Planning a New Adventure

This trip has been a very, very long time coming!

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I first found the desire to go to Russia whilst I was still at school, and I finished school 10 years ago now! I learnt Russian for three years (even got an A* at GCSE) and whilst I was unable to carry on to A Level I was originally going to study the language at university. Life got in the way, however, and whilst I did make it to Central America and SE Asia and emigrated to New Zealand I never ended up getting to Russia. 10 years later and my life and career have taken a very different path and finally, finally, I am starting to make my dream come true.

I've got 10 weeks off work (paid leave - thank you nursing job for letting me save up a couple years of annual leave!) I've read the guide books, googled my heart out, scoured travel blogs and forums and decided on the route I want to take. I even have a travel partner in my loving boyfriend of 2 years who is keen to take this trip with me even though I've warned him I might be a bit difficult, I am used to traveling alone... This is our first long trip away together, so I guess it'll be a bit of a test of our relationship! I think one of the things holding me back from travelling to Russia earlier was that I did actually want to share the experience with someone rather than go it alone. When I went to Laos a few years ago I did feel somewhat more isolated than I had travelling before. Most people I met were either couples or groups of 18 year olds out for some drunken laughs, although I did manage to meet a few other solos whom I remember fondly.

I've spent the majority of 2012 so far planning the route I want to take. Originally I was planning on doing an independent but organised trip through a recommended company who would book our train tickets and accommodation and a few tours and things, but due to a few factors I decided to bite the bullet and DIY it. I blame the guide book, there were just too many places I wanted to stop. We are also spending a month in the UK and I didn't want to be there during the Olympics so rather than heading there first and working our way back to NZ overland we are travelling East to West. We fly from Dunedin via Auckland to Hong Kong, for a fun filled few days with a couple of my closest friends who now live there. Then we are flying from Hong Kong to Vladivostok on Russia's Far East coast. This is the start/end of the Trans-Siberian train route. Most travelers actually go Moscow to Beijing and don't make it this far east, but if you are coming from NZ or Australia this can be an alternative starting point, especially if you don't want to go to China. If you are coming from Japan or South Korea there are also ferries to Vladivostok. From here we are spending a couple of weeks travelling the rail to Moscow, stopping off for a few days around the Lake Baikal area, Krasnoyarsk, Yekaterinburg, Vladimir and Suzdal. Because my boyfriend is interested in war history, I have managed to squeeze in a couple of days in Volgograd ( formally Stalingrad) at his request. We are flying here to save time, and then flying up to St Petersburg to finish off our month in Russia. You can only get a tourist visa for 30 days so I've planned our trip to be exactly that.

After Russia we will make our way briefly to Prague and Paris, then onto London and the UK towards the end of September. I left the UK in 2006 and only visited briefly in 2007 so this will be my first major trip back to my 'homeland'. Rich has been to the UK more recently than me. I want to catch up with my sister and my friends and take Rich to the places I grew up. Of course this pretty much means travelling the UK almost it's entire length... But hey we'll have just done that in Russia, the largest country in the world, so the UK should be easy in comparison!

We head off on the 17th August and I am counting down the days! I will hopefully manage to keep you updated...

Tonga Holiday, part 5

Leaving 'Eua was a lot simpler than our journey there - we took the plane back instead of the ferry. This is probably the shortest commercial flight in the world, being just over 8 minutes long. The plane was small, only fitting around 12 passengers, but as the ferry was not running, it was the only way off the island. I have to say, I'm not a big fan of small planes, but I managed to hold myself together for the short flight.

Our last few days we planned to spend at a beach resort, Vakaloa. This resort was once favoured by the old King. It actually wasn't too pricey, although a bit more than our earlier budget accommodation. When we arrived, we also realised that they had upgraded us for free! Our last few days were spent in luxury!

The verandah outside the rooms.

My bed - the room was massive, and there was another big bed opposite this one, as well as a sofa and other furniture. And an ensuite with hot water shower! Look closely and you can even see the roses decorating the bed!

The beach at the resort.

