Ha’apai is the center island group between Vava’u to the north and Tongatapu to the south. And compared to both, tourism is virtually nonexistent. There are approximately 60 islands, 18 of them being inhabited with about a total of 30 villages. While Vava’u can be considered a cluster of islands, bunched together to provide many sheltered anchorages for the cruiser to choose from, Ha’apai is more like two parallel strings of smaller islands spread out with far less protection. The two parallel island chains are the western group extending from Ofolanga down to Kelefesia, and the eastern group, from Ha’ano to Limu. Without tourism, Ha’apai seemed much poorer and more isolated than what we had been accustomed to in Vava’u.
Overall, we found our navionics charts to be OK for the entire Ha’apai group, however there are so many reefs you definitely have to do all your moving around in the daytime with good light.
For maritime history fans, Ha’apai was visited by the icons such as Captain Cook, Captain Tasman, and Captain Bligh. It was, in fact, where the mutiny on the HMS bounty actually occurred.
Gresham Family Exodus 