Tag: offgrid

Uoleva, Ha’apai, Tonga

One month in – 3 months to go! Oh boy what have we done?

It is like we are on a big boat, nothing but ocean all around. No connection to the mainland, ie no power supply, no water mains, no sewage. Just what we have here on our “boat”. Chris and I have lived remotely before, but this is the most extreme. Are we loving it, are we managing ok? Hell yes! we are loving it. Every day brings joy and challenges in equal parts.

This is Uoleva, smack bang in the middle of nowhere! Actually not nowhere, the Kingdom of Tonga, in the South Pacific. 19°50.5’S 174°23.65’W to be exact! A 4 X 1 km (at the widest point) island of sand and coconut trees, running almost North-South. There is almost no one else around. We are looking after 1 of 4 small resorts on the island and besides the resort owners, staff and guests, Uoleva is uninhabited. No roads, no infrastructure. Access is by boat only and completely off grid. We are in the rainy season now and all businesses are closed, there are no guests, and the owners and staff have, mostly, left the island. So, we really are on our “todd”

Our amazing owners have been here for over 10 years and have built this place from the ground up. Literally, from the clearing of the land to the supply of materials and building of the dwellings. Blood sweat and tears have gone into this project which has been an absolute labour of love and passion. We are so in awe of what they have done! A young couple with a dream, a vision, and they made it a reality! Following their love of Kite Surfing and their respect for marine wildlife and the ocean, they have found a spot with perfect conditions to make that dream become real.  We are so lucky to be here and live in their shoes for a while.

Check out their website, and see their full story https://kitesurftonga.com/

It is always exciting to learn the ropes of a new house sit, but this one is out the gate! We have to call on all our experience and knowledge from the past. We have done the no power, remote food supply, the unique challenges of island life, the hurricane zone, the long sit duration, the excessive heat and humidity, the bugs and mosquitos, sick and medicated animals; but not all at once! We must take everything we have learnt before and wrap it all up into one package, and we are ready for the challenge.

Having said that, we thought we might get fired in the first few days of being here. The dinghy disappeared on our first night here, off the mooring right outside the house. A mystery which will probably never be solved. Then poor Jenga, the dog, was mauled by either another dog or perhaps a pig?? Blood everywhere! Big wounds around his head and ear. Very pleased this happened while the owners were still here as we had not had enough time to bond with him. We are very much bonded now! Poor guy! He remained sedated and on antibiotics for a few days after our owners departed. And then the cows; there have not been cows on the property for 10 years, first day on our own and the cows come in, sheesh! Thankfully they didn’t do too much damage, and now that Jenga is better – and not in a drugged up state, the cows have not returned!

So here we are, getting into the swing now and pinching ourselves that this is real. We feel so lucky to have had this opportunity to look after this little piece of paradise. We have a very efficient solar power system, gas for cooking and hot water, a water well and rain water tanks. We have a Starlink satellite system, so comms will not be a problem! What more does one need?

There should be no shortage of sunshine here in the South Pacific – she says hopefully! There is ability to capture enough sunshine to provide power for 12 guests in the season, so I think with just the 2 of us, we should not run out of power. The systems they have in place are quite substantial. No doubt this has come from experience, anything can happen in this unpredictable and volatile environment – Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Cyclones, and just the mere fact that we are sitting on a tiny sandcastle, surrounded by salt water which can kill anything, if you give it half a chance. The corrosion is a continual battle. So we have a generator, in fact we have a three, and spares for everything, just in case.

Along with plenty of sunshine, there is also plenty of rain, particularly at this time of the year. Rain fills the freshwater tanks from the runoff from the roofs, this is our drinking water, and the well water is pumped into other tanks for everything else. The well water is mostly fresh water, but there is an element of sea water mixed in there. So, there is always a saltiness to the well water, we are getting used to showering and washing dishes in salty water. There is enough water to furnish 12 guests plus staff in the season, so I think we “2” will be fine for water. And there are spare pumps, just in case!

And what goes in, must come out! The toilets are composting, and there is a complex composting system for food and other scraps. So no damaging effect on the environment. What goes on the island, stays on the island.

We are finding this to be a healthy lifestyle, we are out in the elements all day and by 7:30pm we are exhausted and ready to retire to the house fale and watch some Netflix – yes, we do have a TV, there is even a spare!! Planning and cooking food is a daily job, the nearest shop is a boat ride away, over a reef, so we can only go when the weather and tides are favourable. We are baking bread, loaves, cookies, making our own sauces and curries and pizza dough from scratch. Chris is getting coconuts each day and we are drinking fresh coconut water – that has got to be good for you! We have planted some seeds and are coaxing them along; we are hopeful they will yield some food soon. Neither of us have had a lot to do with gardening. We learnt a lot at the Chateau in France, but that garden was already established – so watch this space, when I start singing and telling stories to the plants, maybe send help!

Being on a small island we are very conscious and dependent on the weather around us. As I said before, just like being on a boat, we consistently have to check the forecast and be aware of and recognise the changes. We are getting temperatures up to 30°C most days and it is not dropping below 27°C at night with up to 90% humidity. There is a fairly consistent Easterly wind which is very well received. We have use of an inflatable dinghy which is on a mooring in the lagoon. This is our life line to the other islands, and our mode of transport to get supplies. Both Chris and I are loving the boat, it is not a chore to get out in the boat and navigate our way through the reefs over to the other island, its what we do!

Has it really been a month already? This first month has been amazing, we are looking forward the the next 3. Day to day we are finding plenty to do. Along with the coconuts, Chris is harvesting bananas, papaya and passion fruit every day – he is attempting to make wine from the bananas – we will keep you posted on that one! We have a few projects on the go here on the property along side the normal daily chores, so we are not getting bored! We are finding it pretty hot though and not a lot can get done in the middle part of the day, so reading books under the fan is another one of our daily jobs! We are swimming a lot, kayaking and snorkelling too. Its a great life!

By the way, Jenga is all better now, he has recovered fully from his ordeal, and he is an absolute joy to have around! Him along with our darling little girl cat Tigger “T I double G er” are delightful members of our wee family here on the island.

T

Thank you for reading out story

There is more coming soon…..