Tongatapu

22 February, Welcome to Tonga!!

Who knew I could love a place so much??

Food!!

This is one of my favorite meals. Noodle with chicken, kumala which is like a sweet potato and watermelon otai. Yum!

Kasia, peeling Kumala

Banana sandwiches, another favorite.
Fresh bakery bread, butter and mamai ( a type of banana).
So good!

I didn't get a picture, but sometimes we would have late night snacks of Bread and Vanilla Icecream
Yum! Yum! Yum!

Coconuts!
Who knew they looked like this coming off the tree??

 They look like this after being husked,
After drinking the coconut water, the white is where shredded coconut comes from.

It's actually really cool.

What to see it Tonga
Everything!!! 
Especially the people!!

The Palaces. This was taken across from one of the palaces. (That's the palace in the background)

 This is the Ha'among 'a Maui. It is said to be made by the demigod Maui.

This is the Maka Fa'akinanga found behind the Ha'amonga

I love these kids so much. From left to right, Saane, Sepiuta (Akilelei), Tevita, and Mailei.

You don't wear seat belts in Tonga. Both cars have sunroofs.
You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'??
Yeah man! We stood through the sunroof and waved as all the boys blew kisses, whistled, winked, and yelled, "Palongi!!"
What a hoot!!

This is said to be where Captain Cooks ship was first seen.

This is Maui's rock. Legend says Maui was throwing rocks at a chicken, and that's how it ended up here. It is actually really fascinating, because there are sea fossils all over it.

 The Blowholes.

The second time I came here, I was with Salesi and Mani on my last full day. After we hopped in the car to leave, a woman selling jewelry came up to Manis window and said, "something something Palongi something something." After she left Mani handed me a necklace and said, "She wants you to always remember the blowholes."  : )

 The two headed coconut tree in Liahona : )

(me, Kaj and Sale)

The Market!
Sorry the pictures aren't the greatest.
It is actually a really fun place to go and look.

Even the dairys are fun.

Check out this sweet deal!
Only $15-20 for a box of cheerios! : ) 

 And only $70 for cheesecake! : )
That's....
Amazing.

And of course, the Beaches!

We came here for Mailei's Birthday.

And here with Sale

 We actually only ended up going to the beach twice while we were here, so silly.

 Trish and Mani

We were going to come home on the 4th, but were blessed to have an extra week so that Kasia could spend time with Trish and Mani. The day after they arrived, we got to go to church with them in Nuitoa, where Mani grew up.

 Then we took them to the Ha'amonga

 Kaiheya, Trish and Mani

 Trish and Kaiheya

Trish and Mani went to Vavau for a few days, and while they were gone we got to use their hotel room. We brought Nate and Louena over for breakfast and they loved the air conditioning! 

Crazy flooding!!

Lunch with Salesi.

Cake! Just for fun : )
Home made coconut topping. This takes making things from scratch to a whole new level.

Otai at the Markets!!

Going home.

One of the hardest things I have ever had to do was leave. 

It was like leaving my home and family again, except this time I don't know if or when I will ever be able to see them again.

Us, not so ready to leave.

 

Safely back in NZ where if we could have, we would have bought a turn around ticket.

Our time in Tonga was priceless. I wouldn't trade my memories there for anything. I am so grateful I had the chance to go. I can hardly wait to see my beautiful family there again.