Aside from the scenery, the vibe is a mix of island chill and European openness. It’s very laid back but unlike small town America full of low budget burger joints and diners, New Zealand had charming and tasty little cafes and restaurants that could have fit right in nestled in Greenwich Village, NYC. Life slows down and the pace and is more friendly and relaxed. I couldn’t believe when I entered a commercial airplane without taking off my belt, my shoes, my hat, tap dancing, and then bending over before being selected for additional screening. I simply handed the agent my ticket and proceeded. I kept waiting to turn a corner and find a long security line, but it never happened. I boarded the plane without ever going through a metal detector or search. In nearly one month, I never was asked for some spare change. The country is very safe, so much in fact, that there are several single female travelers.

I met people from France, Scotland, England, Austria, Germany, Israel, and the list goes on. I met more people from Argentina than I did from America. When I told people I was from the States I got responses like “Wow, we haven’t talked with an American for two months,” and “You’re the first American under the age of 60 we’ve seen in a while” or “Shouldn’t you be in an office working 60 hours a week?” Most times I heard someone with a similar accent and asked which State they were from, they responded, “I’m from Canada.” While my travels are quite banal in many other cultures, in America they are a rarity. People don’t usual take more than a week of vacation at a time. Two weeks is pushing things and three weeks is unheard of. Maybe it’s just a mindset of wanderers. And as sad as I was to leave I finally had to say goodbye to New Zealand.

I got on a plane heading for The Kingdom of Tonga. I quickly remembered what attracted me with the culture in the first place. I sent an email to my old best friend from high school, which I haven’t seen in 16, years and told him I was coming to Tonga and would be staying at a hostel. My flight arrived at 1:00 AM and there he was ready to pick me up and take me to his place. He just said don’t worry about Toni’s Hostel and that we can talk to them later. He had a whole guesthouse in back of where he and his family live. Now if I thought life slowed down in New Zealand in Tonga it simply crawled. The next day Sione showed me around the island.

The speed limit on what is akin to a freeway is 40 KPH. We constantly drove about 10 KPH under that, which equals about 20 miles per hour. Everywhere we went people waved and said hello. We stopped here and there to sit on lawns, talk with people he knew, and eat watermelon. When we got home his wife had the kids ready and we drove down to the local deserted South Pacific beach with images of Robinson Crusoe, and Swiss Family Robinson in my head. I slowly climbed into the bathwater. This was heaven. Walking back, I was struggling to get my socks and shoes pulled over my wet feet where the path became rocky. Another guy that I had known in Salt Lake kicked his sandals in my direction and just plowed through the stony path bare foot. Soon we would be back at the house and drinking kava. I will have to finish our adventures later because my limited time can't do my thoughts justice and perhaps never will. Never the less I would rather continue later.

written by  JCinTheSouthPole on April 3, 2010 from Neiafu, Tonga
from the travel blog: South Pacific
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glad your alive and well!! (was beginning to wonder)

Tonga now eh?? That's awesome!!! I'm so jealous you have got to go to New Zealand AND now Tonga!!! How exciting for you!! So sad you don't have more time to write more stories of your adventures...I hope you will eventually tell them!

Happy Easter!

written by  April on April 4, 2010

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