There were very few people staying there, and we were pretty much the only people on the beach that day. We also went swimming and snorkelling too - saw a few interesting fish underneath the waves! Unfortunately a tropical storm was closing in on the region so the weather started to turn the day we spent on the beach, but we still had a great day.

One of the main reasons we chose to stay at Vakaloa is because they held a Tongan feast and cultural show, and we had missed out on the one at Hina Cave. Surprisingly there were only a handful of foreigners there, many of the guests were Tongans. I think a lot of the groups were families who had brought their visiting relatives, or work groups coming for a night out.

The feast was huge, with many traditional vegetables and dishes. I confess I steered clear of the seafood ones, but I was told they were also delicious!

Roast pig anyone?

Guests going up for seconds.

After the meal, the show began. There were several different types of dance represented, not just Tongan, but also other Pacific island dances. The costumes were beautiful too.

One of the guests a German/Kiwi guy who was at our table, volunteered to play the drums, and actually did a fantastic job - the other drummers were impressed!

I believe this young schoolgirl has recently won competitions for her dancing.

Then came the highlight - fire dancing!

Usually this is done outside on the deck or beach, but because of the storm the winds were too strong, so a modified version was performed instead. I caught some on video too!

The next day it was time for me to leave Tonga and say goodbye to my friend R, who was heading back home to Canada! So a pretty sad day for me. She was heading back to the capital, Nuku'alofa to spend another couple of days in Tonga. Unfortunately I had to go back to work. Actually it turned out I was pretty lucky to leave on the day I did, as not long afterwards the cyclone hit Tonga and wreaked havoc. Luckily my friend stayed safe and eventually made it home herself.

I had a great, relaxing holiday in Tonga, even managed a bit of a tan (novelty for me!) It was a wonderful first taste of the Pacific Islands, and I'll certainly be back one day. Not to mention visit a few of the other places in the Pacific. I wish I was there right now actually, as I am writing this in the middle of freezing cold Dunedin winter!

Tonga Holiday, part 4

Our last full day on 'Eua, and we decided to see some more of the sights the island had to offer. The lovely people at the Hideaway also ran 4x4 tours of the island, so the four of us opted to spend the day with Sifa again. The weather was beautiful again, although the seas were getting stormy and we learned that the ferry we had taken a couple of days before had been cancelled for the rest of the week. Luckily we'd booked the plane back to Tongatapu the next day.

We crammed into the 4x4 and first took another group up to the start of the Fangatave trek, before heading to our first sightseeing spot.

A view of the beach below the cliffs, our first viewpoint.

An example of a traditional house - this is now a school house.

Next we took a drive into the rainforest, and a walk up a river to a spring.

On the way we saw some Red Shining Parrots - unique to 'Eua. Unfortunately couldn't take any decent photos, but at least I can say I've seen a bird my dad hasn't yet seen!

Then we headed to see a sight I found absolutely amazing - a giant Banyan (strangling fig) tree. This particular tree is named Big Ovava, and you can see why!

Big Ovava is so big I couldn't take a photo of the whole of it in one go!

This tree is actually growing out of a giant sink hole, and we climbed down into it. It reminded me of the tree in Avatar, I could just imagine blue aliens swinging around in the roots and branches...

View taken from further down in the sink hole.

Another nearby sink hole, photo taken from the top.

And looking up from the bottom!

We made it down into the sink hole to the bottom of the tree - the roots are massive.

Sifa and one of the women in our group decided to climb back up through the roots and branches! I wasn't quite that brave!

After that little adventure we headed deeper into the rainforest - the vegetation along the track we drove was about as high as the car bonnet! Sifa took us to a cave called the Rat Cave - a name which didn't really encourage us to explore further...

Sifa headed into the small cave, I took a little more convincing...

But eventually I made it inside - it was more of a tunnel which opened onto a cliff ledge.

View of the rainforest coastline from the cliff.

Next we came to a man-made viewpoint, another lovely view of the national park coastline.

I managed to snap a photo of a white tail tropic bird (Tavake) - a pair of them were playing on the winds.

Another drive, and a short trek to a local waterfall, the Smoking Cave, unfortunately not much water in it at present.

