Wettest week in May!

This week started off with the heavens opening and dumping about 95mm on Monday night. The kids thought it was great because they could see the water flowing down our street. Even after the cyclones it didn't seem to get this deep!

The view out to the main street! Also some of our new Bamboo fencing!

Looking Back past the garage!

Last Thursday we volunteered to set the weeks Hash run so after a few changes (noting half of the original run was still under water and swimming is a no go!), we finally found a long enough track to keep people dry and entertained by the sites. The local kids helped us mark out the track with chalk then it was back home for the start! Good numbers noting the weather. Hash is proving to be a great weekly event where we get to meet new people and see the real Tonga!

Introducing the starting crew for Hash
A few of the sites - Puwaka's in a locals back yard!

Tupou High school and footy field/swimming pool! And yes they still played on it!
Another backyard suffering from poor drainage!

One of our local Kindy's!

Ah tradition! You set the run you skull the beer! No beers were drunk last week due to a church service so Sal had to catch up this week!

Ah more tradition! You sin you still skull beer - just out of a potty!

Jodie escaped the family for a night with the girls (Hannah and Rochelle) to her favourite hang out White Sands Resort for some relaxing kid free time. While this was going on the Boys organised a family cricket day at a local park. The locals weren't up on the rules of cricket so they were some what reluctant to join in, at first. After nearly 4 hours of fun in the sun the stumps were pulled for another day.

Kicking back in the rock pools.

With mum safe and sound back at the kitchen sink, the kids and Lyndon begun work on the Taj Mahal of chook houses........... watch this space! On completion of destroying the back yard mum snuck off for a little lie down! So dad and the kids headed off on a tour de Tonga ride to the airport, some 19 kms away! A palaton of Palangi's (four families/11 people) out for a Sunday ride caught the eye of most Tongan's on their way to or from church. Dyl made it half way and back home with Dad in just under 2hrs. Em punched on and made it all the way with a lift home from the support vehicle. A great way to end the week end!

The beginnings of the mighty chook house.

May Nuku'alofa Fishing Club Comp

In preparation for this months fishing comp we headed to sea and for some unknown reason the weather had suddenly dropped off! Must be no windows at the local Met office they predicted 15-20 knot winds. So the only thing to do was to survey some new grounds and possibly get some fish in the fridges for the families. The seas were flat and the new moon had just passed. After three hours of fishing we had enough to feed the tribes but again no monsters from the deep!! Not from a lack of trying though!

Picture perfect weather, possibly a breath of wind wouldn't have gone astray!

Tiani happy with his 2nd ever fishing trip! The umu was looking great too!

Lyndon and his mini monstor from the deep!

The bait fishes last view!


Training run all done and dusted! It was time for us to put all that knowledge into practise so off at 0700 punched out into a choppy swell for about an hour. Dropped lines and no sooner Em was burleying up over the side, not alone though Georgia was also looking pale so we pulled up the pick and headed back, trawling of coarse. That was when we lost our next decky (Lincoln) and X Navy too! So once we were in close enough we called up the next crew and mum's to pick up the girls from the wharf.

Next was Tiny and two of his boys, Lincoln also pulled the pin. This time we headed out a little further and the chop dropped off about the same time Tiny's young fella, Tyler did. This time Dylan was on hand with his camera as dad gave support. More so directions on were he wanted the burley.

Tyler looking for Nemo! Nice shot Dylan!

Trawling back into the protection of the reef!

Notice there has been no fish photo's yet that's because after nine hours out on the water all we had to show for our efforts was four sick sailors. One small collard sea bream and a small reef shark. We fished everything from shallow bomies to 100+m ledges and even trawled for miles and all that we proved is that the half moon doesn't pay dividens!!! Then Navy base in sight alrms went off and so did the engine (dropped a drive belt). So it was over to the super outboard first pull the starter cord broke! Then it was a race to see who could get thier engine started first.

Another lesson learnt! A15Hp doesn't push a 7.2m boat to well into a current!

The peanut gallery waiting to see the whoopers! More beers please barman!!!

The final count Dad's monster the only fish caught all day, by anyone! Dyl with Sam's shark!


Dyl with the enthusiasm award as he was still fishing off the club jetty after 9 hrs at sea. All I need now Dad is a new rod to match!!!

The Commonwealth Games Baton Relay comes to Tonga

During the week we had a visit from the Dehli Commonwealth Games Baton. It weaved its way through the streets of TONGA. We raced down to the foreshore to support the Hash House Harriers runner/walker - Sister Koloti. This is one of her last events before she heads off to meet the Pope. One of our local friends also mentioned that in all his time in Tonga nothing has ever run on time until now!!! Go the Baton of good will!!!!

Jodie with sister Koloti outside the International Date line Hotel. The truck in the background had a band on it to keep the crowd going!!!

Sister takes the torch for a stroll down the street.

The three IC's of Hash (Sean, sister Koloti and John) with a Police escort and all!

A weeks adventures including Mothers Day!

Jodie's first Mothers Day in Tonga started with a big breakfast and pressies from the family! Once she was all fuelled up it was off to a local beach for a swim and romantic walk along the beach with hubby! It was a nice relaxing day before we cooked up a big roast lamb and had the neighbours over for a few games of pool then dinner and a couple of wines! Followed by more pool and desert! Then more pool and more wines! You see a trend here! Yep we love Jodies pool table and her!!!! What a great way to end the weekend!

