3rd April - Take Nimrod to Coomera
Extend insurance with Topsail.
Mon 4th April - Liftout at Gold Coast City Marina.
Survey by Peter Kidd. Booked.
Yanmar service. Booked.
New gas stove
Fri 8th April. Lift back in.
9th April - 11th May. Royce Black takes Nimrod to Faua Harbour, Nukuʻalofa, Tonga.
Saturday 14th May. G & D fly from the Gold Coast to Fuaʻamotu International Airport, Nukuʻalofa, Tonga.
'Landfalls of Paradise' says: 'Flights to, from, and within Tonga are often booked far in advance'.
Faua Harbour is where Nimrod should be.
Noonsite information here.
Sunsail information here, and here.
Tonga: the island kingdom
Cruising the Kingdom
Meketi Talamahu
Sounds like a fabulous fruit, vegetable, and fish market. About 1.5 km from Faua Harbour.
From Pangaimotu in Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu
Provisioning and Supplies: Yes it is true, Costco and Walmart have not arrived here but the several grocery stores are quite adequate. However, the fresh fruit and veggie market which takes up about half a block, is indoors and is a shocker after months of remote cruising. Everything from lemons to celery to hot peppers to cilantro and virtually any fresh item you want were there every day and all day. Prices could only be described as cheap! Vendors are no pressure types and happy to help. Many times other items would find their way into our shopping bags as gifts for shopping with them. While the hardware and general department style shopping are certainly more limited than found on the continent's, shopping is not why most of us came way out here to begin with.
Clearance
From 'World Cruising Destinations'.
A coastal clearance permit (Local Movement Report (Small Craft) from customs is required when moving between island groups served by different customs offices. On arrival at the next group, you must contact customs. When travelling between Tongatapu and Vava'u the costal clearance can be requested to include Ha'apai.
Extended Visa
No visa is required for a stay of less than thirty-one days. Visas for periods of thirty-one days to six months may be granted by the principal Immigration officer in each port of entry. The fee for extending a visa is T$40 per month— visitors are required to present a completed application, the correct fee, and a passportsize photo to the Immigration office. Since we arrive on the May 14th, and leave Tonga on 15th June (33 days), this will be necessary. It should be done at Vavau, a few days before the 31 day visa expires.
Re-entry letter for Fly in - Sail out.
Greetings - you might wish to travel to Tonga on one-way tickets. If you would wish to do so, you would be required to have an authorisation in order for you to depart Australia and to arrive to Tonga. A letter of authorisation with AUD$34.50 charge per person can be obtained from this High Commission. Please be informed that such a letter would require 2 documents, i.e. scanned copy of each passenger's passport biodata page and a copy of each passenger's air ticket.
Please keep us posted if you have any further inquiries in the interim.
Kind regards,
Leonaitasi
___________________________________
High Commission of the Kingdom of Tonga
7 Newdegate Street
Deakin ACT 2600
AUSTRALIA
Telephone: +612 6232 4806
Fax: +612 6232 4807
Email: leonaitasi.kuluni@gmail.com, or
Formalities
Annual rainfall in Nuku'alofa averages 58 inches, with as much as ten inches falling in April and as little as one inch in May and July. During the Tongan winter (June to August), temperatures can occasionally be quite cool.
In Nuku'alofa, mariners can receive weather information and marine warnings over VHF. They are broadcast daily (except Sundays) at 0900 and 2100 on VHF channel 12 by Nuku'alofa Radio, which announces its broadcasts on VHF channel 16 before changing frequencies.
At the end of the May - June cruise in Tonga, we will leave the boat in Neiafu Harbour, and fly home.
Arranged with Shane Walker, of The Moorings, (Ph + 64 9 3787900, Mob + 64 27 4944030) we will leave it on a mooring 500 m from the town between 14th June and 6th August. "Its no problem to collect you and drop you to your boat, we will also the rounds and keep an eye on it while you are away." TOP300 per month.
Wednesday 15th June. Real Tonga Air. Vava'u to Tongatapu. Depart 08:30. Check in time 07:00. Booking number is 660841. Ticket.
Arrive Fuaʻamotu International Airport, Nukuʻalofa. ETA 9.30 am.
Then fly Air NZ 973 to Auckland, Depart 11.40 am. Gate closed at 10.40 am.
ETA Auckland 1.45 pm. Stay the night in Auckland. (Yet to be arranged).
Thursday 16th June. Fly on to the Gold Coast on Air NZ (Virgin) 7925, Depart 12.30pm. ETA 2.10 pm.
Weather Forecasts
To obtain weather forecasts for Tonga, type “send nadi.Tonga days=14” to query@saildocs.com (omit the quotation marks). This message will result in a subscription to the local weather forecast, as issued by NADI Fiji, for two weeks. To receive this report indefinitely, change “days=14” to “days=0.” For information on obtaining files, send a blanke-mail message to info@saildocs.com.
