Resort guests raise money as world rallies to help country
WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND » The tranquil resort in Tonga sat behind a lagoon and reef break that was perfect for snorkelers and surfers alike. Guests who had never met before would sit together to eat delicious communal meals cooked by owner Moana Paea and her staff, or relax in rustic cabins tucked in the trees.
Then came the massive volcanic eruption and tsunami, which killed at least three people and left dozens more homeless. The waves swallowed up the Ha’atafu Beach Resort.
“It’s completely bare land. Coupled with the black ash from the volcano, it looks like a bomb site,” said Paea’s brother Alan Burling after viewing images online.
But now, dozens of former guests from New Zealand, Australia, the U.S. and elsewhere are raising money to help Paea and her husband Hola start again.
It’s just one of the ways the world is rallying to help the people of the remote Pacific island nation rebuild. Governments from New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Britain, China and elsewhere have been sending fresh water and other much-needed supplies on military ships and transport planes.
Pita Taufatofua, who became a sensation as Tonga’s bare-chested Olympic Games flag bearer, has started an online fundraising page to rebuild schools and hospitals that is already more than halfway to its goal of raising 1 million Australian dollars ($720,000).
Tonga never had the luxury resorts of other Pacific destinations like Fiji or Tahiti, and tourists came expecting a more down-toearth experience. At the Ha’atafu Beach Resort, the pandemic had already halted international tourism, and so the owners had pivoted to their renowned cooking.
New Zealand’s acting high commissioner in Tonga, Peter Lund, was picking up some catering there on Saturday when the volcano erupted. Speaking by satellite phone from Tonga on Friday, he described what happened.
“It’s all a bit of a daze now, but I certainly heard this incredible thunderclap,” Lund said. He said the resort staff told him it was too dangerous to stay and so he returned to his car.
“The waves were coming in. I got back onto the main road,” Lund said. “And gradually the skies turned black and the volcanic ash started raining down.”
Lund’s 30-minute drive back to the high commission in the capital, Nuku’alofa, turned into 90 minutes. Because the compound was built on higher ground, Tongans rushed to safety there and that night Lund had about 80 people stay.
Back at the beach resort, Moana Paea, her family and the others there had no time to save any of their belongings and ended up climbing a tree to survive, said Burling, who lives in New Zealand.