Volcanic Adventures in Tonga

In this travel memoir, Ann takes you on a rollicking adventure to experience authentic Polynesian culture and the unique adaptations of a volcano-breeding bird on one of the most remote Pacific islands imaginable. She quenches the thirst of bird and nature lovers as well as travellers with a wanderlust for faraway islands while taking you to volcanoes overdue to erupt and coral cays rarely visited by tourists. This narrative shows what it can be like to live a simple existence on a remote island, and demonstrates the good and bad sides of ‘Tongan Time’, that is, in a nutshell, the concept that you enjoy the presence and don’t worry about the future. It leads you to be fascinated by birds that use a volcano as an incubator and to be pondering the resilience needed when confronted with cyclones, paucity of fresh food, deteriorating equipment, stinging bugs, oppressive humidity, illness and the threat of being stuck on an island for much longer than expected. The story is underpinned by letters Ann wrote during a 17-month conservation project for the endangered Polynesian Megapode on Niuafo’ou (Tin Can Island) in Tonga, 30 years ago.