South Pacific and a world of choices

If you're going to be in Tonga for a few weeks, it would be smart to talk with Peace Corps volunteers and see if they can get you in on some stuff like faikavas (kava drinking) or trips to places like Kao and Tofua, which are volcanoes in the Ha'apai group but tough to get to. Getting out there was without a doubt the highlight of my two years in Ha'apai, but you need a pretty big boat to do it safely. Be sure to spend a day or two on Uoleva, which is the uninhabited (except for a few people) island just south of Lifuka, the main island in Ha'apai. The southwest tip of Uoleva is one of the prettiest spots in Tonga, and there's often eagle rays, white-tip reef sharks, and turtles cruising by the wall there.

I know this is a mostly diving related trip (at least the S. Pacific portion), but I'm noticing that New Zealand is missing from the cultural list. Its a lot different from all the other islands that you'll be travelling to, and might be nice to trade coconut palms for tree ferns.

There is diving here, and cultural stuff as well. I'm just offering up another option. Auckland International Airport can also serve as a base to get to Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, and Oz.

Thanks a lot for the Tonga tips. They will definitely be taken into account. Looks like a wonderful spot, excited about going.

RE: NZ, I spent 2 months hitch-hiking and backpacking there about 5 years ago and love love love the islands. Would move there in a hot second if it weren't so far from family and Europe where we're aiming to move as is. Anyway, my wife hasn't been but I feel that NZ is at least a 2 month journey and I'd almost feel bad spending less time than that there as silly as it sounds. That being said, I would assume that some of the flights we book will require us to land in Auckland and fly out of there at least once and I wouldn't be opposed to spending one or even two nights in that area, but anything more would make me drool at the chance of heading back down to the South Island or going on a trek. See, now you even have me wanting to go more!

Thanks for the advice.

Thanks a lot for the Tonga tips. They will definitely be taken into account. Looks like a wonderful spot, excited about going.

Can you not squeeze Samoa back on the list? When we were living in NZ we went for a w/end and it was awesome. The diving wasn't great - but it was good - we saw an electric flame scallop. LOVED the people there - we did a clean-up with the local scuba shop and the village kids, when we had finished they then all sang happy birthday to my boyfriend in Samoan. Very cool. (that was all on Savaii). Also some great resturants on the main island.

For Tonga - bare in mind if you are a light sleeper, cockerels are EVERYWHERE. Nice, but very noisy and they all wake up at different times. Take ear plugs (or defenders!). There's a great place to stay run by a german woman & her tongan husband in va'vau. (can find the name if you are interested). Eat the food it's great. And you can take one of their kayaks over to this island where a crazy man lives who told us he was one of the clash. as in the band. And Pink stays there (along with any other band you can remember). Nice guy though. On Hapai there is a GREAT (cannot recommend it enough) 'resort' at the end of the island near the big american resort. It's run by two aussies who are great and we always ended us sitting about after dinner drinking and chatting. Worth getting up at 4/5 am to catch the sunrise. Snorkelling off the beach here is great - take a rope, a kayak, a snorkel and mask and kayak out (watch the current). Kayaks can also be used to kayak surf the waves as they break on the island within view of the resort... easy to lose a few hours here.

Now i want to go on your trip.

Chrissie

My wife and I have been all the places you're looking at and I have three recommendations:

1. (Not diving related): Go buy "Happy Isles of Oceania (Paddling the Pacific)" by Paul Theroux. Read it before you go... (excellent if not a little jaded travelogue of traveling through several of these spots)

2. (Not diving related): Find a book on the Polynesia diaspora across the pacific and the ancient wayfinding techniques they used to sail these vast distances. University of Hawaii Press has several good ones... (this is the best way to get an understanding of how all the people east of Fiji are related...)

3. (Diving related): The destinations you've listed are good, but they represent where the vast majority of divers go (mostly for good reason). I would add Samoa back on the list, and I would seriously consider Easter Island, the Marquesas, and Christmas Island (Kiribati) if I had the time... these all offered some of best diving we've ever done, and you will truly be off the beaten track for most of these.

"Journey doesn't begin until your lost..."