Vava’u, Tonga - 1 of 3 Pouono Park, Mt. Talau

Tonga is a country of 171 islands (45 inhabited) and on 290 sq miles over 270,000 sq miles and population of about 106,000 people. We had plans in the capital of the main island, Nuku’alofa, Tongatapu, but as that “changed”, and we visited Vava’u. The Kingdom of Tonga is a Polynesian country that lies to the south of Samoa, southeast of Fiji and northeast of New Zealand. Tonga is a constitutional monarchy, making it unique in the Pacific. Tonga’s monarchy is over 1,000 years old and its constitution dates to 1875 with King Tupou VI at the head. Australia and Tonga enjoy a close bilateral relationship in business, security and people.

We anchored in Vavaʻu and took a ship tour as there weren’t any 3rd party options offered here. One of the first places to be inhabited in the South Pacific over 2,500 years ago by Polynesians, the Europeans and missionaries came here in the 19th Century. Our tour included Pouono Park, Mt. Talau, 'Utula'aina Lookout, St Joseph's Cathedral, Veimumuni Cave, and a Vanilla Plantation.

We began at Pouono Park, Neiafu to see the important monument where in 1839 that King George Tupou I proclaimed the Vava'u Code, dedicating the kingdom to Christian principles, also establishing the foundation for unified Tongan governance. It formalized Christian principles, abolished serfdom, and introduced rights for commoners, serving as the foundation for the 1875 Constitution. We saw the commemorative monument (through a fence due to a government holiday) representing the strong spiritual and cultural heritage of the archipelago.

After a drive up Mt. Talau, we went to the lookout at the 431’ summit for views of Neiafu Harbor and the Port of Refuge. We did the climb up the steep incline it was clearly worth it. The view of the harbor was wonderful (see photos). Read the attached photo of the very strange legend (true?) of why it is FLAT.
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