Wellington to Tonga was just under a hour flight across the South Pacific. Weather was good the whole way. There were broken clouds at 11,000 feet, so I would fly under them. Once again, I was on a roller coaster ride. I hit the clouds about an hour out of Wellington.
The sky was a cerulean blue like the sky in a Canelletto painting. The clouds formed a layer above with the sun piercing them and shafts of bright sun rays lighting up the ocean below. I was right about the ride becoming a roller coaster. Lucky for me, this plane could take the Gs easily, so didn’t have to slow down. One thing you are supposed to do in weather is slow down to make it easier on the airframe.
There were a couple islands off to the east about half way to Tonga. They were uninhabited and I couldn’t see any sign of life on them, emerald green in the middle of a blue ocean. Tonga is about the only island chain the Europeans never stole from the natives. I have no idea why. Maybe because they had stolen so many of the islands by then they were more trouble than they were worth. The Tongan king traces him throne back to the tenth century making them the longest reigning monarchs in the world. That title would have gone to the Japanese Emperor, but when we beat them in WWII, we demoted the emperor to figurehead status.
Fua’amotu International is one runway with one small terminal building. It wouldn’t even be a Class C airport in the States. But then there aren’t many places to land out there. Tonga is called the Friendly Isles. After I landed and had the plane serviced, I hopped a taxi into the capital city and found my hotel. It was down on the beach. I changed, lathered up the sunscreen and went to the beach. I rented a snorkel and flippers from the hotel.
These tropical lagoons are amazing. First, it is almost like being in a bath the water is so warm. I was used to the Pacific off the coast of California and it was cold even in the summer. I remember after twenty minutes of body surfing at Long Beach, we kids would all be shivering as we got out of the water. Ten minutes later in the sun and we’d jump up and run back into the water. Most of these lagoons are now protected to keep the tourists happy so the fish have learned that people aren’t dangerous. They come right up to a person. It wasn’t all that unusual for a fish to be looking me in the eye as I snorkeled along.
Once I was worn out from swimming, I went back to the hotel to rest. This trip, I made sure I exercised as I went along. The first trip I hadn’t and by the time I made it back, I was out of shape. Also, exercise keeps you less tired. That seems a contradiction I know. But these long days of travel are actually less tiring if you exercise regularly. So I worked out in the hotel room as soon as I woke up before showering and heading to the airport.
I got to the airport early only to find it locked up. I was the only person there. I managed to find a small fence and climbed it. Even the runway lights were off. It was like a Twilight Zone where every one had disappeared. I did a pre flight of the Mustang and hopped in, cranked the engine, and turned on the radio. I expected the noise of the engine would bring some activity. Nothing.
Some International airport this was. I called on the tower frequency just to be sure and got no answer. I switched to the uncontrolled frequency and called out to traffic that I was taxiing. The taxiway hit the runway almost at the end. Another chance for a midfield departure. It felt wicked and therefore wonderful to be doing something most US airports ban, midfield departures, but what the heck. I turned down the runway and hit the gas and like that I was up and away. I had to wonder if anyone at the airport would even notice that the plane that was there last night was gone this morning.
Go back to the Table of Contents
Copyright Rod O'Steele © 2009