Last time we cleared in to Tonga in Vava’u and cleared out of Tongatapu, so we had no experience with formalities at Niuatoputapu. They made it easy, though. On Monday morning we were contacted by radio and then officials from Health, Quarantine, Immigration, and Customs came to the boat to process us. They took care of all the paperwork, but we would need to go to shore to pay the fees. In the evening we received a radio call from Sia, welcoming us to the island as the first boat of the 2016 cruising season.
The next day we went to shore and Sia gave us a ride to the offices to pay our fees and show us a bit of the island.
Later in the afternoon Tim and Brenden went spearfishing and brought back a big blue trevally and a coral trout. We took the coral trout to Sia and were happy to find they didn’t have ciguatera there, which meant all the fish, including the groupers and snappers, were edible. This was a nice change after Tuvalu, Kiribati, and Marshalls. So, Tim and Brenden went fishing almost every day and made a habit of coming back with dinghies full of fish to share with the village.
Getting a ride around the island from Sia
Gresham Family Exodus 