Category: South Pacific

South Pacific, The South Pacific

AHHH Tonga!

We made it to Tonga under sunny skies. It’s a beautiful day here. First order of business is to check into the country so we anchor just outside of the breakwater near the wharf. Of course we had a couple of anchor down beers before offloading the dink and heading to shore.

We were greeted on shore by a wonderful man named Inoke. He owns a taxi business and he offered to drive us wherever we needed to go. Honestly, we didn’t need to go far but he was so sweet and we do like to support the locals so we agreed to have him drive us. He took us to the bank then back to the Customs office. The agent was out at lunch but Inoke called him and told him we were there. He said he’d be back in 20 minutes so we paid Inoke and said we’d walk back to the dinghy.

The agent was there within 10 minutes. He was a super nice guy and he informed us that all of our check in could be done right there. We did not have to go to a separate office for Immigration. That’s great news because so often in these third world countries you must trek from office to office and wait for the proper people to arrive and assist you. The process can be long and arduous. Today it took less than 15 minutes and there was no fee to enter the country. Another bonus!

We walked back to the dinghy and headed to Dazzler. We moved her out to the Pangaimotu to anchor down for our stay here. As we approached the anchorage which is just 1.2 miles across the bay, we were delighted to find that we are going to be the only boat there. When we arrived here last October there was at least 20-25 boats. Not this time! Ahhhh… peace! Guess it pays to leave a bit earlier than the other yachties.

We dropped anchor right in front of the Big Mama Yacht Club. We love this place. Ana (Big Mama) and her husband, Earle, are awesome people. They run the restaurant and resort. They know the queen of Tonga who gifted them this island. They get to keep it as long as they are alive. Once they die the island goes back to the royal family. On the island they have the restaurant/bar as well as some little fales or bungalows that you can rent. It’s really a beautiful place that is surrounded by a wonderful, protected reef. They also have a ferry service available to get you back and forth from the main island. It’s a nice service because even though it’s just over a mile and we could do it in the dink, the waters are often quite choppy in the bay making for a pretty rough ride. The $10 Pa’anga (Approximately $4.38) per person roundtrip fee is really a bargain.

Once our anchor was down we hopped in the dink and headed to shore. After all, the anchor did go down a second time so we really did need to have another anchor down beer. We were greeted on shore by Buster the big black dog that roams the beach. He’s a friendly chap and is always a joy to see. We walked inside to a pretty empty place with the exception of a couple of Big Mama’s family sitting there chatting. We received a warm welcome from them and after a few minutes of chatting we each had an ice cold Maka beer in front of us.

Before long a nice young fellow named Brad came in and we started chatting. He’s an Englishman who loves to sail. He was here on business so we chatted quite a bit about sailing and the like. We both enjoyed his company. You know, after nine days of being alone it’s always nice to talk to someone else for a change and Brad was pretty nice.

A couple of the pigs that roam free on the island.

Before we knew it Ana and Earle had returned from the mainland on the ferry. Ana greeted us both with warm hugs and her beautiful smile. The ferry was loaded with supplies and the family all began hauling food, beer, water and ice into the restaurant. Of course the arrival of the ferry meant that our new friend Brad would be leaving when the ferry headed back to the main island. We wished him safe travels as he heads to his next island and off he went.

Once the work of unloading was done, Ana sat down with us and we chatted for quite sometime. Johnny, a friend of theirs who lives on the island, joined in the conversation as well. It was a wonderful afternoon and a great way to celebrate the completion of yet another long passage. As is neared dark we said our goodbyes and headed back to Dazzler where Dan grilled a couple of beautiful filets while we enjoyed a beautiful, warm evening on the hook. Oh yeah! It’s great to be back in the islands!

Until next time,

Jilly & Dan

January 2019, New Zealand, Queenstown, South Pacific, The South Pacific

Gondolas, Sky Bars and Steamships!

Once you’ve explored the lakefront village and walked the streets checking out the shops, it’s time to take to the sky to see more of this charming town. Today we headed out to the Skyline Gondola to gives a bird’s eye view of Queenstown from the top of Bob’s Peak. It’s a gorgeous, sunny day and it’s even a bit warm outside. Now THIS is an awesome day!

Queenstown is very busy right now. It’s summertime here and the tourists are everywhere. We have a hard time even finding a parking spot at the gondola so the guys drop Mary and I off and they keep searching. There’s an old cemetery right near the entrance to the ride. Both of us love old cemeteries so we decide to take a walk through it while we waited. There are really, really old graves here. Some go back to the 1600s and reading thee tombstones will give you a glimpse into the history of Queenstown.

