Ian let me sleep until 09:30 and then we walked along the waterfront in search of some bicycles to hire. Almost immediately we saw a dead piglet by the roadside. We walked in the wrong direction to the bicycle hire shops and some minutes later I convinced Ian to turn around and walk in the opposite direction. Would you believe that the bicycle hire shops were almost at the junction from where we started walking?
We equipped ourselves with a couple of old mountain bikes, with some brakes, and pedalled back to the lodge. After getting some more supplies from the supermarket we had some cheese sandwiches and swiss roll and left on our bicycles for the Blow Holes, some 10 kilometres away on the other side of the island. The sun was shining today and we were hot as we cycled. It took us just over and hour to reach the Blow Holes and the journey was definately worth it.
They were spectacular. I loved it. So much water, with so much energy, crashing against the rock shelves. The waves were enormous and the spray went so high in to the sky! It took me no time at all to reel off twenty photographs! The great noise that the Blow Holes create as water is forced out up in to the sky through the rocks is amazing. It is so loud it is like thunderclaps! Many of them took me by surprise as they just seemed to get bigger and louder! The whole edge of the coast, as far as we could see, had these fantastic blow holes with waves pounding at the rock face. They were incredible!
We cycled back to Nuka'alofa, pausing at a quiet little beach cove down a muddy track, and arrived back at the lodge for 18:00. My brother will be proud of me - Ian told me we cycled 30 kilometres in total and I thought that that explained why my backside ached so much. The name of my bicycle was quite apt - 'Superia Huffy.'
Back in the bathroom at the lodge I found a gecko, resting on the toilet brush handle, trying to camouflage, badly. He was bright orange and the toilet brush handle was black.
There are plenty of geckos on Tonga. I never realised what noisy blighters they were. For such a small creature they make such a loud noise!
Feeling quite guilty I also managed to exchange the battered novel that I acquired from Paul's library for one that a friend of Sofia's had left for her to read, which she had failed to do.
Copyright 2002 Helen Fuller. All rights reserved.