HTHH

We left the Tongatapu group of Islands to head to another part of the Kingdom of Tonga the Ha'apai islands. The ship travelled all night and reached an island with the incredible name of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai at about 05.30.This island is unusual as it only became an island in 2015.Before that time there were two islands Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai seperated by a narrow channel 1.6 Kms wide.In 2015 a volcanic eruption happened between the two islands and joined them together with a pile of volcanic ash.So as not many people have seen this new island we went to visit,but only to look at it, as there is no landing place that is easily accessible.

There were large numbers of sea birds nesting on the steep rock ,just above ,brown boobies and sooty terns mainly with some frigate birds. 

Then back to the boat and off to the island of Tofua.En route to Tofua we passed a number of small islands.

and then the island of Lifuka,these two islands,lifuka and Tofua are infamous as it was somewhere between the two that Captain Bligh was put into his boat when the officers and crew of the Bounty mutinied.Bligh landed on Tofua but was driven away by hostile natives,after the quarter master was killed.Nowadays the island is not inhabited,following an eruption about 100 years ago.The same eruption seems to have changed the coastline and there is now no easy place to land.So another zodiac cruise along the coast line which looked fairly harsh.

Right next door to Tofua is the island of Kao,a very volcanic shaped island.

All in all there are 62 islands in the Ha'apai group but only 17 are inhabited,and the total population in these 17 islands is only about 8000 people .One wonders what sort of a life they have as communications are not great ,we see hardly any other ships!