Tonga

A visit to New Zealand is there on my bucketlist. So when I read about Tonga, I just had to add it to my bucketlist along side New Zealand. Or maybe I can club it with my trip to Hawaii? Well, we will see  🙂 Ensconced in the South Pacific Ocean, Tonga or the Kingdom of Tonga is an archipelago of 176 islands out of which 52 are inhabited and is perfect for pacific holiday experience. Lengthwise, the Kingdom stretches over a distance of about 800 kilometers in a north-south line located about a third of the distance from New Zealand to Hawaii.(source :wiki) The British explorer, Captain James Cook landed in Tonga and decided to stay on for two months to explore the area. He received such a warm welcome from the locals, that he decided to name the islands – friendly islands; a name that still remains. He even gifted Tu’i Malila, a tortoise (from Madagascar) to the royal family of Tonga, which is the second longest-lived tortoise (age has been verified). That there was plot made by the locals to kill the captain, is a story which even Captain James Cook was oblivious to. Tonga is an untouched by too much commercialism and over the top tourism, and proudly boasts of its pristine beaches, beautiful coral reefs, active volcanoes and stunningly pure rainforest. There are various activities for anyone to have a go at. For example, there is sailing, fishing, diving, bird watching (rare breeds like red breasted Koki, musk parrot, Megapode etc are found here), ….etc. But, if you are traveling in between June and November, then lo and behold, you can actually swim with gigantic-larger-than-life whales! June is the time, when the humpback whales, swim from the icy and cold Antarctica, to the tropical-reef-protected waters of Tonga in order to give birth to their young ones. Snorkeling can be truly majestic under the clear waters as you watch the whales. By November, the whales migrate back to their old and familiar environment in Antarctica. So, if whale swimming is on your bucketlist, then you know when you need to head to Tonga! There are regular flights to Nuku’alofa, by Air New Zealand, Pacific Blue and Air Pacific.  Chathams Pacific flies to smaller islands making the exploration of this beautiful archipelago possible.