Hunga Island

So I am in this tiny little plywood boat with a 15 horse Yamaha in the middle of the ocean and no life jacket. If it were not fit the fact that Omani is sleeping on the roof and the driver looks extremely bored I think I might be panicking.  The waters are not exactly smooth and the ocean is HUGE!

The property at Cocomo Village is one hell of a view. Clear out some of the bush and we can even get a good breeze. The land slopes about 20 degrees from the cliff to the road but nothing we cannot handle.  The issue right now is getting the road built so that vehicles can move around.  And they desperately need a stump grinder. Onani said that it will only take about 2 weeks to finish the road but I imagine that is 2 weeks after to next round of taxes come in. And now we r watching a baby shark swim around. I am not sure what kind of shark but I have been told that there are no killer sharks in the area.


Apparently there r no fruit trees on the property but u can find them across the road. They also grow vanilla and tapioca here as well. I have asked Onani to clear the brush and bramble off the properties but leave the trees. He will also let me know when the road is ready as I am not making that climb again. I AM POOPED!

Sorry we have a couple of bread fruit trees. I think that once the road is built and the brush is cleared we should be able to build without much difficulty.  Let's just see how long that will take

I just drank from my first coconut and I am sure it will not be the last. Unfortunately as I am the token white woman on this hike the 3 Tongan men laughed at me when I spilt half of it down my top. We r currently waiting for the truck to come back and get us as I do not want to walk back to town.

Well that was interesting.  Same of the lovely sun dappled "roads" look to be little more then dry river beds but the driver on Hunga Island expertly navigated the way through. We r now taking the boat to see the sea breeze side as I huddle under the canopy to nurse my sunburn.  Note to self... make sure to wear sunblock next time

The Hilltop Hotel

So here I am at the Hilltop Hotel.  The view is magnificent and if you want to cool down on a hot day the breeze on the terece is second to none

And after a week of being here the mosquitos have finally found me. Tiny little stealth bomber things that come in for a taste and take off again before you even know that they are there. So small and so fast that I have about 2 dozen bites before I even knew I was under attack!  Now my skin is on fire as I have harsh reactions to mosquito bites and no Reacton to be found.

Oh well.

I went to see the Governor yesterday and Lord Fulivai (pronounced fully-vie) is a very jolly man. Younger then I expected but concerned and caring while maintaining a good sense of humour.  I enjoyed our meeting and he set up a visit to the properties on Hunga Island for today so that I can see first hand what challenges I will be facing in building there.

I will include pictures in my next post.

Char

Tongatapu

After arriving in Tongatapu I got into a cab at the airport and asked the driver if he knew a decent hotel that was not to expensive but had hot water, a private bath and wifi. After driving around for almost an hour and going to 5 different places I finally decided on a little B&B on the water with a beautiful open balcony and a very clean bed and bathroom. Utu One is about 1 block away from the Billfish pub and eatery and half a block from Naughty Rubies night club. It is also just a $6 TOP cab ride from the city center or you can walk the 15 or so min to get there.

The staff are excellent and friendly,  the continental breakfast makes you feel like you are visiting relatives that actually like you and the food is fresh and the coffee is hot. Please remember that this is not a five star hotel all crisp and modern but a beautiful example of Tongan hospitality.  Yes there are cracks in the tile in the bath but it is clean and fresh. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a comfortable night and friendly service that is not institutional.

Next I asked the same cab driver to escort me around to determine the price of building materials.  I was a little shocked at the prices of some things. For example.  A stainless steel double door fridge with bottom drawer freezer in $4,800 TOP. A 60 inch plazma 3D TV flat screen is $5,600 TOP. And an interior hollow core door is $220 TOP.  As a matter of fact the 5 year old Acer laptop that I left at home can be bought for $1,200 TOP at the computer repair shop. So it looks like I will be shipping in the overpriced items that I will need as the prices are so much lower in Canada and we have to fill a 20 foot sea can anyway. This will help keep the cost of building down a bit.  I did find out today that most building materials are exempt from duty and taxes when then are shipped in as the resources here are limited and the Government wants to promote building by foreigners.  This helps their economy to grow.

