Uonukuhihifo

[Kyle]If we were ever to move for some reason to a suburban development that uses cutesy Tongan street names, I would pay extra to take our second choice and avoid having Uonukuhihifo Terrace as our street address. Imagine having to write that on all of your correspondence.

So far, Uonukuhihifo Island has no roads or houses or mini marts or anything else other than a whole lotta coconuts. We swam ashore to collect just four for our personal use, walked the beach and then took the log way home via the coral reef surrounding the anchorage. The reef here was much taller and more dramatic than in Uoleva and we had a good time threading our way through its columns.

Once we were back aboard and getting dry, I spotted a small pod of about four dolphins swimming behind the boat. Maryanne decided she just couldn't miss them and went in in pursuit. I stayed behind with the binoculars so I could guide her to them with big arm signals.

Two or three times, she got within ten meters of them, but couldn't see them below the water because of poor visibility. She finally gave up when they headed for deep water and she could no longer make out my directions, which by then had all switched to 'come back'.

When she finally turned home for Begonia, she had over a mile to go against the current. Even with binoculars, she looked small and alone out there. I knew she could probably make out the bottom where she was so she would be a better judge than I as to whether she was making any progress towards me. I decided to keep a close eye on her with the idea that if she stopped swimming for any length of time, I would start Begonia, pull up the anchor and go get her. She didn't, though, and after hunkering down and swimming pretty hard for almost an hour, she finally grabbed the swim ladder and was able to rest before finally pulling herself aboard. She more than earned her dinner that night.

Exploring Uonukuhihifo