Weaving through the reef

Time to go home today.

At low tide (and it was fairly low at 9 this morning) the boat has to weave its way through the reefs between Atata Island and Nukualofa (the main town of Tongatapu). It is a 5 mile boat trip (in a straight line) but I'm sure we travelled at least 7 today! Wow those boat drivers know their stuff!

The island on the right is Atata. It only has a low key resort that is completely staffed by the local residents. Atata is only about 3 km long. It is shaped a bit like a tennis racquet. The long 'handle' is where the resort is - right down at the grip end (in the middle of the photo). The village is towards the top of the handle and then beyond that (taking up the head of the racquet) is the locals plantation where they grow their coconut, pineapple, mango, papaya, taro, cassava, bananas etc.

The villagers only income comes from the resort and from fishing (their produce is kept to feed themselves). Fishing is a group activity and is done by laying nets by hand (not using a boat). The fish are then taken to the market on the main island.

There is a government school on the island that the kids attend until they are in Year 6 - after that, if they pass the government exam, they go to live on the main island to attend high school. Last time I went to the island We were taken on a tour of the school and village and we gave financial donations to the school. This time I took a selection of stationery with me as a gift to the school - a lot more use to them and better value for money.

The government employs married couples to teach in the two class school. Benni and Ana have been there since the start of the year and are totally dedicated to the education of these kids. We were welcomed in and encouraged to talk to the children about their work - some hilarity ensued over our inability to speak Tongan and the inability of some of the younger children to understand English. It is compulsory for the children to learn English from Year 3 onward.

The tiny island (only about 100m across) on the left is uninhabited and is very hard to access because of the reefs.

Sad to have left today - but as with any holiday it's great to be away, and great to get back to your own bed!