Category Archives: Daily Lime

Tanoa: A bump in the Pacific

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We are continuing our quest to find a calm anchorage.   This time we head toward a tiny bump in the middle of the Pacific called Tanoa.  It is still considered in the southern section of the Ha’apia group.  This little island is a mere 8nm miles from Telekitonga so we unfurl the jib and enjoy a slow motor sail.  We have a mere 4-5kts of wind so not making fast progress at all but we are topping up the batteries and making water.

There is a giant reef that surrounds this little islands.  The island is in the middle of the reef which makes a sort of “w” around it. We thought we would surely be protected from the southerly swell which was coming from the bottom part of the photo.  But, we were wrong. 

We arrived late in the afternoon and dropped the hook.  We grabbed the dinghy to explore the island but the surrounding reefs made it hard to safely leave the dinghy.  So, Matt dropped me off while I explored the island which took about 10-minutes.

The beach only covered about half the island.  The rest of the island is limestone covered in brush and 4 palm trees.

Across from Tanoa island is the big island of Fonoifua which has a small village.  We did not go over there but admired them from our little paradise.

Events from this blog occured toward the end of July.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  We enjoy a nice long walk around the Telekitonga island in our last blog.

Telekitonga: 3-mile Beach

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It is a special treat to visit an uninhabited island as lovely as Telekitonga.  This island is one of the eastern barrier islands in the Haa’pai island group.  It is located about 65nm from Tongatopu.

We had a short 12nm sail from Kelefesia to Telekitonga.  With very light winds we decided to put up Big Bertha to get us there.  We were not in a hurry and thought it would be nice to enjoy a lazy sail day.  It was hard to keep the sail full as we only had 3-4kts of wind, but we made the best of it.

Telekitonga

Telekitonga has a long 2.5 mile beach around the island that can be walked during low tide.  In the center grows a lush, thick forest.

Telekitonga

Telekitonga

We have been running island to island to try to find a protected anchorage where there is no swell.  The swell is coming in from the south and even though we are protected from southerly winds the waves are wrapping around the island creating pretty uncomfortable waves in our anchorage.

So, we decided to go to shore to explore the beautiful beach of Telekitonga. As you walk around the island you encounter all types of ground cover.  Not much sand but a lot of coral which makes it hard to walk barefoot.  A quarter of the island was covered in limestone and another quarter covered in coral rocks.

This little island was hit hard by the tsunami.  You can see the damaged trees and bush trying desperately to come back to its former glory.

We found loads of lobster shells and floats.  Well over 3 dozen of each were strewn about the island.  We also found a treasure marked by a giant “X” and the world’s largest light bulb.

Super nice change to walk around such a large island exploring what the sea brought to us.

Events from this blog post occured during the end of July.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  Did you miss your opportunity to buy your very own private island in Tonga, see our last blog post on Kelefesia?

Kelefesia Limestone Cliffs

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We leave Tongatopu after spending a week in the capital city.  On our departure day we have no wind but we do have a 2m long rolly swell. Will be a slow ride to Kelefesia in Haa’pai. It was a gorgeous day with sunny skies, small puffy clouds and many humpback whales.

Did I mention it is whale season in Tonga?  Humpback whales migrate from the Antarctic to the South Pacific Ocean in order to mate and have their babies.   Most of the whales can be seen between June and October so we are perfectly situated to make some new friends.

We hope to have lots more photos of these beautiful humpback whales so stay tuned!

Since we did not have any wind we had to motor the 56nm from Tongatopu to Kelefesia.  But it was a good time to top up the batteries and make some fresh water.

Kelefesia Island

This 32 acre private island is for purchase  It can be yours for a mere $6 million.  Wowza. Well I can tell you first hand that Kelefesia is a spectacular island with beautiful white sandy beaches all around it.

Large limestone cliffs provide shelter between the islands.  A few years ago the center was covered in lush vegetation and forest.  However, the 2022 tsunami destroyed leaving only a few palm trees.  

But the beaches are gorgeous and pristine.  The surrounding waters are crystal clear and inviting.

We only stayed one night in Kelefesia because the swell was pretty bad and made it rolly.  But we did enjoy the walk on the beach and the gorgeous views.

Events from this blog occured in late July.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.   We visit many royal sites in our last blog titled “Royalty Found in Tongatopu.”