Tomorrow I will get on my flight to Vava'u and start to network there and hopefully find a temporary place to live until the house is built.

Until tomorrow

Char

On my way

So here it is at 3:30 am CST on Sunday November 9th 2014 and I am on my way to the airport with my husband and oldest daughter Chelsea. I am having a very hard time keeping it together as I have not been away from my husband for more then 2 weeks in the past 17 years. I hope I can start getting excited about this trip sometime soon but I suspect that won't happen until I actually get there.

It is now 9 pm PST and I have just gotten on the plane to Fiji.   I have never been on a plane this big before and it is packed!  Just 11.5 hours of sitting in this tiny seat but they give everyone a free pillow, blanket, headphones and toothbrush and toothpaste. That is pretty neat.

So my next post will be a while as I will now need to wait until I get to Tonga and switch my phone.

Sleep tight!

Hello from the future! I got on a plane last night at 7 CST and got off the plane today after 10.5 hours fight and it was 5:30 am on Tuesday!  Of course the first thing I do with my 11 hour stop is go to the pub and pay $12 for a beer! Fiji dollars but still $7 CAD.  At the duty free shop they are advertising a 40 of Jack Daniels for $143 but that is still $85 CAD.

Getting off the plane was interesting as you get off in the open air instead that long tube straight into a building. I will try to add pictures when I have a better Internet connection. And there were the people singing tropical music as we get off the plane too. Even at 5:30 am.

Needless to say I have not gotten a lot of sleep for the last couple of days and am pretty tired but I can't get any rest until I actually arrive in tonga in about 15 hours from now. It is going to be a very long day.

Char

Char

Good ideas

Today I spoke to Barry and Cindy Beer from Hunga Haven Resort in Vava'u. Barry is a fellow Manitoba and both of them are seasoned Travelers with many good ideas including helping me with my one way ticket problem. I really enjoyed talking to them tonight and am looking forward to meeting them both in the next 2 weeks.

Getting Ready

Hi All!

I have been working hard to complete the paperwork required before my flight on November 9th.  And let me tell you... get your paperwork done long before you even book your flight if you are going to be staying in Tonga for an extended time as it has been a very confusing endeavor so far.

So, according to all the websites to obtain a Business Visa you will find this little sentence

• All applications by foreign nationals to transfer a visitor’s visa to a business visa, whilst the applicant is in the Kingdom shall be declined by the Immigration Division, UNLESS WRITTEN PERMISSION BY THE PRINCIPAL IMMIGRATION OFFICER HAS BEEN GRANTED TO THE FOREIGN NATIONAL TO TRANSFER, PRIOR TO ENTRY INTO THE KINGDOM.

 This sentence can be found on the Business Visa Checklist and on the Tonga Consulate Website.

 http://tongaconsul.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=92&Itemid=54

This statement is NOT TRUE.

Also, if you are planning on moving to Tonga permanently and you want to use a one way ticket to go to Tonga you will find this sentence on the Tonga Consulate website:

Copy of U.S. Passport (must be valid for 6 months from date of travel)
 USD$34.50 money order payable to Tonga Consulate General
 Self-stamped return envelope (if apply through the mail)
 Itinerary
 If departing to Tonga on a boat or cruise ship, please submit a letter with
details of the ship/boat name and the date of departure from Tonga.
Please note
 The one-way letters are only valid for one entry into Tonga.
 Holders of one-way letter are required to apply for appropriate visa upon arrival into
Tonga.

http://tongaconsul.com/images/PDFs/2011/oneway%20checklist.pdf

This also so far is NOT TRUE.

Even though the information is available on the websites it seems that either the websites are wrong or the Consulate and Immigration people do not know their own rules.

And please keep in mind that on the Business Visa Checklist is NOT COMPLETE so I found out yesterday.

