Where to find a traditional Umu on 'Eua

Do you want to have the unique experience like us, of a traditional Tongan eating event - an Umu?

Please read our story below, and you'll be able to enjoy this amazing event with the local people, without paying tour operators or middle men for the privelege... we are only writing this to help our friend who would like to do this more often, because we had such an incredible time getting to know him and his family, and were very lucky to experience a truly authentic part of Tongan culture.

We are two travellers, Mark and Richard, who visited the wonderful island of 'Eua in April 2013. We stayed at the Hideaway, which we highly recommend, and got to know one of the guides who does the guided walks around the island - Sione.

He was a really great guide, conversationist, and teacher of the island and it's secrets and traditions. He very kindly offered to take us, as the first ever 'palangi' (foreigners) into his family home with his wife, baby daughter, and mother and father, to cook us a traditional Umu.

For visitors to New Zealand who may be familiar with a Hangi, an Umu is a very similar thing - essentially meat and vegetables cooked in a specially heated oven. The difference is that most Hangi you get are not that traditional, and can cost a lot of money - and you are treated more like a tourist than a guest.

On 'Eua, we helped Sione and his family to help prepare the food using traditional Tongan tools that they had made themselves, including grating fresh coconuts to make coconut milk, collecting bread fruits from the trees, and wrapping the food in banana leaves before placing them in the Umu. While we were waiting for the food to cook, Sione entertained us in a pretty unique way - we won't spoil the surprise and tell you, you'll just have to find out for yourselves!

Of course, we recommend that you don't just turn up and expect food to be ready for you - we took a case of beer and bought the meat, just to show our gratitude. His wife also does a lot of weaving and jewellery using coconut husk's, coconut shells, and other plants from the island, so buying something to remember your time would also be a nice way of repaying your thanks.

If you would like to see some pictures of 'the first palangi to visit the Manu's', then please click here.

So if you are heading to 'Eua (which you really should), and fancy experiencing some local traditions, then you can get in touch with Sione using the following details:

Sione Manu
Pangai
'Eua

e: imicukug@gmail.com
tel: (mobile) 8433727
(home) 50072

Thanks very much for reading, and we hope you have as great a time as we did on 'Eua!

Cheers,

Mark & Richard