DreamflightPat]

17:30 local time Wed 25th Feb and we are currently steaming at around 20 knots again, towards Auckland where we are due to arrive on Friday at around 7am in the morning. It is a wonderful sunny day and the sea surface is pretty smooth, although the odd roller does wobble us sometimes. We are 461 miles from Tonga with 664 miles to go to Auckland, and 5712 miles from San Francisco. The current Temp is 26C with 72% humidity and a gentle breeze.

 

Tuesday 25th Feb – Tonga, a day in Paradise ?

 

QE docked at the new Chinese financed pier in Nuku’Alofa and the Cruise critic crew were ready to disembark at the earliest opportunity. Several of us had arranged via Barbara to take a tour highly recommended by Kathi and maggiemou last year, utilising the services of Toni’s Tonga Tours. Toni originally hailed from Lancashire, and his strong accent had not abated one bit. In fact it was very refreshing in a way, we did not have to concentrate so hard deciphering words for whom english was a second language. It was great when he said ‘look over thur’ and referred to Captain James Cook as ‘little Jimmy Cuuk’ ! However being from Lancashire he didn’t seem to like to mention the Yorkshireman’s name ?

 

Toni had altered the spelling of his name to Toni from Tony as the letter ‘y’ doesn’t seem to exist in the Tongan language. He had left the UK over 23 years ago after reading an article in Readers Digest which said that everyone should spend 6 months in Tonga at least once in their lives, and enjoyed the way of life so much he stayed a year. He then had to make a choice return to the UK or move permanently to Tonga. After flying home to dispose of all his UK assets, he chose the latter. He married a Tongan girl and has to daughters, and an extended family which help him in his business of providing value accomodation to visitors, tours and taxi rides.

 

Shortly after we docked another cruise ship followed us in and docked in the commercial port. Toni said it was the first Japanese cruise ship to arrive in Tonga, and in a normal year they only receive around 14 visits from Cruises. He explained about the culture of the island, their role of the Royal family and the nobles, and how they had just elected their first commoner Prime Minister. In fact the present King who ascended the throne around 18 months ago after the death of his brother, was reputedly in London looking for gifts for his coronation which Toni said was due to take place on July 4th this year.

 

Toni was our driver for the trip around the island and we had Barbara and Dave and Lin (Brinney) as companions in our van, and there were 8 others in a second van. And we visited all points of interest around the island according to the tour literature. This included the Trilithon (a Stonehenge like structure), Captain Cook’s landing spot, Abel Tasman’s landing spot, Flying foxes, a fantastic view of Blow holes along a 5km section of beach, the multi-headed coconut tree, Mormon temples by the bucket load, the surfing beach, before heading to Toni’s Beach house for a buffet lunch and optional swim. We also saw the Chinese Road, the Japanese Road and the Canadian Road as we covered the majority of the roads of the island, some a lot better than others !

 

In several villages there were 3 or 4 churches sometime next or opposite each other, one perhaps was Tongan free church, another Wesleyan/Methodist, another Mormon and another Jehovah’s Witnesses, plus the odd catholic church as well. Toni said the competition when singing was sometimes horrendous ! The people all speak English and are well educated now, however employment is not good, and because of the free availability of food, employment doesn’t appear to be a necessity as the family structure is to look after all the family, with much respect for the elders.

 

Every village had its own cemetery with land donated by a local landowner in order to gain more points on the road to heaven. It appears that the more decorated and garish the graves were, the more respect was being heaped on the deceased. There were also several graves laid out in pyramidal form which elevated the resident closer to the sky for the same reason. Sometime these tiers were made from beer bottles, and Chinese plastic flowers were much in evidence in many plots.

 

The Chinese and Japanese appear to be in competition as to who can provide the most/better facilities, along with the Mormon Church and its schools and universities. The Japanese built the main hospital so the Chinese are building heath centres. We also passed through the ‘healthy village’ which was awarded to it in 2011, for which a sign said no tobacco or alcohol was allowed for the 4 or so houses there ?

 

Although the weather was grey when we arrived and quite pleasant, the temperature rose quite considerably as did the humidity and after lunch all I wanted to do was to take a plunge in the sea to cool off. After doing this I had a short period of relief until I was re-heated again, so the effect was short lived  It was nice and cool in the water though.

 

Some people in the second van had decided to leave early and were therefore taken back to the ship early, but we enjoyed the time at the Beach House and the little sandy cove protected from the crashing waves by a circle of rocks. Toni told us that later in the year this area is where many whales come to mate in the waters only yards away from this beach and his Beach House on the Northern Shore. All too soon it was time to leave this little paradise and return to the ship, on the way passing the Royal Palace and Royal Tombs, which were viewed from afar.

 

On returning to the ship, the Tonga Police Band was keeping everyone entertained along with a troupe of Tongan Dancers and two drummers beating some massive drums, which continued until the ship left the quayside. The weather forecast for the day was for heavy rain and thunder and lightning, fortunately it did not rain except for a few spots until QE pulled away from the pier. I’m sure the Tongans would have been grateful for the rain as they were in the middle of a drought ! They apparently have not had the usual winter rains for some time, and of course the highest point of the island is only some 150 metres above sea level, so any tsunami would be devastating, as would sea level rise owing to global warming. The Tsunami warning signs suggest heading for higher ground when the sirens sound, which is somewhat problematic there.

 

Toni was then off to collect his children from school and then head to the airport for a transfer. Everyone in our van really enjoyed the day, and hope that Toni continues to prosper and provide employment for his family. Definitely one for the ‘tick list’ as Gavin our port presenter would say.

 

John

Hi John and Andrea. So lovely to read your report of Tonga. Brought so many happy memories of my trip there last year. Have been avidly following all the posts so far from your trip. I remember when we arrived last year the heavens opened but the band played on and the dancers danced in the rain. The sun was out for our departure though. Less than a week now until I join you.