Tonga Photos

About

Our photos of Tonga were taken in 2008 and include islands in the Tongatapu Group. Included is the main island Tongatapu and the capital,  city of Nuku’alofa. We take a look at the local food markets, meet the locals, and take an extensive walk around town. Beyond that, ventured to some  stunning beaches, palm tree plantations, and passed through some smaller settlements. We also visit a cave, some blowholes, and an archeological site.

We then traveled to neighboring Eua Island.  While relatively close to Tongatapu, Eua is off the beaten track. In a one day photo shoot, we captured isolated coastlines, silica beaches, coral gardens, and visited Eua National Park in the island’s interior. Within the park we photographed tropical rainforest containing cedars, giant fig trees, tall fern trees, and native birdlife. Nearby we discovered an almost bottomless sinkhole. A top some spectacular cliffs we visit a natural rock garden made from uplifted corals and walk across a natural land bridge.

We ventured out to other islands including three coral cays about one hour’s boat ride from Tongatapu Island. Fafa Island in our opinion had the best beaches of the three islands and a forested interior with some nice walks. Atata Island with its unusual orange sand beaches supports a small settlement where an intact local community thrives to this day. Pangaimotu Island also had some beautiful beaches, great diving, and offered a number of walks through the forested interior.

Tonga treated us well and despite not having much luxury accommodation and services, the islands of Tonga scored high on adventure.

Take a look at our photos of Tonga below. They are further organized by category if you wish to drill down to a specific location.