Vava'u Island, Tonga:

Vava'u Island, Tonga:

Vavaʻu is the island chain of one large island and 40 smaller ones in Tonga. According to tradition the Maui god fished up both Tongatapu and Vavaʻu but put a little more effort into the former. Vavaʻu rises 204 m above sea level at Mt. Talau. The capital is Neiafu, which is the second largest city in Tonga, situated at one of the best harbours of the world, the Port of Refuge (Puatalefusi or Lolo-ʻa-Halaevalu).Vavaʻu is a prime fishing destination with its beautiful harbour and untouched seas.In Polynesia it is explained that the islands were created by the god Maui, that caught the bottom of the sea with his magic hook and left what became the islands of Vavaʻu. In total there are 70 islands, of which 17 are inhabited, spread over six districts.

Don Francisco Mourelle de la Rúa, commanding Spanish frigate Princesa was the first European to come to Vavaʻu, on 4 March 1781. He charted Vava'u as Martín de Mayorga who was the Viceroy of New Spain at the time. Captain James Cook knew about the island a decennium before, but the people in Haʻapai told him it would be no good for him to go there as there was no harbour. Apparently they did not want him to go there, and Cook heeded their advice.But Mourelle found excellent anchoring, of which he was in desperate need after having failed on Fonualei (Bitterness island) and Late, and he gave the spot the name Port of Refuge. But his original Port of Refuge was the bay on the west coast of the main island, near Longomapu. In 1793 Alessandro Malaspina visited for a month, following up on Mourelle and claiming the islands for Spain.

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