Happy Mothers Day!!!! Breakfast with extra LOVE!!!!

Mr and Mrs Q

After the Sundowners we also scored an invite for a sunset BBQ on one of the support yachts for the Bounty expidition! What a great bunch of people and awsome night too. Dylan was right at home in and out of every inch by the end of the night! The kids especially enjoyed the ferry ride in and out on the boats tender, three at a time.

A tight squeeze on the yacht with 20 odd people all over the decks!

Finally this week also saw the completion of the flying fox which took quite a bit of explaining to the locals to find a pulley as they always thought I was talking about the local Bats!!!! Then it usually ended in, "Why would you want to build one of those for??" Anyhow the load test was successfully completed by Dad's short run back to earth and then it was over to the monkies!!

Dyl's first leap of faith and I'm sure not the last either!!

Emily demonstrating her spinning tricks!

At the end of each week the kids school puts on a play by a certain class and this week was Emily's classes turn. Somehow she managed to sneak in a circus theme? So it was into the shed with Dad to knock her up some stilts and she found the cloths! Jodie is always saying there is a clown in the family but usually I think she means me!!!! But not on this day!!! Em was a hit with everyone!

Sundowners at the Compound

Sundowners is a local monthly event were all the expats and palangi's get together for drinks (cheapies) and a catch up for a couple of hours before heading out on the town. Each month is run by a different group (Aus Aid, High Comm staff, Us, AFP) this was our first one for the year and the first for Sam and I. Apparently we were very lucky as it was raining on and off most of the day and night for that matter! We guesstimated numbers around 60 to 70. Then the boss told us last one there was over 120 and they didn't finish till 4am so we were pretty happy with the turn out and even happier with the midnight finish weather and all. The kids had a ball even though the jumping castle was cancelled due to the weather! We set the bar up in our shed and used the common area as the entertainment area! The kids went wild on the play gym and even gave a few of the local yachties a run for their money!

The good lookin DCP bar staff!Earlier in the night - between rain falls!

Introducing Kalisitiani Finau (AKA Cristian, Tiani) our local clerk/interpritor and handy man about town!!!

Some of the kids just hanging around!!!

The boys holding up the bar at the end of the night!! A job well done!! We thought?

Family Fishing Trip

Another lazy Saturday in TONGA and the family awoke to another amazing morning so after a quick breaky it was down to the boat with fishing and swimming gear. We headed out to sea and as we looked back at Tonga we could see the rain clouds moving in but to our amazement it was still sunny where we were and the fish were on the bite! No monsters but we all had a ball and caught our feed! The girls even had a few swims off the back of the boat but us boys had more serious things to do..............fishing and even though they were in the water we still hooked a few. We had a BBQ with friends that night and five fishies came along for the feed too!!!!! Not that they ate much!!!

The kids out on the bow keeping an eye out for the reefs! Look the other way monkies!

Dyl showing Dad the hot spots and he loves driving by the GPS cause he's too small to see out the front, at the moment!!!!

Mum's Spangled emperor "Koango" in Tongan. Not to mention the first fish on Dad's newest rod!!! How rude!!

Dyl and his first "Manga" Red throat emperor
Swim time for the girls! With Tonga off in the background!Em with nemo's cuz Ruby the trout! Who did swim free.

VOEA PANGAI - Life Extension Program

Lyndon and Sam's 8weeks in sunny Townsville were spent preparing the pacific patrol boat VOEA PANGAI for delivery back to the Tongan Defence Service after completing her LEP. It proved to be a great challange noting it was dropped off 6 months before we arrived so we picked it up mid way so to speak. It has given us a new outlook and focus on what we want to achieve on the next vessel due later this year.

It gave us both an opportunity to meet the faces in Oz who support us, get to know 1/4 of the Tongan Navy (18crew) and familiarise ourselves with the boats! That done we also became a shopping market for the wives back home in Tonga...... Every phone call didn't end with a big I love you but can you pick me up some ?????? from the shops! Don't worry we weren't alone the Tongan boys must have got the same because we cleaned out cash converters of TV's and I even saw a queen size bed make it onboard on the last night before we sailed for Vila!! I'll let the piccies tell the story!

Enjoy.

The final product and very new for a 20year old boat!

This is John the BAE rep and the craddle that lifted us back into the water!

Helmut the stoker doing rounds on his new engines!

Super chef, come deckhand, come helmsman, come fire fighter! This was during thier assessment phase!

The 'A' Team after passing workups - including the hairy monster in DPNU's (my uniform)The XO Sblt Telefoni as we left Ross Haven Mariner for the last time and in the last lot of flat weather too!
The view from the bridge for the next 5 days!

That was with the exception of a quick stint through the outer reef! Dinner anyone! 20min in the water trawling then we headed back into the ruff stuff!

Dinner always came in one bowl! I did four days in the galley eye opening and even managed a few Palangi meals for the boys! There now hooked on homemade pizza too! Yep they even made it for breaky some days!

VOEA PANGAI coming alongside HMNB Masefeild.

The big bosses including the Brigader where on hand to welcome her home!

After three days of cleaning the Crew feel in for the Handover ceremony!

The Tongan fleet together again!


The proud TA's