What a start to the season we had this year in 2018. Kitesurfing Tonga and day trips at its best! We have had so many lovely guests this year and we are loving our regular guests that keep on returning each year.
Maintenance & New Things
What have we built this year? well we have been busy beavers behind the scenes doing loads of things that our guests might not notice. We got a new rain water tank storage this year of 10000L so no more worrying about no rain fall and where we might find our drinking water from in times of drought. Our first year it didnt rain for 8 months and we had to collect our drinking water from a church on Lifuka. Thank goodness they had big storage tanks over there. We put the new rain water storage tank off the back of the common fale…and then we plumbed it in to the kitchen! woohoo! no more carrying 20L drums of water to the common fale morning and night…we simply turn on a tap. Yes i know this is what normal people do but things are a bit different here on the island. It is such a relief not to carry that heavy water each day 🙂
We have also got another two 10000L water tanks to help us out with shower/toilets in the fales. We used to pump water from our well into the header tanks which was only 1500L so we were pumping at high tide every day and often running low on water. Glen has solved all the issues and we now pump into the 10000L water tank so its not likely we will run low very quickly. Glen also went a step further and provided pressured water into the fales!!! OMG the showers are running like normal showers now! so powerful they almost blow you out of the shower hahahahahahaha….they are fabulous!!! We also got a spare 10000L water tank for rainwater to water the gardens….all going well here @kitesurftonga
Oh by the way….just a tip for those of you that ever think of trying this….Do not get into the 10000L water drum if you are scared of confined spaces….or if you are short. Why you ask? well glen said i was the one that would fit through the hole in the top of the tank and he needed a fitting changed at the bottom of the tank on the inside…Sure i say, i can do that….I climbed a ladder and then thought ummmm…how do i get in? Glen says jump in….so that tank is almost double my height…it was quite a drop through a very small hole…i said i dont think i can…he said okay just lower yourself in, hold yourself there with your arms and then drop down….okay i say….i try twice…i get scared twice….the third time i thought dont be a chicken…so i go to lower myself down and low and behold i am so weak in the arms that i couldnt hold myself for long so jumped down…proceeded to slip over hard and bash my head on the bottom of the tank and also landed hard on my hip. I cried. Yes i had a black eye and a black hip…there was water in the bottom of the tank and i slipped over when i landed….then after having a cry and working out that i wasnt concussed lol i then went to work on the tank…there was no idle chit chat…i did the job and then thought how in hells bells do i get out….glen and Paea were reaching down to get me but i couldnt reach their arms…i said throw me a bucket and a rope. Tied the rope around the bucket, turned the bucket upside down, and stood on it and then glen and paea were able to reach me and pull me out…i then pulled the bucked up with the rope…AHHHHH dont try this at home folks lol
I should mention here that my lovely husband now has a new man cave. For those of you that have had a look behind the scenes will remember the state of the old man cave and will be overjoyed to see the new one! Its like a dream come true for Glen…he is always found in there if you are looking for him!!!
Gardens
We have got busy making our grounds look beautiful this year. Its only taken us a good four years to get there hahahahahaha…but finally we are removing all the Fao tree, its like a weed and grows out of control. We cut it down every few months and it just grows on back. So this year we have started removing all the roots so they dont grow back anymore!
We have created a new little garden next to the new man cave, we have also cleared our old garden out and put in some hydroponics. Heres hoping to being self sufficient mostly…kinda…getting there! hahahahaha….We have pumpkins, papaya, limes, taro, spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, capsicum, chillies, herbs, to name a few things 🙂
Tonga Kitesurfing Season & Day trips 2018
The kitesurfing has been spectacular so far this year! It has been on since April showing our guests, new and old, a really good time! We have had a few kiting groups out this year and they all had some really nice wind! Woohooo! There was a weird break in August from the SE trades…we had SW blows for almost 3 weeks! We had some westerly kiting on the sea side and also did some downwinders for guests in that time. Not the norm for this time of year but hey there was still wind so we coped.
We have had quite a few day trips out to Nukepule this year…the snorkelling is to die for! Amazing visibility, amazing fish life and scenery. If you get a chance to visit these remote islands during your stay with us, do so. I have seen as many as 8 turtles in a snorkel, napolean wrasse in all their glory, huge schools of banner fish and bat fish, and many other amazing creatures of the sea. Definitely our favourite place for snorkelling!
Everyone has also loved the humpbacks which always put on a show so close to Fanifo Lofa. We have really enjoyed chatting to all the excited guests before and after their whale encounters. It truly is a magical experience. Glen and i got to take our staff out yesterday with Ha’apai beach resort. What an amazing day! We spent the first hour and a half swimming with a mother and calf. The calf was so playful whilst the mother kept a watchful eye on all of us. We saw babies feeding, breaching, spy hopping, pec slaps and tail slaps. There were honestly whales wherever we looked. Can i say we had a whale of a time…or is that too cheesy? hahahahahaha We also had a bit of an experience with a hammerhead shark. There were people swimming with a mother and a calf when we spotted the hammerhead thrashing on the surface about 20m away. All of sudden the mother and calf started breaching and lots of splashing.  It was a rather exciting day had by all!
Animals..
We have given birth….well not we..but tinkerbell got pregnant this year…she gave birth to 10 puppies and 3 died at birth. We gave 5 to other homes and we kept two. We have named our beautiful little puppies Gofel and Bear! After this little mishap we decided that something must be done so i took Tinkerbell to see SPAW the volunteer vets in Nukualofa. They were in Tonga for one week in August so off i flew with the dog and got her spayed…finally…it was just in time too as she was on heat again and had her last hoorah with Jenga when we returned. It was an exciting trip had by all…hahahaha not. Very stressful for me and Tinky. All home and safe now though!
Come and join us in 2019 for some kitesurfing and day trips in lovely warm tropical surroundings. Kitesurfing at its best but also many other activities to enjoy. We are looking forward to seeing new faces and our awesome regular guests out for some more kitesurfing and loads more fun. You all make our home a truly enjoyable place to live each year and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Without you we could not live in this piece of kitesurfing paradise x
