There was enough time to catch a light breakfast at Friends Cafe (which turns out to be owned by an ex-colleague of Kim’s). We headed to the airport around 0900 for our 1120 flight back to Auckland.
On leaving Tonga, here’s my summary:
- It is probably my favourite Pacific Island so far.
- It is cheaper than many of the others due to the weak currency, the Tongan Paanga.
- It isn’t over touristed. It is very laid back and what tourism they have is on a smaller scale. This creates a much nicer atmosphere.
- Food was excellent. Every meal we had was great.
- The only bad thing is the ludicrously expensive domestic airfares. At least the air service now is fairly reliable with Chathams Pacific unlike its predecessors such as Royal Tongan Airlines.
I hope to come back one day!