Kelefesia Island – Last Stop in the Ha’apais

A Conde Naste beach, without the resort or footprints- we had it all to ourselves.

We stopped at the remote, uninhabited island of Kelefesia on our way to Tongatapu. It is about 44 miles to the capital city of Nuku’alofa on Tongatapu from Kelefesia. The island is a very picturesque place with sandstone cliffs, beaches and surrounding reefs.

There is an old building that looks like a cooler shed that is still occasionally used by fishermen who come in from inhabited islands.

We found evidence that at least one yacht has come to its grief among these reefs.

We were able to circumnavigate the island at low tide with a bit of difficulty, scoring some really nice large, shiny cowry shells.

The best score was this duck decoy sunning itself on the beach. This one is a keeper. I need to figure out a scheme for mounting it on our bow.

 

Georgia snug in her anchorage surrounded by reefs. The day we arrived, there was good surfing waves breaking on the reef behind the anchorage.

The reefs around the anchorage, especially the north side, are really healthy and good snorkeling – as long as you have your wetsuit on- it’s getting cooler now as we head south.

We even found some of my favorite-- Partridge Tun shells.

Kelefesia was our eleventh and final anchorage in the Ha’apai group. The Ha’apai islands will go down as some of our favorites in the South Pacific.

Paul