We had a brief stop in Auckland where we watched Sex and the City movie which was fantastic. We then flew onto Tonga and the first island Tonga'tapu. We took the local bus around the island and visited the spectacular blowholes. We also visited the National Cultural Centre where most of the staff had left for Samoa. This was slightly disappointing! On Sunday we visited the Royal church but unfortuntely the King was on his Coronation tour.

We decided to fly to the island group of Vava'u north of Tonga'tapu. This island was more relaxed and we visited one of the beaches, Anu. This wasn't the tropical beach we had hoped for as we were eaten alive by mosquitos!! Nic managed to clock up over 120 bites in one sitting!

The highlight of the Tonga experience was a trip humpback whale watching. We got to see many whales and were lucky enough to be able to jump in the water with them. The best bit was when six males swam directly underneath us!

On our last day, the King decided to call by and invited us for lunch at the local high school. As he knew we would be there, he put on a show of traditional Tongan music and dance. The Queen stopped by briefly but unfortunately had to leave early!!