Saturday, May 25, 2019

Kenutu Island (Vava'u Group, Tonga)

[Kyle]Ofu was too crowded, so we moved to easternmost anchorage of Vava’u, the uninhabited island of Kenutu. Almost all of the other cruising boats in Vava’u were hiding out in well-protected Neiafu Harbor from Tropical Disturbance 12. Fetoko and Ofu were visible from Kenutu, but it faces the unpopulated sides of each, so it felt like we were a lot further away from the crowds than we actually were.

{Maryanne: Oh boy, yes, Ofu which is totally off the grid and with a population of just 171 people - too crowded for Kyle! He wanted an uninhabited hideaway - so we set off for a place we knew of...}

We weaved our way through the many coral reefs between Ofu and Kenutu until we finally pulled up to a shallow spot in the sand, where we were able to anchor just off of the beach.


Kenutu Island (from the sheltered side)
A black noddy hangs out with us, and while sheltered ourselves, we can see the waves crashing through the gap at the southern end of Kenutu

At the beach, there is a short trail to the cliffs on the windward side. We took it and then spent a couple of hours poking around the perimeters of various inlets, looking at the views and marveling at the power of the surf. TD12 had whipped up quite a sea and massive waves were pounding into the rock and then exploding into spray. {Maryanne: Kenutu is an island on the far East side of Vava'u - and as such it gets the full force of the trade winds sculpting its cliffs. We were anchored on the sheltered side, but the short walk took us to the 'wild-side' for sure! It was great to see.}


Kenutu - the trail to the wild side!
Amazingly we came across the nesting Brown Booby (bird) on top of one of the cliffs

After we returned to the beach, we took the dinghy as close as we dared to the gap between Kenutu and the next island of Lolo to the south. The approaching swell was funneled and magnified there as it approached the opening. By the time they reached the islands, the waves had grown to the 7-8 meter range. Many were breaking completely over nine-meter Lolo, often sending plumes of spray to twice that height. The reef forms a wall across the gap, so it was possible to stand on it in ankle-deep water and face off against giant, curling breakers as they boomed towards us. It took some will to fight the instinct to run, or duck, or something as they towered overhead. But then the wave would fan out once it got through the gap and the reef would dissipate most of the rest of the energy. All that would be left is three inches of water racing across our shins.


Getting a closer view of the chaos between the islands

I scrambled up the rocks on the Kenutu side to get a look at the windward side of the gap from up above. It was a pretty impressive thing to see. That was definitely NOT swimming water. I was climbing down when I got a text from Maryanne. That was strange. I guess I’m not used to realizing we have a phone signal out here. Anyway, it said, “We need to get out of here – Come back”


Kyle climbs the cliff for an even closer look!

Uh-oh.

Even though the tide was falling, the waves seemed to be building. A particularly big one had dunked her and thrown her into the wall. It looked like my route back was about to be underwater, so she summoned me back. I got down with no issue, but only with her acting as a wave lookout, timing it carefully and then moving fast when I came down.

We decided to have a look around the reefs with a snorkel the next day. The seas had calmed a lot, but the current through the gap between Kenutu and Lolo was still so strong we could barely make way against it. We swam as hard as we could as far as we could and then turned for the free sleigh ride back to the boat, floating over sea stars and coral and colonies of surprised-looking fish.

Another boat showed up, breaking our bubble of solitude. We swam over to say hi. They were cordial, but not particularly welcoming. We talked a bit from the water and learned they had just sailed up from the Ha’apai group and were soon to leave for Fiji. We told them we were planning on going to the next island tomorrow. “Our” uninhabited island would then become “their” uninhabited island.

We spent the last hours of daylight mesmerized by the spectacle of the waves pouring in between Kenutu and Lolo. Man, that’s a lot of water!


Snorkelling the calmer waters

No comments: