This was our favorite spot in Vava’u. We anchored in the lee of the small island of Kenutu on the eastern fringe of the island group, and it was spectacular. Kenutu is part of a string of small islands, and the surf rushes through the gaps and sends a spray up producing quite a show. There was some challenging navigation through two reef passes to get there, but with waypoints from the guidebook and, more importantly, good visibility, it wasn’t much of a problem. Our first time there we were with four other kid boats (Lady Carolina, Sudoeste, Dafne, and Moana Roa), and our first evening there we had all the parents over to Exodus and all 11 kids went over to Dafne (another catamaran) and the kids weren’t allowed to play video games or watch a movie. So, they played truth or dare (iPhone app), and eventually, Alex turned into a small kid jumping bag.
The island of Kenutu isn’t very big, but there is a short hike up to the top where there is a view of the rugged Western side, and Tim and I even saw a sea turtle chillin in the surf below. There is a treehouse on the top of the ledge that looked precarious at best, but after Tim climbed up in it, I couldn’t help but join him and we enjoyed a beer together in peace and quiet with a stunning view. While we were exploring around the top of the island, we met some people with two kids about our boys’ ages. So, after chatting a bit, we invited them to join us later that afternoon for Joel’s birthday party. It turns out one of the guys, Ben, owns a, well, resort makes it sound a little too pretentious, more like an island bed and breakfast, on a nearby island. The couple and their kids who were with him were his guests, and he was taking them on a tour of Kenutu. They appreciated the invite, and they even showed up! Ben wowed our crowd with his quad copter. I have video of the quad copter flying about and everyone being wowed by it, but I never did get any of the footage filmed from the quad copter itself. Lucky for us, this will not be the last appearance of a quad copter in our adventure.
Speaking of Joel’s birthday… We were with him for his 9th birthday way back in Bahia de Los Angeles in Mexico, and now we were with him again for his 10th birthday here in Tonga. Steve and Carolina organized a beach hot dog roast, and with all the kid boats there, it was quite the party. I’m pretty sure they bought all the hot dogs available in Neiafu, and they arranged with a local baker to bake all of the buns. It was quite the party and quite the feast. The afternoon was capped off with an epic game of capture the flag with both parents and kids participating.
The day after Joel’s birthday, everyone else headed back to town, but we weren’t in much of a hurry, so we stayed a few more days. The next night another boat showed up and played loud country music into the night, but the following couple of days it was just us and the sound of the surf. There’s something to be said for having an anchorage all to yourself. The boys miss other kids, but we also got a chance to have some pretty special family time. Tim and Brenden ventured out to the crashing waves side of the island and came back with some tasty rock cod, which we sauteed in garlic and red pepper flakes. What a treat! We hadn’t had nice white reef fish like that since Mexico, since we are always concerned about the possibility of ciguatera. When Steve isn’t around, Brenden is Tim’s default spearfishing buddy, and yes, he was only 11, and yes, the western side of this island is quite the washing machine. But I learned way back in Isla Isabel in Mexico what a strong swimmer Brenden is, so I keep my worrying to a minimum (not zero, though, I am a mom after all). One afternoon we took a dinghy excursion to the island just north of Kenutu, called ‘Umuma, and hiked around and climbed down into a huge cave with a freshwater pool inside. At least the guidebook said it was freshwater, none of us tested it to be sure. Inside the cave there were boulder sized rocks to climb around to get down to the pool, and the air and water were both quite still inside. Some of the cruiser write ups we had read indicated that the cave was difficult to find and that some people never found it. On the contrary, we thought the trailhead from the beach was pretty obvious. And the trail kept on going after the cave, so we followed it around and enjoyed some more spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean. It is typical when we hike that the boys race on ahead of us, and when Tim and I made it back to the beach, the boys were enjoying the fun of a swing hanging from one of the trees.
Gresham Family Exodus 