So a month or so ago I contacted Immigration about applying for a One Way Letter so that I could go to Tonga to start the process of building my house in Cocomo Village and determine what business I would open and where exactly as this information is required to complete the Business Visa Application according to the Checklist.  I was informed at that time by Immigration that I needed to send in a copy of my ticket, my valid passport and request the letter and I would be contacted once the letter was ready.

Imagine my excitement that the process was that easy!!  Wrong .....

At the same time I sent a letter to Tonga Consulate requesting permission to allow me to change a Visitors Visa to a Business Visa after arrival as I could not complete the application until after I arrived in Vava'u to solidify the business plan requirement.  As getting the One Way Ticket authorization was so easy I did not wait for an answer and went ahead and bought my ticket to Tonga.  That was my first mistake.  I should have waited.

After I bought my ticket and sent in my requests for the waiver and one way ticket authorization I did not get a reply for over a week.  I contacted the Immigration office to find out where the one way letter was and was promptly informed that I would not receive it until my business visa application was approved.  I explained to the person via email that I applied for the waiver and was told that the waiver did not exist and I would not get the one way letter until the business application was submitted and approved.

Well now I really started to panic as I have already bought my non-refundable ticket and do not have time to complete the business visa process in time to get the one way ticket letter.

So I called Robert Bryce crying .....

Robert contacted the Governor of Vava'u and he asked his wife Helen to help me out.

Helen has been very patient and helpful throughout this process. Without her I would have no chance of getting to Tonga. So after determining that I need to complete the business visa application first Helen suggested that we apply for a holding company so that we do not need to have a detailed business plan to complete the application.  I sent her all the required paperwork and the fees to submit the application.  Immigration had also agreed to give me the one way letter upon acceptance of the application.  Things are looking better to finish the paperwork on time. But when Helen took in the application she was told that because I am not Tongan I would need to get a Foreign Investment Certificate before the business  visa could be processed.

Now so far I had asked both the Consulate and Immigration multiple times if I needed to do anything else and was told I was doing everything correctly and there was nothing else to do. Now I need to complete a foreign investment application which, according to the website, we know how reliable those are, it takes 4 weeks to complete. If I had known that I would not have even bought the ticket to begin with but it is not part of the business visa checklist nor is it listed anywhere as a requirement except for the one website on "how to open a business in Tonga". Something I was not even looking at yet as I am not entirely sure what business I want to open until I see what is needed.

So now here I am in a pickle again until Helen suggested that we could bypass the foreign investment requirement by partnering with a Tongan in the new business. I figured that she already has all my information and my money so I will trust her enough to go into business with her and trust that she will not rip me off. And besides, the property the I am leasing is owned by her husband the Honourable Lord Fulivai Governor of Vava'u. If I can't trust the government who can I trust!

So yesterday I sent Helen the new paperwork that shows her as the majority shareholder and am now waiting to hear back from her whether the paperwork is sufficient or if anything more is need.  As I am only 12 days away from my departure date all I can do is pray and hope that I get my one way letter before my time is up.

So if you want to move to Tonga to open a business or retire please do yourself a favor and make sure your paperwork is complete before you book your flight.

As always I am available to answer any questions you may have.

if you don't do it now... then when?

Char

Business Visa Application

Hi All,

Today I completed the Business Visa Application and sent it as well as our medical records, criminal record checks, copy of our passports, and new passport photos to Tonga.  As I have only 19 days until I get on the plane to start my trip the Governors wife, Helen, is helping me to get all the information to the correct people by the time I get there.  I am so thankful for Helens help and advice during this process as I am sure she is very busy.

I have also been trying to find a small house to rent for when I get there but so far no luck.  If anyone knows of a house for rent or of anyone who actually lives in Neiafu that is still there this late in the season that could possibly help me out with this I would greatly appreciate the information.

This week Barry and I are going through the house room by room to clear out everything that we are not taking with us, which is most everything, and pack up the rest.

I also found my cat a new home today as I cannot find a way to get her on a Fiji Airlines flight with me.  I am still trying to find a way to take my Shiatsu and am hoping that New Zealand Air will be a little more accommodating.  Again, if anyone knows how to travel with a pet I would greatly appreciate the help.

