Tonga A-Z Visitors Guide - Small Guide to a tropical paradise
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 Tonga A-Z - The Tonga Visitors Guide

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Babysitting

Inexpensive babysitting can be arranged from your resort.
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Backpackers

Backpacker sitting cannot be arranged but those opting for this form of travel will find other backpackers to keep them company. There’s a good range of inexpensive backpacker accommodation from dorm style to rooms with shared facilities to guesthouse accommodation. Prices start around T$15 per night for dorm beds, T$20 to T$50 per person per night for own room. For those travelling with more than two pairs of undies (rotating front/back/inside out/front/back) there’s a laundry at Savoy Dry Cleaners on Fatafehi Road south of the town centre (wash/dry T$2 a kilo).
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Baker, Shirley

Shirley Baker was a bloke. Born in England in 1836. After stowing away on a ship to Melbourne he embraced the Wesley faith and offered his services as a missionary to Tonga in 1860. He was installed as Premier of Tonga by King George Tupou in 1880 and in 1885 Baker established the Free Church (Wesley in doctrine but independent of Australian control). The king ordered all Tongans to join the new church. Those who refused were beaten and/or relieved of their possessions. In 1887 there was an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Baker and six Tongans were executed for their part in the plot. In 1890 Baker was deported (to New Zealand) by the British High Commissioner Sir John Thurston for being “prejudicial to the peace and good order of the Western Pacific.” Baker was allowed to return to Tonga to retire in 1897. He died in 1903 and was buried just north of Pangai (Ha’apai) by a Seventh Day Adventist. His children later erected the monument that stands with the grave today.
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Bananas

Bananas (and coconuts) are plentiful in the markets or stalls… “I’ve got a loverly bunch of bananas, there they are a’standing in a raft - big ones, small ones, some as big as your finger…” The bananas in the tropics are deliciously sweet and make for a great energy snack when you are out and about. Along with pumpkins and copra, bananas are an important source of export income.
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Banking

There are Westpac/Bank of Tonga branches in Nuku’alofa, ‘Ononua (‘Eua), Pangai (Lifuka) and Neiafu (Vava’u). Some branches open on Saturday mornings - best avoid them on Fridays (pay day). There are also branches of ANZ and MBF. During the week banking hours are 9:00am to 3:30pm. There are 24 hour ATMs that accept Cirrus, Mastercard and Visa.
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Bars

Bars come and go and change in popularity depending on management or where the ‘crowd’ decides is flavour of the month. Like most parts of the world, Friday and Saturday nights are the liveliest. Some places worth trying - the Billfish Bar (opposite Queen Salote Wharf), the Waterfront Café and Davina’s (opposite Faua Jetty) and Wanda’s Bar at the Pacific Royale (Happy Hour Fri from 5:00pm - 6:00pm). There’s live music from 8:00pm to midnight at the cutely named ‘Oua Inu Vai Bar next to the Tonga Visitors Bureau. The name means ‘Don’t Drink the Water’. As long as you are tidily dressed you can choose to mix with the ‘elite’ members at the Tonga Club. It opens till 11:00pm (entrance through the side door on Sundays). To kick on late with a rock and reggae backdrop, the Blue Pacific International Night Club si open till 4:00am (midnight Saturday). It is also the venue for beauty pageants including one for cross-dressers. And this tip from David Stanley’s South Pacific Guide - “The quaint, old Nuku’alofa Club on Salote Road near the Royal Palace, has been a hangout for local male expats and assorted nobles since 1914, and they’re a bit selective on who they let in: Poorly dressed men and females of all descriptions are most unwelcome. Before you’ll be served, the bartender will have to find someone to sign you in, and you’ll probably be asked where you are staying (don’t say the Pacific Royal unless it is true, as the manager is a regular here). Watch the reaction if you mention a backpacker hostel. Speaking of which - two backpackers walked into a bar - you’d think one of them would have ducked!
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Beer

