Scenes from Tonga

Photo by Patrick Jones. Tonga, 5 Dec 2017.

Earlier in the month I was in the Kingdom of Tonga for technical conference and discussions with community participants. The photos on this post were from that trip. Above is a sand and rock pier that juts out into the ocean in front of the hotel where we were staying. Families and children used this as a swimming point at high tide, even though nearby signs said "danger, no swimming."

Photo by Patrick Jones. On the International Dateline. 4 Dec 2017.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Map of Tonga. 3 Dec 2017.

Tonga sits to the east of Fiji, in the South Pacific, straddling the International Dateline. The main island in the group, Tongatapu, is fairly flat and has about 100,000 people. Our conference was in the capital, Nuku'alofa.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Ha'amonga 'a Maui monument.

The stones above were constructed in 1200 CE by the 11th King of Tonga. The stones weigh about 30-40 tons each. Surveyors have determined that the stones match up with the rising sun on the longest and shortest days of the year.

Photo by Patrick Jones. A rare 3-headed palm tree.