Effects of cyclone in Ha'apai?

Hey guys,

We've booked a trip to Tonga around Easter, including 4 days in Ha'apai. Unfortunately, the place we were planning to stay - Matafonua - has apparently been hit really badly by Cyclone Wilma, with 4 fales completely washed away!

We'd like to still go to Ha'apai, partly to support the local economy after the cyclone (and also because we've still got the flights!) Does anyone know what's been affected and what's not? Recommendations of where to stay? We're not super-resort people, but not really super-budget either. Happy to go to more than one spot.

Cheers!

hi - you will love Matafonua. Dave and Sally (the owners) run a really great resort there and yes, they have had damage to 4 fales but are still operational. I suggest you contact them directly and ask if you have any doubts.

I have stayed there myself I rate them tops for Ha'apai (see trip advisor also - great reviews). Great food, great location, marvelous water activities and its all easy.

You might get to go on the restored and historic DC3 on one of your flights.

Wherever you go you will love it but don't write Ha'apai off - Matafonua is still in business and is pretty hard to beat.

Easter can be a trifle difficult in Tonga - I was there 2010 and most of Tongatapu was closed. I would much rather have been on Ha'apai or staying at 'Eua's Hideaway.

I can also recommend Vakaloa on Tongatapu - brilliant resort. You might want a car so you can get around and really see how fantastic Tongatapu is.

Vakaloa are found at www.vakaloabeachresort.com and their feedback and reviews are tops also.

So - if you were staying on Tongatapu over the actual Easter weekend then you would be happy staying with them and having a rental car. That would work well.

Hi this is the staff from Matafonua
yes we did suffer some damage but with the help from the local village repairs to the fales are already underway and we expect to be operational again in a couple of weeks and to top it all the storm has left us with an even more spectacular beach . Business as usual here
great diving snorkeling kayaking and great food
all the best

I also heard from a friend, owner of the Mariner's Cafe that they are on the work to rebuild it. You should go. It's a lovely place and they had 10 or so fales. So, keep up your plans. Dave and Sal are AMAZING people!

Apart from the damage to Matafonua Lodge their has not been anything else that should directly affect tourism to the Ha'apai group. Some non essential and abandoned buildings were felled and there was damage to roofs and a school. Uiha island suffered heavy damage but this island is rarely visited by tourists.

There is plenty of accomodation available on all of the other islands too. Lifuka island has several guesthouses with nice beaches accessible by foot or bike. All of the guesthouses are locally (Tongan) owned so staying in one of them would be very suitable if you do wish to support the local economy.

Langi Langi guesthouse and Evaloni guesthouse in Pangai towm may be worth considering.

Everything should be back to normal by Easter and Tourism does not close for this event so you may disregard any concern with regard to this holiday.

We hope this helps and you enjoy your visit ot Ha'apai.

Tippedy,

Matafonua is awesome ... such a magic spot. If you can stay there then do it! They have a bunch of lovely Tongan staff that come down everyday from the nearby village ...food is great ... snorkeling incredible ... good dive base up the road ... Happy Ha'apai Divers ... they eally know their stuff. Glen is the owner and he has done a lot of marine research over the years and written a book on whales. I had a great day on is yacht doing whale watching ... educational, spiritual and fun. Easter could be very quiet ... haapai is incredibly quiet to begin with ... but there mgiht be some amazinh church services on ... even if you aren't religious its well woth going for the singing!

Also agree with Pixie muppet. Eua is awesome too. Totally worth checking out. You really get the local experience there.

Thanks to everyone for the replies! We're really looking forward to our stay :)