Having experienced a nasty weather system on our trip down to NZ, we were keen to wait for a "good" weather window for the trip back up to Tonga. Once again, every conversation with cruising friends eventually would come round to, "So, when are you thinking to leave?" or "What do you reckon to the latest forecast?" or "When are you leaving, 'cause we'll leave at the same time!". Slowly Opua started to empty as flotillas of yachts headed north - some with schedules to keep, and others who believed they had identified a good gap between the endless series of depressions. Frequently rumours made it back to the remaining yachts of gale force winds, boats heaving to for several days, and yachts ending up making landfall on islands many hundreds of miles away from their planned destinations.

One, two three, blow! Ruth and Elaisa ready to attack the cake

We waited. And waited. And waited. Luckily we had the distraction of my 39th (yikes!) birthday - there's nothing like champagne and chocolate cake to make you forget about the cold and teeming rain.

Finally, a large high pressure area formed over Australia and started to move slowly across the Tasman Sea - the sign that we had been waiting for. Time to collect the duty free wine, present Customs with a photo of "Do It" (to be used in case of a search and rescue attempt), enjoy a final hot shower, and say our farewells to cruisers heading further west.

We have done so little sailing during our 6 months in NZ, it was not surprising that we required seasickness tablets and a packet of ginger nuts in order to relocate our sea-legs. We decided to follow the standard advice of sailing east towards the Kermadec Islands, then heading almost due north for Tonga. We are both fascinated by islands such as these - tiny outcrops of rock, hundreds of miles from anywhere, surrounded by 3000m deep seas. Landing is no longer permitted on any of the islands, and though we sailed within 5 miles of the largest island, Raoul Island, the law of sod dictated that we passed by at 1am. By the light of an almost full moon, the silhouette of the island could just be distinguished as a black shape against the black sky and the black sea. Not the best conditions for a photo, but at least we can now say we have seen the Kermadecs - just.

Nuku'alofa bakery Physical size is a measure of Tongan beauty

Our 9 day sail northwards was just the right sort of passage to rekindle a love of sailing. The wind blew mainly from the south, requiring us stay bundled up in thermals and fleeces, but it blew steadily and not too strongly. The moon was waxing, shining brighter and longer every night. "Do It" showed her appreciation for all the TLC she has enjoyed in NZ by speeding along at a surprising rate of knots. The combination of re-rigged mast and fresh antifouling increased our speeds by at least 10%.

As dusk fell on our final night, we witnessed one of the more disturbing sights for a sailor - a huge ring around the moon. The first time we witnessed this, we thought "Oh, how pretty!", but now we know this phenomenon is a harbinger of strong winds and torrential rain. Luck was on our side this year, and we snuck into the secure harbour of Nukualofa on Tongatapu before the bad weather arrived.

Nuku'alofa supermarket The remains of a supermarket after the riots

After more than a week, we are still happily secured in the harbour. I know many think we are on a permanent holiday, but we feel like we have been working hard down in NZ and have decided to take things slowly for a while. The south wind has been replaced by a hot northerly, and the water temperature is a whole 10 deg C higher than in NZ. The duvet has been put back in storage along with our thermals and socks - not to be seen again until we return to NZ.

By returning to Nukualofa, we have crossed our track for the first time since St Lucia. We enjoyed our time here last year - this is a "working" town, rather than a tourist resort. It is a novelty for us to arrive somewhere and know what to do and where to go. Of course the Tongans have kept us on our toes by completely changing the clearance process and even relocating several shops.

Signs of mourning

Angus wrote about Tongatapu back in October last year, so here's just a couple of extra interesting features:

During the anti-monarchy riots here in November 2006, many supermarkets were looted and burned - primarily those owned by immigrant Chinese. The debris has been cleared from all these sites, leaving many vacant lots, some of which are now used as impromptu car parks but most of which still remain barren after 18 months.

Angus described the black clothing and woven mats which are worn by Tongans during periods of mourning. During these times, the homes of the deceased are swathed in lengths of black and purple fabric. Simple homes often just have a single narrow strip of fabric tacked along the edge of the roof, or purple ribbons tied around the shrubs which bound their properties, however grander homes sport yards of gathered satin in swags along the cast iron railings.

Parliament parade Beautiful ta'ovala worn by the school teachers

Whilst in Tongatapu we had heard several brass bands practising in the evenings, and had glimpsed a school band marching around their playing fields. We had assumed this was in preparation for Tonga's Emancipation Day on 4th June, hence were surprised to see troops of smartly dressed school children marching into the town centre yesterday. We soon learnt that the occasion was the opening of parliament, so as good tourists we followed the crowds and secured a good pitch directly in front of the parliament building. What a show! Once the dignitaries had left the building, the parade started - headed up by the Tongan army in their solar topees, the navy, the girl guides and boy scouts, and then the schools…. Each school was led by a brass band - including one having great fun playing the Monty Python theme tune. The boys followed, wearing their uniforms of valas (skirts) with ta'ovalas (finely woven pandanus leaf mats). The girls, all with their hair braided into two plaits, either wore pinafores or skirts with a pandanus waistband. The teachers brought up the rear, wearing their formal ta'ovalas - often of beautiful designs.

Unfortunately we had left our cameras on board - after all, we had only gone ashore to visit Immigration… Huge thanks to Graham & Liz from "Ellida of Laira" for sharing their photos with us. The video of the event is here.

Baskets of manioke Huge baskets of casava for £2 each

After the convenience of NZ supermarkets, it is fun to be back amongst fresh produce stalls and family run bakeries. For Tongans, big is beautiful - and this is reflected not only in the extensive range of iced cakes and doughnuts available in the bakery, but also in the variety of high starch root vegetables on offer in the market. The market vendors weave baskets of palm leaves to contain the huge piles of taro, yams, casava and sweet potatoes. I feel rather frivolous asking to buy only a few vegges, but one basket of taro would keep us supplied for the entire season!

We'll be spending all of June in the Kingdom of Tonga. Our plan is to meander through the reefs and atolls of the Ha'apai group, then head further north to the Vava'u group - arriving there in time to see the arrival of the humpback whales.