Hiking Adventures

This past week I went on a life changing hike in 'Eua. I was sitting in a cave looking out into the ocean and I just realized how small I am and how big our world is. It made me realize that life has the means for so many experiences, but it is easy to get caught up in our small realm of the world and completely forget about the rest of the world; therefore missing out on so much greatness. This "aha" moment I had has given me the hunger to take advantage of life and see as much of this world as I can.

During PST a few of the other Peace Corps girl and I read a book called Wild. It is Cheryl Strays account of her journey hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. There is a line from the book that really stands out to me, especially because of this current chapter of life that I am in.

“I knew that if I allowed fear to overtake me, my journey was doomed. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave. Nothing could vanquish me.”

Anyways, on this hike I got to go to this incredible cave, 'Ana Kuma (Rat Cave). It provided the most spectacular view of 'Eua. The cave got its name because you have to crawl through a tunnel to get into the cave. At the end of the tunnel you then have to drop down into the cave, at first it feels like you are going to fall off the cliff, but it is really a short drop. Once you are in the cave you get a view of 'Eua's National Park and the endless ocean. As you look down into the national park you can see a whole bunch of birds flying around. It didn't feel real as I was looking down into the forest, felt like a scene from a movie.

I then went to another cave, Smoking Cave. The Smoking Cave is in Tonga's only rain forest and is proof of 'Eua's fresh water supply. There is a waterfall that falls into a cave and the steam it creates makes the cave appear to be smoking. It was absolutely breath taking and felt very surreal. A very peaceful place in 'Eua.

The last stop of the hiking adventure was going to see the, 'Ovava Tree (Strangling Fig Tree). This is one of the two 'Ovava trees on 'Eua and this tree is a minimum of 800 years old. It is the biggest tree in Tonga, as well as the rest of the South Pacific. These trees prove that 'Eua is the oldest island in Tonga. The 'Ovava tree has one main tree, but as the tree gets older is starts to grow tree sprouts that hang from the tree and eventually the new tree sprouts reach the ground and so then it is like another tree is growing, but yet it is still just one tree. After time what looks like to be a forest of trees is acutally just one tree. You can walk through the tree in between the different roots. These 'Ovava trees are always near ta fresh water supply, giving the tree constant water; which is why the tree is able to get so big. At the 'Ovava tree I went to there was a stream down the hill from the tree and the tree had roots that went all the way down the hill and into the stream. It was wild. You can also chop off a limb of the tree and drink water out of the tree. Pretty amazing piece of nature!

The hike left me with some blisters on my feet, but what a liberating ambition it provided me! I cannot wait to continue to discover more of this beautiful island I live on!

My fabulous tour guide, Paea (pie-uh)!