Tuesday 2nd was another work day this time below the water. I used the dive gear as it was time to clean the barnacles off the hull. The hull wasn’t too bad, as Fabien and Nolwenn had previously done some cleaning.
Wednesday we moved around the corner to the next bay and spent a couple of days swiming and exploring. We went ashore where all the fishing boats were tied up, but nobody was around. The village was further along the road. We did however find a large spider and some pretty butterflies.
Friday and Saturday were supposed to be days with very little wind, so hauled anchor and did a bit more exploring. There are a lot of places that can only be accessed when the weather conditions are right. The first stop was supposed to be Mounu Island where we will meet up with Darren and Chrissy later this month, but we anchored around the corner of the next Island Avalau. We went to Mounu by dinghy and were greated by the two dogs from the resort. They escorted us as we had a look around the island.
Then after lunch, we cruised past several islands and bays. Some of them too hard for us to get to with Imagine, others too exposed to wind or swell conditions. After thirteen nautical miles we ended up South of Matamaka Island.
The anchorage wasn’t as protected as it looked. After a rolly night we hauled anchor and headed back to an island we couldn’t access yesterday because of the wind. Today we managed to anchor on a shelf 8m deep. Ten meters to the left it was 35m deep and twenty meters to the right it was 3m deep.
We took the dinghy ashore and walked the very short beach before snorkeling. The snorkeling was the best we have seen in Tonga. The water was crystal clear, there was new coral growth and lots of fish.
The anchorage was not suitable for an overnight stay so we have moved to a safer and sheltered spot for the night. We like playing cards while having our evening drinks. Sometimes it’s calm enough to play on deck.
