’Eua

’Eua lies forty kilometres southeast of Tongatapu and is reached by a short flight or a rough two hour ferry. It is by far the oldest island in Tonga and the only one with real relief, a limestone ridge running the length of the east coast that ends in cliffs falling straight into the open Pacific. ’Eua National Park protects the rainforest along that ridge, with sinkholes, natural arches and caves cut into the old reef. Walkers come for the lookouts at Lokupo and Anokula, swimmers for the tidal pool at Hafu, and almost everyone in season for the whales offshore.