Loco

Let me begin with an apology for the radio silence that has accompanied my Tongan escapade. It seems that being on dry land was just too damned exciting to allow any kind of writing during my two-month stay on the island. So now we must all suffer the consequences as we embark on a journey through time:

Previously in Kate’s life…

Having sailed across the Pacific with a motley crew of strangers and an increasingly grumpy captain I decided that it was time to explore the South Pacific on my own. So two months ago I made the courageous decision to abandon ship in the Kingdom of Tonga.

In comparison to the likes of famous castaways and mutineers such as Robinson Crusoe and Fletcher Christian, I was faced not with a gang of angry islanders set on eating my flesh, but found myself in a little corner of paradise. It’s full of lovely people, and rather than having survive on a diet of coconuts, here you can buy all kinds of delicious treats including brown bread, vegemite, and tea bags! For those of you who know me well the abundance of tea and toast should give you the first clue as to why I loved Tonga so much.

My Tongan life was characterised by a healthy dose of good wholesome fun. There have been many days on the beach, numerous dance offs, plentiful mountain exploration and couple of forays into underwater caves. I’ve flown a kite, and swum with whales.  Participated in a few Hermit crab races, yacht races, and underwater snorkel races. I’ve hosted the pub quiz, redecorated my local, lost a limbo competition and won a beer drinking competition. I fell in, and then quite quickly out of love with a strapping young Tongan fellow. I’ve been scuba diving, and bat watching, have done extensive research about whether fish have eye lids, and made friends with all manner of palangis (white folks), not to mention some Tongan ladyboys.

So, in a nutshell I was having a ball, a good old-fashioned hoot full of childish glee which is how I managed to lose two months of my life in Neiafu. But the icing on the cake was the friends I made, some real legends that I am going to miss loads. This made leaving Vavu’a a little problematic and led me to turn down several good opportunities to take to the sea again. My attempts to seek passage towards Australia bore fruit on more than one occasion, but there was always another reason to put my departure off, a birthday party, quiz night, a Tuesday…the list goes on. So when I eventually did summon the courage to leave it was with great regret and that is why I spent the first hour aboard my new yacht crying my eyes out like a total loser and waving as my friends became mere specks on the horizon (cue the violins).

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