Visual impressions from fantastic Tonga...

Leaving New Zealand, arriving on Tonga a month ago was a big change for me.

Goodbye to woolly socks, thermo underwear, well-stocked supermarkets, Kiwi friends, and my silly bike helmet.

Hello to flip-flop cycling, sunscreen, mosquitos, palm trees, tropical temperatures.

25 days in the Kingdom of Tonga in the south western corner of Polynesia was a breeze right from the start. Coconut palms on postcard beaches; super friendly and (yes!) super-size-me Tongans; screaming and excited school kids waving hellos & goodbyes; pigs, roosters, and dogs (The Ubiquitous Trio) sniffing and scavenging everywhere; laid-back, family run guest houses, wild camping next to the roaring South Sea, kayaking in dreamlike waters of impossibly blue/green hues, spotting humpback whales from the shore, papaya looting in the plantations, cruising through end-of-this-world villages packed with beautiful, marvelling at the complete lack of creativity on the shelves in the colourful convenience stores...

Staying 5 days for free at the wonderful Matafonua Lodge in the Ha'apai Archipelago, going to church on lazy Sundays, feasting on traditional Tongan umu lunches, feeling like a castaway on uninhabited, remote coconut islands, Sunday male bonding at kava ceremonies (a local, mildly intoxicating drink), lazing, reading, catnapping, watching golden sunsets on isolated beaches with no worries around whatsoever (never mind my still ill-fated website), evening chilling with fellow travellers, visiting a total of 12 diverse, Tongan islands* and cycling on all the paved roads on most of these, trying to figure out my South American route, passing the 32.000 km mark, feeling happy, feeling oh so far away from everything remotely known, trying to do nothing at all (not always easy for me), smashing mosquitoes and coconuts...

Take a peek!

Photo album from Tonga (180 photos) or watch as slide show

Lots of summer love from Tahiti's sister island Moorea, French Polynesia

Nicolai

*) Tongatapu, 'Eua, Lifuka, Foa, Nukunamo, Ha'ano, Vava'u, Pangaimotu, 'Utungake, Okoa, 'Uatoloa, and Koloa – if you happen to care...