A bar without beer is a room. There are many imported beers but the local drop (IKALE) is pretty good (joint venture with Swedish brewer Pripps). Bottled beer can be a bit deceptively expensive - they are 330ml bottles, holding a bit less than you are probably accustomed to. You can sample the local drop online here.
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Bicycles

Tongatapu is pretty much made for cycling - not much traffic, no steep hills, road signs to direct you and lots of scenery and village life to take in. Quality 15-speed mountain bikes can be rented from Niko Bicycle Rental (opposite the Dateline Hotel) for T$2/$10 per hour/day. Some guesthouses also have bicycles for rent. Because there’s not much happening on Sundays, this can be a good day to get out and explore (make sure you reserve the bike prior to Sunday though because everywhere has to appear to be closed for the day of rest).
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Birdwatching

Probably the best spot to head for some ‘twitching’ is the Veitongo Bird Park (Tongan Wildlife Centre), on the south coast road 10km from Nuku’alofa. It will cost around T$8 from town by taxi. Examples of most species of Tongan land birds are kept in lushly vegetated aviaries. Your T$3 admission goes to saving endangered species of native Tongan birds. Those who take a day or overnight trip to ‘Eua Island will be rewarded on a bushwalk through the forest north of Futu. This is home to Pacific pigeons, crimson-crowned fruit doves, white-collared kingfishers, blue-crowned lorikeets and red-breasted musk parrots. Ata Island (136km southwest of ‘Eua) is the main breeding place for the wedge-tailed shearwater, red-footed booby, masked booby, blue-grey noddy, Kermadec petrel and the red-tailed tropicbird.
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Bligh, William

Tonga is where Fletcher Christian forced his Captain and loyalists from the Bounty and set them adrift in a longboat (1789). Bligh went ashore at Tofua in search of water. A fight ensued with the locals, killing a crewmember, forcing Bligh to head back to sea. Miraculously, Bligh’s seamanship got the boat to the Dutch East Indies, setting a record for the longest voyage in an open boat (6701km). A bit of trivia for Australian readers - the current Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh, is a descendent of William.
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Blowholes

Blowholes occur where surf is forced through naturally formed air vents and there are literally hundreds of them on Southern Tongatapu. They are at their most spectacular at high tide on a windy day. Head to the coast near Houma (15km from Nuku’alofa). From the end of the road, take the path to the right.
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Bookshops

The Friendly Island Bookshop (below Tungi Arcade) is excellent for books by local authors as well as Tongan music CDs/cassettes and maps. The Family Christian Bookshop (opposite the Tonga Development Bank) has placemats and posters depicting Tongan lifestyle and culture.
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Botanical Gardens

As mentioned above under Birdwatching, the Tongan Wildlife Centre is the place to head. The small garden displays all the common Polynesian food plants as well as the lush vegetation in the bird habitats. There are botanical gardens in Vava’u - the ‘Ene’io Botanical Gardens were established in the 1970s and you can only go in with a guide, so need to book in advance (they are locked at all other times). They are owned and operated by Haniteli ‘O Fa’anunu, who retired from the position of Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. There is also ‘Ene’io Beach close to the gardens, which is a private beach and bar (they have home stay and campsites).
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Bottled Water

While town water is chlorinated and safe to drink, bottled water is readily available and could be a better choice for those with a sensitive disposition. A change of routine and diet can cause upset stomachs and best not to give the body another reason to go out in protest.
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Buses

In Nuku’alofa there’s a bus station opposite the Tonga Visitors Bureau. You can catch a bus to pretty much anywhere and it’s expensive (most fares T$1.20). Public transport has a slight aura of chaos but people are helpful if you need advice - services start around 6:00am and stop running just before 5:00pm. It probably goes without saying that buses don’t run on Sundays.
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Business Hours

Normal business hours are from 8:00am to 1:00pm and 2:00pm to 5;00pm weekdays and 8:00am to midday Saturdays. Government offices open 8:30am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 4:30pm. Banks, weekdays from 9:00am to 3:30pm and the post office from 8:30am to 4:00pm. Nothing opens Sunday, not even an envelope.
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