f.VAVA'UVava'u, with its encircling waterway, has one of the most
beautiful harbors in the Pacific, or for that matter, in the world, as
you will soon discover for yourself. Vava'u has gem-like islands that
make a perfect setting for all your dreams of a Pacific paradise. The
islands, like women, must have something more than beauty if they are
to continue to attract.
Happily, Vava'u has that something that is as interesting as it is
beautiful. You have only to talk to some of its bright young people to
discover a history so cosmopolitan that it vtrtually connects these
islands to every continent in the world. Or, listen to some of the old
men and women and you'll be carried back in history to the ancient
times of myth.
Fishing has always been a part of the Tongan way of life. The
fish story to end all fish stories became a part of Tongan storytelling
when Maui, the great Polynesian God, threw his line into the sparkling
ocean and soon felt that tug which spells excitement. He gave a mighty
pull, another mighty pull, then another and there were all the islands
of Vava'u! No wonder the local people feel so much at home on the sea!
The islands themselves curve lovingly around the water, making endless
bays, tiny beaches and secret inlets.
The first inhabitants of "Mauis fish" settled in a yet
undetermined date of the history of mankind. They settled on the island
and learned to make use of everything they found on the islands and in
the surrounding sea. In doing so, they grew to love their home and
even today the most adventurous and the most sophisticated of Vava'u's