Hello All, Its been a few weeks since we last wrote so here is the latest on Kitesurf Tonga – Fanifo Lofa and our amazing island adventure.
We got the man cave built here at Fanifo Lofa in that first week of May and then we started to sort out all the tools and man stuff. We moved all the tools and hardware into the cave and what a sight it was…a bit rustic looking but hey it does the job. We also started building a bench in there on a rainy day so that we could cut wood on a nice even surface. So man cave built we could access our tools and get started on the resort.
Pumping water
First things first we needed to pump some water from our lovely 6m well! We purchased two pumps in New Zealand..one that was supposed to be able to pump 9m of water and the other we were advised was industrial strength. So we erected a scaffold next to the well and we put the header tank on the top tier and put the pump on the first tier which we then connected up to the pipes and BANG! nothing hahaha so we primed the pump and filled those pipes with water ALOT and then it dawned on us that this pump which was meant to be able to pump up to 9m could not in fact pump from our 6m well ….so then out came the industrial strength pump and guess what? it was worse than the first one hahahaha. By this time it was late afternoon and we were getting very frustrated …we went back to pump one…lowered down into the well about 1m and what do you know? it worked. We shouted out loud and whooped…we had running water! Thank goodness because i could now connect up the washing machine and finally wash our clothes. We use the well water for most things except for drinking although it could probably be boiled and then suitable for drinking. At first it looked a little brackish but as time goes on the cleaner it gets.
getting off the ground
Starting to build our house was something we were very excited about. It took a few days, actually the best part of the week to map it out and place our string lines. We were using the plans and working our way through…around midday most days we would get rather irritable from the heat but we pressed on. Once we laid the string lines and got everything square we got out the Mighty Auggie – our resident hole driller. This machine is not as simple as it looks…the amount of kick back you get when you hit a root was incredible. So each time you started a hole it was most likely going to move…this was tricky but we eventually got there…2 weeks and 37 holes later and a mountain of good top soil and the whitest sand you have ever seen and we were ready for those piles. We started carrying over the piles and placing them near the holes…aggregate in the holes and then the pile. Each pile had to be levelled off and staked into position. All the squatting I did with the level has certainly toned me up! Anyway we staked out all our piles and then the rains came for a couple of days…we covered the holes over with some tarps so they didnt flood and that was that. Once the weather had cleared up out came the bags of cement and the sand and the aggregate… Glen and i had the day before put together the cement mixer which took 4 hours (nothing is ever as quick as you think it will be here :)) We had 3 local Tongans helping on this day along with Alex, a traveller that is staying with us and lending a hand. Wow, two days and the holes were all cemented! What an effort. It was so amazing and we felt as if we were making real progress. We went for a kite once they were done…and we have basically had wind every day since! So its been working most of the day and kiting in the afternoon. We have laid down a few bearers now and we are really moving ahead!
the fabulous alex
As i mentioned earlier we have acquired Alex, a traveller from the UK, who got introduced through a mutual friend in NZ. He is very outdoorsy, loves to kite and is a great help to have around here. We couldnt have asked for anyone with a more logical practical mind. He will be with us till the end of September 🙂
Kitesurfing at Fanifo Lofa
We headed off to go kitesurfing at SPOT X on the weekend for some much needed rest and relaxation – hahahaha there was no resting it was kiting heaven!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow what a wind…I was out on my 6m, glen on his 8m and Alex his 9m. The waves were incredible! We have been kiting in the lagoon at the tip alot too and the wind has been consistently 20-25 knots! Beautiful trade winds.
Snorkelling has also been amazing right out the front of our place…really great visibility and loads of turtles! We have a turtle that i have named Trent …i am pretty sure it is him each time … He is just lovely.
I have been making a lot of Sour Dough bread here at Fanifo Lofa and i think after a couple of months it is getting there…we have been eating A LOT of food but still seem to be shedding weight or maybe just toning up …either way we feel very healthy! Oh except for our little Friday night indulgences…we have been shooting across to Lifuka about 5 and having a cheeky takeaway dinner at a little local tongan restaurant…..ohhhh just the joy of not having to cook for a night and getting to the big smoke hahahahaha Last Friday Glen was thinking the tides wouldnt allow us to go out for dinner so he rang ahead and went and got takeaway and bought it back. The funniest thing ever….going in a boat to have takeaway, the woman in the restaurant said no one had ever done that before. The things you do for a bit of fish n chips 🙂
fanifo lofa word of mouth
We have had quite a few unexpected visitors passing through on yachts and staying at backpackers…each one of them has heard about our project and wanted to drop by for a kite. It is so great that so many people know about us already. It gives us a really nice feeling :)- on Sunday there were 7 of us out kiting in the lagoon and each of us were having a blast in heaps of space…
We are really enjoying our time here…building our dream…living our dream here at Fanifo Lofa.
Warm winds everyone from Fanifo Lofa – Kitesurf Tonga!
Karen & Glen
