Tonga

Quinn had to go to Tonga last week for work, so Cooper and I joined him for a long weekend away from Suva. Tonga is East of Fiji and the island of Tongatapu has about 60,000 Polynesians, making it distinct from the Fiji islands. We thought life in Fiji moved slowly, but it turns out Tongans are even more laid back. We had a lovely time touring this incredibly beautiful island.

This coast is rock lined and the water comes in and shoots up out of the holes. Depending on the size of the waves the water would spray way up in the air.


They call this area the blow holes, which are really amazing!

Here we tried to hike down to the "secret beach," but the tide was too high and we couldn't get around all of the rock. Cooper had his own little guide to help him back up the hill.

This is a typical Tonga cemetary that are all over town. It is incredible how they decorate every grave with silk flowers and at night they are all lit up. It is obviously a very important part of their culture because there are dozens of stores selling the flowers.

We even happened across a funeral. The men are wearing matting around their waists. This is traditional Tongan dress attire worn during formal occassions. You see people wearing these and even more elaborate funeral matting all over town.

Unfortunately, Sunday we were supposed to go to Fa Fa Island and Resort for the day, but we woke up to a blustery rainy day and had to stay in. It was a bit difficult with Cooper, but he had his first game of hide-n-seek, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Quinn also took him out for some fun in the rain.