January 26, 2026 Neiafu, Vava’u, Tonga

Today we arrived just after 7 a.m. to anchor close to Neiafu which is on the one of the islands of the Vava’u island group within the Kingdom of Tonga. Tender boats were down in time for the voyages to begin by 7:45 a.m. The morning temperature was 29°C, wind south 5 km/h, humidity 83% with a mostly cloudy sky.

We ate breakfast in the dining room with two women from London, Ontario and a couple from Kentucky, who apologized for the antics of their insane American president, their words. We gathered our things and climbed to the Ocean Bar on Deck 3 to get our tender tickets and timed it such that the group was just called to go down to Deck A to board the next tender boat. The journey was just 16 minutes arriving at Halaevalu Wharf by 9:45 a.m., where a navy ship had just moored, flying a French flag and the Tonga flag.

Neiafu (pronounced “knee ah foo”) is the main city of the Vava’u island group with a population of about 4,000. Neiafu is situated above the Port of Refuge Harbour, which is a sheltered, deep-water natural harbour that is regarded as one of the most beautiful in the world. Neiafu means "to breathe in" or "to inhale" in the Tongan language. The islands are old volcanos. Ancient people, over 3,000 years ago, navigated from Fiji and other parts of Melanesia to settle in West Polynesia, including Tonga.

NEWS: Southern Australia is in the middle of a dangerous heat wave

with temperatures reaching record highs in the mid 40s. Adelaide is

expecting a high of 45°C today. The states of South Australia and

Victoria will be the hottest and their wild fire levels are extreme.

In the U.S., states from Arizona to New England have experienced

snow storms paralyzing transportation.

The Canadian prairies are experiencing record breaking cold

temperatures with wind chills as cold as -50°C over the past few days.

Tonga was shaken near Nuku'alofa, Kolofo'ou, Tongatapu, by an

earthquake of magnitude 5.4 the European-Mediterranean

Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported. [https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/292942/Magnitude-54-earthquake-strikes-near-Nuku-alofa-Kolofo-ou-Tongatapu-Tonga.html]

There have been seven 4.4 or greater earthquakes in the region over the past month.

Tonga Meteorological Service issued a Tsunami No Threat Advisory for the quake, located 50 km south of 'Ohonua, 'Eua and 84 kilometres south east of Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu, at a depth of 10 kilometres.

The Geohazard Unit of the Ministry of Land, Survey, Planning and Natural

Resources reported that the duration of the earthquake was three seconds.

We had originally booked a tour, but it was cancelled several months ago. We decided to just wander in the town today. As the tender boat docked there was a welcome song and dance by three Tongan teenage girls, which seemed to be ignored by most the alighting passengers who were drawn by the handicrafts market. After the performance, we walked to the main street about 250 meters away and walked a slight incline uphill to the Western Union Money Exchange where we changed our remaining $15 Fijian dollars for 15.3 Tongan Pa’anga (TOP). That is about $8.65 Canadian. We continued up to St. Joseph’s Cathedral on a hill top with views of the harbour. It is a Polynesian style white washed wooden structure with a few stained glass windows. The stretch of Fatafehi Road below the cathedral is called Hala Lupe (Way of Doves), named for the mournful singing of the female prisoners (convicted adulterers) who constructed the church.

We returned to the wharf and waked the opposite direction to the Mount Talau Lookout. It was a 30 minute walk, stopping to view the tropical plants in people’s yards. There were no sidewalks, but the traffic on the road was very light. We arrived at the Mount Talau stairs for a climb of 179 uneven concrete steps with a railing on either side of the two meter wide stairs. Then a short path to a wooden platform requiring an ascent of six more stairs, elevation 131 metres. The view was worth the climb. We had a panoramic view of the white-sand beaches and turquoise and blue waters of the island below. We found an alternate route for part of the return journey. We passed the Military Camp that was flying the Tonga flag. Further on, we came across the city cemetery. We browsed the market near the wharf which had produce and handicrafts. It was not as large as the Savusavu market. We logged 6.32 kilometres.

Our timing for the return tender boat was good, we were in the last half dozen people to get on the boat. We were back to the ship by 12:45 p.m. Our laundry which we had sent out yesterday morning, was returned shortly after we returned to the ship. After showers we spent the afternoon in the Library Café drinking frappés and coffee while organizing our pictures and notes from this morning.

About 3 p.m. a small cruise ship appeared in the harbour. She was called Villa Vie Residences Odyssey. She anchored just aft of our ship on the port side and lowered tender boats. She is on a 103 day voyage (November 10, 2025 to February 19, 2026) from Cairns to Sydney via Melanesia, Polynesia and eastern Australia. She was not scheduled to be in Neiafu at all, so she must have detoured for some reason.

After changing for dinner, we ordered drinks in the Billboard Onboard bar for Happy Hour. The captain made an announcement that the anchor used eight lengths of chain today which is equal 220 meters of chain. There are 60 nautical miles to Nuku’alofa on Tongatapu island, Tonga. We should arrive before 8 a.m. and will be docked.

We were the first to our 5 p.m. table for dinner tonight. The others arrived within five minutes. The group withdrew to the Library Café for coffee after dinner. Tonight’s show was Instrumentalist Amber Jade who accompanied by the Dam Band and she played both the clarinet and the saxophone as well as sang a song.

Steps today - 14,660