February 8, 2026
NUKU' ALOFA, is the capital of
The Kingdom of Tonga, one of the last remaining
Polynesian monarchies
in the world. It is on the main island of
Tongatapu. The Kingdom of Tonga
is compromised of 170 islands, in the South Pacific and many are uninhabited. Most of the islands are protected by lagoons and some like
Tongatapu are surrounded by limestone cliffs. This
second port for us in
Tonga, was
the starting point of my latest adventure, off the Ship.
Fourteen of us, lead again by Ben, went from Nuku' Alofa airport (TBU) to the remote island of HA'APAI , Tonga ( HPA) to Matafonua Lodge and Sandy Beach Resort for ten days. Google barely shows this island as a dot in the sea and the government shakely owns the only airline , Lulutai to fly there. There is a ferry, but it takes 15 hours, to travel from Tongatapu. Six of our group flew on the first flight at 7 am and above is the balance of us - (L to R) Me, Bosco, Basia, Kim & Phil, Ben, Jimbo and Anna on the 10 am flight. Luckily it only takes 50 minutes and then we traveled another 20 minutes by vans to the Resort.
The Resort is on the northern tip of the island and is surrounded by a protective lagoon, with one of the King's uninhabitated islands across the channel from the resort. The two resorts Matafonua and Sandy Beach are both owned & operated by the British couple Nina and Darin, who bought it 16 years ago from the German founder. Sandy Beach was built first as a German retreat to sunbath and relax. When later he brought in a dive master, he found the Germans were not using, so he built a more affordable campy second resort, to attrack younger guest and divers. Today, they operate both to appeal to both price points. The campy Matafonua has a shared bathouse and the huts are basic, with no screened windows and mosquito nets over beds. Sandy beach units have ensuite bathrooms and showers, operable screened windows, mini bars and ceiling fans. It was the off season, so both resorts shared the common dining area at Matafonua and other amenities.
