Monday morning started with a dream. We had such an epic dive at Swallow’s cave that we thought we would set out to find another cave adventure. We had seen Mariners cave on the charts, just opposite Swallows cave. So we weighed anchor and headed out from Port Maurelle to see if we could find the cave.

John, Chris and Robyn jumped in first, and swam over towards the cliffs to see what they could see. John swam back with reports of an elusive cave, but lots of jellyfish! Maisa and I decided to jump in and see what all the fuss was about, and found an incredible reef, plenty of jellyfish, and even an impressive reef shark waiting for us. The four of us dodged jellyfish for as long as we could before it lost its charm, then all made our way back to the boat.

We had found an anchorage we wanted to explore in the southwest corner of Vavaʻu, in a lagoon protected by Vakaʻeitu island. So we took the scenic route as we needed to make some water along the way, and scoped out possible dive spots along the way.

After anchoring, Robyn and I took the paddleboards out, and found a lovely white sandy beach with a whole family of little reef sharks, and an incredible sandy pool just begging to be enjoyed. We hurried back to the boat to tell the team what we had found, and all piled in the dinghy back to the beach. We took turns with the paddleboards, snorkelling, collecting a bit of trash on the beach, and just enjoying the sunshine.

On our way to the anchorage that afternoon, we passed an extremely intriguing little island, where the water seemed to glow an incredible turquoise. So after our time on the sandy beach, Maisa, Robyn, John, Chris and I all set off in the dinghy to see if it was just as amazing of a dive opportunity as it looked. Despite the incredible population of seabirds that all seemed to inhabit the little rocky island, it was home to the most wonderful corals and little reef fish. By this point in the day, we were all starting to slow down, only lasting for a short while in the water. All of us except Maisa, who told us we could leave her behind and come pick her up in the morning, she was enjoying herself so much!

Tuesday we ventured back into Neiafu, to restock on a few fresh veggies and hunt down a bit of fresh fish. We stopped into Mango cafe for the obligatory cold beverage, and met a family that was on their way sailing around the world. They had a fantastic connection in town that was able to take John over to the fish market by the wharf in town, and John returned with fresh snapper! A highly successful afternoon.

We weighed anchor once again and raced off to Kenutu island, an anchorage John had found on the far East side of Vavaʻu. The pilotage was not easy, and required a vigilant bow watch to avoid any bombie or water that was too shallow for the likes of us. Racing against the setting sun, we arrived and dropped anchor with just enough time to head to shore for sunset. The island was the only thing between Silver Fern and the Pacific, and we could hear the breaking waves on its eastern shores that night from our anchorage.

In the morning we awoke once again with a mission! The crew had met a local on the beach the evening before who told us tales of a blowhole, just south of where we were anchored. So we put on our walking shoes and headed out to Lolo island. We were able to row the dinghy to shore over some fairly shallow reef, then climb up the rocks to the blowhole. The contrast between the eastern and western sides of the island was amazing to see from the top. It seemed like the entirety of the Pacific was breaking on the rocks below us, yet due to the reef that sits between Kenutu and Lolo island, the water in the lee of the islands is totally undisturbed, creating shallow clear pools and heaps of vibrant corals. After a showstopper performance from the blowhole, and a swim in the pools below, we returned to the boat for lunch.

Silver Fern crew in front of our anchorage!

After we had a look at the latest weather forecast, we decided that our best weather window to head south to Haʻapi was actually that evening instead of the following morning, so after another quick snorkel that afternoon, we packed up and headed south to another anchorage to set ourselves up for our departure that evening after dinner.

We anchored at Treasure Island, and had a lovely time meeting the couple that was looking after the resort there on the island. Our time in Vavaʻu was unforgettable, and we are now setting our sights on Haʻapi!

Cheers,

Liv

Journey to the Center of the Blowhole

Tonga’s Wild Ride

Easter in Vavaʻu!