Tapana and Fetoko Islands

Our next stop Tapana Island. We took a mooring ball the belonged to the Ark Gallery

which is a floating art gallery run by an artist from Oregon who has spent 35 years here. The next day I walked into Neiafu for supplies. On my return I trucked up a steep bank where the cliff has abated a bit and across a large tall grass (grass as tall as I was) field to join Zeke and Bill at an archeological site

where the Tongans had cut coral slabs from the beach. The next day we took the dingy into town and brought back this huge box

with our screecher and the box with the hydraulic pump for our auto pilot.  That afternoon we headed off for Fetoko Island. I was at the helm negotiating a tricky pass between the coral and Zeke announced there were

Manta Rays to starboard side. These Rays were about 8 feet across. I was asked to circle back 4 times for great pictures and videos. When we got to Fetoko Island and attempted to anchor we did fine. I got the snorkel and fins out to insure that the anchor was well set & it was sitting on top of the rock. I tried to move it over onto a sandy spot but unfortunately it was 2 inches of sand on top of the rock. We finally got the anchor set & went to shore to visit Ben who told us to check out the tree house and his 9 sided buildings that were just being constructed. The view from the tree house

was spectacular and the balconies on the 9 sided houses

were over the water. The restaurant and kitchen area was built into the side of a hill.