Anchorage at Nomuka Island, Nomuka Group, Tonga

Another day, another splendid anchorage here in Tonga. This time we are in-between the sister islands of Nomuka and Nomuka Ita in the Nomuka Group. The diving and snorkelling here are supposed to be some of the best in Tonga so we are here to find out. It would be pretty hard to beat the places we've recently been but we are always open to the challenge!

We have a really beautiful and calm spot to spend the next several days in 26 m of water with no swell so it looks to be a quiet place to relax before our final push. Carmen is in the galley working on some kind of asian-fusion-rice-noodle wonder for dinner. She's been scouring the food storage areas to make sure we have only the approved items on-board when we arrive in New Zealand so all sorts of interesting meals are coming out of the galley these days!

As we need to be in the capital of Tonga, Nuku'alofa on Tongatapu, by the 30th we needed to leave our last anchorage behind and begin to close the distance down to Tongatapu. Our current anchorage is 25 nm from our last anchorage and will help us easily be able to handle the last 50 nm to the capital when we want to leave here in three days or so. In the meantime, we are in a spectacular anchorage where we see a number of the same yachts we have been meeting all across the Pacific. Most of them too will be making the final passage to Port Opua in New Zealand in a few weeks. Our plans are to arrive in time to participate in the All Points Rally, a week of parties and sailing clinics sponsored by Port Opua each year to welcome the sailors of the Pacific to summer in New Zealand.

Before that happens, we have a lot more diving and snorkeling to do as the sun is bright, the water warm and the beaches beckon for shell collecting.