Notice that it say’s Tom was “killed” . Sort of makes you wonder what ol’ Tom did to get killed doesn’t it? And it asks you to have mercy on Pat’s soul. Hmmm…very curious about him too. I did find out that both men were miners but couldn’t find out anymore about them.

The guys finally arrived and we went inside to purchase our gondola tickets. The tickets cost $59 NZD per person just to ride up and down on the gondola but we’re only going to be here once and it’s a perfect day to view the city from the top so we pay up and get in line. Before we know it we are quietly ascending the mountain in the gently swinging car.

The ride is just about five minutes long and when we arrive at the top we head into the large building that houses two restaurants, shops, a movie theater and some interesting artwork. There’s even a Jelly Belly store where we just had to stop and pick up some tasty treats and, of course, get our photos taken. Yes, we really are just four big kids out here.

Our first plan of action is to head out to the balcony to get a look at Queenstown from this beautiful spot. We make our way outside and WOW! Just WOW! Boy is this ever a spectacular view! It is well worth the price of admission to be sure. And even though it’s pretty crowded here, everyone seems to be pretty respectful of each other. Well, not exactly everyone but for the most part the people take in the view for a moment, snap a few pics and move on to make way for the next person.

Here at the top of Bob’s Peak they have lots of activities where they will be happy to take your money to allow you to participate. The two biggies are bungy jumping and the luge. They also rent mountain bikes where you don’t have to worry about going up the mountain, you just get to ride down it. That’s my kind of mountain riding there. And, there’s plenty of interesting hikes and places to explore as well. We, however, chose to leave the dangerous sports to others and we explored the Stratosfare Bar where we enjoyed the view with a couple of ice cold beers.

Look what we found!

After a couple of hours on the mountain we took the gondola down and decided it was time to head back into town to see what’s happening. It is super crowded with people everywhere! I guess everyone wants to enjoy the beautiful day here and you can’t really blame them.

Mary wanted to do a bit of shopping so we roamed the streets and moseyed in and out of the little stores as she sought the perfect gifts for family and friends back home.

And, of course, all that shopping made us a bit on the thirsty side so we decided to stop back at Póg Mahone’s Irish Pub to wet our whistles with a few pints.

Uncle Jack has been eyeing this large steamship that comes in and out of the dock here. He seems rather fascinated by it so he and Dan take off to see what it’s all about. They come back and tada! We have tickets to take a ride on the TSS Earnslaw. Ticket price: $70 NZD per person for a 1½ hour cruise around Lake Wakatipu.

Her maiden voyage took place in October of 1912 and due to a painstaking restoration process she looks exactly as she did over 100 years ago. The Earnslaw is the only hand fired steamship in operation in the southern hemisphere. And she’s beautiful! There are observation areas over the engine where you can watch the hands below deck shoveling coal into the massive furnaces. It was pretty awesome to see even if it was a bit hot! There are other observation areas where you can watch the men working on other parts of the ship as well as a museum of sorts that has lots of photos and interesting artifacts. The Earnslaw has even been in several movies, including a cameo appearance in Indiana Jones. I thought she looked familiar!

There’s a cafe on board where you can pick up light sandwiches, tasty sweets, sodas, wine and beer. And if you’re up for the full monty you can purchase a ticket that allows you to get off at the Walter Peak Farm, take a farm tour and enjoy a meal there as well. We chose to just do the cruise but if we went back this is something we’d definitely consider. It’s quite lovely there.

Walter Peak Farm…Note the amazing color of the water here. It was absolutely crystal clear too!

The cruise on the Earnslaw was truly wonderful. We got a chance to see Lake Wakatipu from a whole different side and we learned a lot about the history of this amazing steamship. As we departed Dan and I couldn’t help but stop to have a quick chat with Captain Laurie. He’s been operating her for quite sometime. He was even kind enough to stop for a photo with us.

From here it was on to find food. Seems we’re always looking for beer and food on this trip. We found a cute little Mexican joint called the Coyote Grill and stopped in for some very tasty dinners. It was the first Mexican food we’ve had in this country that actually tastes like real Mexican food. Most of it here is not even the slightest bit spicy and they use coriander instead of cilantro which gives everything a much sweeter taste. This place, however, was wonderful and pretty authentic and very yummy!

With our bellies full we went back to the house to pack and prepare for the next leg of our journey. Tomorrow it’s off to Christchurch!

Cheers,

Captain Dan & Jilly