A student fell to his death here not long ago, whilst walking in the bush at night. It would have been a pretty difficult retrieval, as the sink hole is deep and hard to access.

We then headed to Lakufanga - the Rock Gardens, where we had our picnic lunch and a little rest.

The cliffs at the Rock gardens.

There is a local legend about this place, where a starving family threw themselves to their deaths when they ran out of food and have been reincarnated as sea turtles. If you throw the fa fruit from the cliffs the turtles will come and eat them. You can read more about the legend here.

A natural archway - Li'anga Huo A Maui.

Legend tells that the archway was created by Maui's mother. Maui's mother had woken up Maui to do some hoeing on the island, and Maui, feeling quite angry about being woken up started hoeing and caused an earthquake. His mother stopped him as he was damaging the island and snatched the hoe from his hand, throwing it to the south of the island where it became embedded in the cliff face. Maui later pulled it out, creating the archway.

Our last stop after visiting the archway was a lovely empty beach. We had time to take a leisurely swim in the deep rock pools, and sunbathe afterwards.

It was another great day on 'Eua. I absolutely adored this island, if I came back to Tonga I think I would head straight here. Although we didn't have time to visit the other groups of islands that make up Tonga, I think we made a great choice in coming to 'Eua.

Tonga Holiday, part 3

After a couple of days on the main island of Tongatapu, we went to spend a couple of days on another island, Eua. Eua is a 2.5hr ferry ride from Tongatapu (or an 8 minute flight!) The island mostly appeals to people who want a more outdoorsy trip or just a quiet break. In the right season it is great for whale watching - unfortunately not when we went. There are, however, plenty of other things to do, such as walks, diving, and caving.

The ferry trip over was absolutely horrific. My friend spent the entire time outside at the railings and most of the Tongans were seasick too. Luckily I don't get seasick, though even I wasn't feeling too flash.

We had booked to stay at a place called the Hideaway and they came to pick us up from the ferry terminal. From the moment I got there I knew I'd love it - it has a great atmosphere and the staff are very friendly and helpful.

The main building - the wooden side is the dining/relaxing area and is great to chill out in during the evening.

We chose to stay in a 'fale' - a thatched hut. We stayed in the far one pictured. They are basic but cute! All that was missing was a hammock!

The dining area as viewed from the whale watching deck down by the ocean.

A lovely quiet beach just a short stroll from the Hideaway.

The next day we opted to do the Fangatave Beach Trek, a full-ish day trek down to a secluded beach through caves and forest. We were joined by a couple of other guests, and guided by Sifa, who did a great job. We were driven to the start of the track, which I think was in the northern part of the island (?) but I can't quite be sure. Riding on benches in the back of the Ute we drove past the King's residence (which was really a small holiday house) and through a couple of pretty villages. The people of Eua do seem to take a lot of pride in their gardens, most well landscaped with the lawns trimmed and green.

A short walk through a field took us to the cliff's edge.

Sifa heading towards the cliffs.

The gorgeous view from the cliff edge.

Fangatave Beach - our destination far below!

We then headed through some gently sloping forest - some trees had very impressive root systems.

Then came the hard part - climbing down the cliff face!

After the climbing, we walked through a series of caves.

Stunning stalactites and stalagmites.

Then it was time for a break, and Sifa climbed a coconut tree to bring us fresh snacks!

Yummy fresh coconuts straight off the tree - tasted much better than my first coconut drink!

Then it was time to head through some more caves...

Some were a tight squeeze!

And some involved a leap of faith! Why did I always end up as the first to do it??

Eventually we made to this beautiful secluded beach!

We spent a few hours at the beach, had our picnic lunch, went for a warm luxurious swim, sunbathed and fell asleep on the beach! We were the only ones there! I can't imagine this beach ever gets many visitors, which just made it paradise.

We took a different route back up the cliffs, which didn't involve crawling through caves, but did involve a longer climb to reach the forest path.

I climbed up first, which meant I could photograph the rest of the group following me up.

Eventually we made it back to the top! It was a tough but rewarding walk and a very memorable day. I thoroughly recommend the walk. And it's always good to make a few new friends!

Sifa, don't jump!