OUR ISLAND IS LIFUKA, one of the 70 or so islands that makes up the Ha'apai district of the Kingdom of Tonga. Although it may be confusing, there is no island named Ha'apai, and when one speaks of the Ha'apai area one is usually referring to the islands of Lifuka and Foa which are connected by a causeway.

This is the waterfront of Pangai, the main city on Lifuka and the place most often referred to when one speaks about Ha'apai. The little jetty in this photo is a favorite place for Simba and I to go swimming. There are several local fishing boats here, and often you will see one docked at this jetty to unload the catch for the marketplace close by. This view is at 'half tide' so some boats are up on the shore and some are still afloat. You can see a little bit of the small breakwater behind the jetty. Ha'apai harbor is not very protected and in the case of a big storm it is not a good place for sailboats and yatchs to hide from the storm.

This is the view up along the waterfront towards the main wharf from the fishing jetty. There are several boats moored along the way including the british landing boat that was a gift to the governor. I have never seen this boat go out from the harbor, and they tell me it is very expensive to repair. There are a few containers on the main wharf back there. When the yachties come in to Ha'apai this is where you will see them lined up. It's also a place where locals wait for their ride to a neighbor island to come in. On Friday afternoon there are lots of locals going back to their homes on Ha'ano or Uiha, the two nearest islands without road access (or horseback access in the case of Uoleva). Sometimes you will find people going out to Ha'afeva or Nomuka, a bit further out from here.

Ships with cranes can unload containers in Ha'apai. This ship comes from New Zealand several times a year to bring containers of cargo and to take back mostly empty ones. The containers are maneuvered onto the wharf area by cranes but then must be unloaded by hand onto trucks. The containers never leave the area adjacent to the dock where they arrive. Weekly ferry boats move most of the cargo into and out of Ha'apai. Those two, the Olovaha and Pulupaki leave Nuku'alofa on Monday and Tuesday, arrive in Ha;apai early in the morning, then head up to Vava'u. Then they turn right around and go back down. The Olovaha heads way out to the Niua's (Niuatoputapu and Niuafo'ou) every month or so after docking in Vava'u.

And this is the view from the main harbor area back past the fishing jetty towards the village of Hihifo, which is pretty much adjacent to Pangai. You can see how open the whole harbor area is. The Royal residence is visable at the left. In the back you can tell where the hospital and TCC communications tower is. You can also see how Lifuka is a very flat island. This little sailboat looks very lonely. Several of the 'Yachties' who have come to visit Tonga have given up their travelling ways and find happiness as a landlubber. I have'nt ever seen this little yacht go out sailing, probably just another happy Ha'apai resident now.

The earthquake of May 2006 caused the whole island to sink about a foot, but it may rise the same or more during the next one. This along with rising sea levels due to global climate change presents a risk to Ha'apai that is clearly evident in the photos here. This is not a particularly turbulent sea that has breached the seawall along the waterfront. You can see in the back that the ocean is just about up to the same level as the fishing jetty too. The approach area to the jetty is awash with seawater during particularly high tide periods. It is only a matter of time before the approach will wash away and we will have to make repairs to reach the jetty.

This damage from the sea level rise is really disturbing and the cost of replacing the seawall is a lot more than we have I am sure. The building in the photo below was a public toilet, no longer in use. The septic tank is now less than a meter from the ocean.

Island Geography