On July 21, 2009, a group visited Tongatapu, starting the day early with breakfast and a bus ride to the capital, Nukualofa, where they shopped at the market. They later toured the village, cleaning bus windows and enjoying lively music before arriving at the historical site Ha'a Monga 'a Maui, a royal gateway with significant carvings. The day included climbing activities and coconut harvesting, concluding with a return to the bus after a fun-filled experience.

1. Tuesday 21 July 2009
Liuaki Room 2

2. On Day 2 the kids
and adults had to
get up by 7:30 am,
brush their teeth,
have a shower, get dressed into
mufti, clean their sleeping area
and have breakfast.

3. We were getting ready
to go to have a look
around Tongatapu. One
place we were looking
forward to visiting is a
famous place called
“HA’A MONGA ‘A
MAUI”.

4. After breakfast everybody
loaded up onto the bus. As
soon as we got on the bus
the music started pumping –
as we were moving along it
got louder and louder. Once
the last person finally got on
we started going to the
capital city of Tonga, which is
called “NUKUALOFA”.

5. It took us all of 15
minutes to get to the
city centre. We went
to the market,
everybody got off and
started shopping up
large for our families
back in NZ.

6. After everyone finished
loading up with goodies for
their families the driver took
us for a ride around. We went
on a long as ride - it was very
far, it was so long that most of
the kids and some of the
adults went to sleep. While
we were cruising around we
went past different villages -
like about five of them.

7. The windows were very dirty,
we wanted to look out and see
what the villages were like. So
the adults started cleaning
them. Our local “Music Man”
told the bus driver so he turned
off at his shop, they cleaned the
windows and while the kids
helped them wash the bus some
of the adults went and got us
some lollies and that.

8. When the bus was fresh and
clean we left again. We went
for another long ride, we
were almost at Ha’amonga.
We went by this beautiful
area and stopped. We all
looked out, saw this old as
coconut tree and took
pictures of it. Then we left
again.

9. While we were going along
in the bus it was like being
in a nightclub. The music
was on loud and the ladies
were dancing in the middle
of the aisle. Most of them
were dancing like real
nightclub people. But they
were cool and funny
dancers to.

10. Finally there it was - a big
rock known as “HA’A
MONGA ‘A MAUI”. It’s on
the “east side” of the island
(like us in NZ) in a village
called Niutoua. It was built
by the King of Tonga named
TU'I TATUI in 1212 A.D. It
was used as a gateway to
the Royal Compound.

11. What's special about the
HA'AMONGA? We didn’t
know until Toa (one of the
mums) told us that it was a
gateway and that there were
some strange carvings on top of
the stone that tells the Tongan
people when the shortest and
longest day of the year occur.
On those two days the sun is
centred in the arch of the stone.

12. We started taking pictures and
videos. Everyone wanted to
climb up. Some kids were
struggling to climb and some of
them made it up. Then our D.J.
just came out of the blue and
climbed it like it was nothing and
everybody was amazed. Then
Mrs Tafea took the ones that
didn’t make it all the way up to
this area where it had another
rock - but it was smaller.

13. Everyone started taking
pictures of it. There were
coconut trees near it and
coconuts were lying on
the ground ready to eat.
Some took the coconuts,
smashed them against the
tree, drank the milk from
them and then ate them.

14. The ones that missed out on the
coconuts were complaining and then
the next thing we know our D.J. was
at it again. He climbed up the
coconut tree, dropped some
coconuts down, then he came down
the tree. That was awesome. He
turned upside down like spider man
and crawled down the tree. Then it
was time to go back, everybody
walked back to the bus to get a seat
and the ladies were dancing under
the tree. We started to laugh and
laugh – this was a really cool day.