Char

Back on Track

Hello All,

I know that it has been quite a while since my last post but we are back on track and the move is going forward again.

So I picked up my ticket to Tonga today as well as our criminal record checks.  My husband, Barry, and I went to the doctor on Tuesday to get our health certificates and we will be getting our passport photos required for the Business Visa on Monday.  With this information and a copy of my passport I can email this information with a request for a One Way Ticket letter to Tongan Immigration and then I can legally land in Tonga with a one way ticket and it will also waive the on-shore visa fee as I cannot complete the Visa application before I get to Tonga.

Now, with that said, the plan is that I will go to Vava'u first to find a place to live and determine what, if anything, will need to be shipped so that we can build our house in Cocomo Village.  We will also be opening a business in Neifu first to generate cashflow until we decide where we want to build our next business.  As we are not rich people we will need to start business building right away but I do not think this will be a problem.  I can offer my accounting skills to current businesses on the island and I think we are going to buy/build a cafe in Neifu to start.

After we get a better idea of the types and availability of building materials we will start to build our house in Cocomo Village.

Oh Ya!  My father, Ralph, went to Vava'u in early August and met the Governor and went to visit the property that we bought/leased.  So yes the properties do exist!  Yes the road is actually there!  Yes the Governor is excited to see these properties filled with people and houses.

Also, Yes this is densely treed area and the road is overgrown and the walk up to the cliff-side properties is hard on the legs according to Ralph. But the Governor has assured him that the road will be maintained once people start living there and the lots will be cleared as it is confirmed that someone will be arriving.  And as for the climb?  I don't know about you but I plan on having a quad or side by side to make the trip back and forth to the town/wharf.

Business number two will be contracting to build houses in the for the owners/leasees on the currently empty lots as my husband has construction experience.

I will update as things happen but don't be shy to ask any questions you may have and I promise that I will reply from now on.

So don't forget to live your dreams cause life is too short not too!

Char

Update

It has been quite a while since my last post and I have had a few emails wanting to know what I am doing now.  So here it is.

Well I am still here in sunny Manitoba!  -30 temperatures that we have had for the past month plus have finally raised to a balmy -10 which hopefully will stay until winter is over.  I really don't want to go through another deep freeze!

As for Tonga .... yep ... it's still there!

I spoke to the lawyer in charge of registering properties for all of us new people and I have been assured by the Governor himself that properties DO exist and he will put pressure on the powers that be to ensure that registrations happen quicker in the future.  They also sent me a link to the website that has the names, addresses and share values of all registered persons up to July 2013.  Since I "officially" bought my property in September I hope to see my name on that list soon.

The other people on that list come from EVERYWHERE!!!

There is a couple from Winnipeg and people from Calgary as well as Germany, England, Australia, Portugal, and even some places I have never heard of.  Needless to say it should be a very interesting demographic when we get there with such a large amount of different cultures in the area.

I spoke to Robert Bryce last week and he told me that he expects the first serious settlers to arrive in Tonga after the rainy season is over.  Somewhere around March - May.  He did say that a couple of the property owners have been to visit the sites and some have begun clearing their new property!

Myself .... I am impatiently waiting for my house to sell so that I can go and not turn back!  Of course selling a house this time of year is difficult when you live in the city but I live 25 minutes outside the city on a wonderful 2 acre property (if anyone is interested ... wink wink).  In the meantime I have ensured that my animals (which I am taking with me) have all of their shots up to date and their rabies papers in line.  I have filled out the Visa forms and they are ready to go even though I cannot hand them in until 30 days before we get there (criminal record checks and health reports must be current).  Everything is packed and we have set up the travel agent for us and the transportation company for our things.  Again just waiting for the house to sell.

I am looking forward to being one of the first people to move into Cocomo Village as the opportunities to do anything is at hand.  I can set up and be available to help all others who come after!  Make a little money.... get to know everyone!!!

Well that is it for today.  I will not be neglecting this site again so if there are any questions or information available please do not hesitate to contact me!

bye bye for now

Char