Tonga - May 2007 - Ben Ridge's Photo Journal- powered by SmugMug

Visiting the often-overlooked Polynesian Island of Tonga for 17 days. Our last overseas trip before moving back to the US.

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Ben Ridge > Welcome to the Kingdom of Tonga, with crystal clear waters and an easy-going, non-touristy environment. However, just because its easy-going doesn't mean its easy... keep reading to see.

Ben Ridge > Tonga had some of the easiest acccess to snorkeling locations of any place I'd been. Lots of fish, some decent coral, and a few extras like sting rays, moray eels, and large clams.

Ben Ridge > Good beaches weren't as easy to find as we hoped, but once we did find them they were worth it. Very few people around, very relaxing. I read more books on this 17 day trip than I can ever remember doing before.

Ben Ridge > The people were very friendly, and loved having their photo taken. I wish I would have taken more photos of the people.

Ben Ridge > There were a few standard tourist attractions, such as these blowholes that spew ocean water when the waves hit the coral wall. But there were rarely other people around when we got to them. Tonga has yet to become a hot tourist location, which was a nice change, especially since NZ is often very tourist-centered.

Ben Ridge > With something like 80 islands, its hard to get too far away from a boat. Just don't always count on them to work!

Ben Ridge > The weather usually changed a few times a day, which meant several nice photo ops for sunsets.

Ben Ridge > We often hopped boats to get between the islands, as most islands didn't have grocery stores or restaurants. It was BYO food, so we often had to head back to one of the main islands to re-supply.

Welcome to the Kingdom of Tonga, with crystal clear waters and an easy-going, non-touristy environment. However, just because its easy-going doesn't mean its easy... keep reading to see.

Camera: Canon (Canon Powershot S80) |

More details: exif |

Original size: 3264px x 2448px |

Current: 400px x 300px |

Other sizes: Small • M • L |

filename: _heather_kids_swimming |

Keywords: kids heather swimming

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