Ham Friendly Resort
Submitted by Guenter, DL2AWG who visited on
05/2003
Ha`atafu Beach Resort Http://www.tongaholiday.com
Owner Steve he comes from VK
email: steve@surfingtonga.com
The Ha`atafu Beach Resort is a special Resort for surfers. There is a very good
beach good for snorkeling and swimming.
The cottages are very simple made in tonga style. No fan no air condition
one queen size bed with mosquito-net 2 plastic chairs and a table. You can see it on the website. The accommodation rate included breakfast
and dinner. And can drink tea and coffee all the time. Steve’s wife makes a
very good dinner. You can built up antennas. I have used a Hexbeam and a Windom
antenna.
Ham Friendly Hotel: The Kahana Lagoon Resort used by PA3AXU in 1998.
Hotel contact info at: http://www.vacations.tvb.gov.to/kahana.htm
For more information on the Tonga Islands, visit the Tonga Island Web page at: http://sfconsulate.gov.to/
Ham Friendly Hotel: Atata Island, Royal Sunset Resort
Visited by Paolo IV3UHL in 1993. Daily
motorboat shuttle takes you to Atata Island from Tongatapu harbor. Price is
inexpensive. Once at Atata you can ask
for a BURE, THE NEAREST ONE TO THE SHORE, to set up your antenna array. Right on the other side of the island, my
40m dipole antenna with coax cable (even if doubting it's still working) still
should be hanged to real tall palm trees.
There are days that you are the only guest in the hotel ,that means
complete "relax and DX"
Background Information for A35 by Paul Kidd, A35RK (Paul QSY’d to the USA, and is no longer in A3):
Arrival Information:
There are scheduled arrivals via Honolulu, Los Angeles, and Auckland on Air New
Zealand. Tonga is also served by Polynesian Airlines, Air Pacific, and Royal
Tongan Airlines from Fiji. Royal Tongan Airlines also operates a direct flight
between Sydney and Nuku'alofa.
Inter-island flights between Tongatapu (Nuku'alofa), Ha'apai, and Vava'u are
provided by Royal Tongan Airlines on a daily basis. Flights to Niuatoputapu and
Niuafo'ou are made every 2-3 weeks, but the schedule is variable, seating and
baggage allowance is limited, and seats must be booked well in advance of each
flight.
Further information about
flight schedules, and other points of interest, can be obtained from the Tonga
Visitors Bureau via e-mail: tvb@kalianet.to
Licensing Information:
Obtaining an A35 license is easy: present your current ORIGINAL license,
passport, and pay T$20 (about USD$13) to the Tonga Telecommunications
Commission, located in the capitol city of Nuku'alofa, upon arrival. A license
and callsign will be issued immediately.
Operating Regulations:
Operation on all ITU authorized amateur radio bands is permitted (160- 2
meters, including all WARC bands). However, there is a power limit of 100 watts
on all amateur bands.
Tonga IOTA Information:
Tongatapu group.....OC-049 This is the "main" island; the capitol, Nuku'alofa,
and the international airport
are located here. This is the government and commercial center of Tonga
Vava'u group........OC-064 This is a very beautiful island group, and is a
popular tourist destination. Access
via scheduled air and ferry boat, and there are many places to stay
Ha'apai group.......OC-169 This island group is approximately 100 miles north
of Tongatapu, and consists of
35, mostly uninhabited islands. Access is by scheduled air or ferry boat, and
many accommodations are available
Niuafo'ou Island....OC-123 This is a very remote, difficult to access island,
at the farthest northern limit of Tongan territory
Niuatoputapu........OC-191 This island is accessible, but still not Island easy
to reach.
Recommended reading:
An excellent tourist guidebook is published by the Lonely Planet, entitled
"Tonga". It contains a vast amount of information about Tonga:
history, geography, culture, language, accommodations, activities, points of
interest, etc. It is available at most large bookstores in the U.S.
Various Accommodations (not ham approved, but a good resource of information)
http://www.tongaholiday.com/accomm%20backpackers.htm
http://www.tonga.pacific-resorts.com/ (a lot of accommodation info for A3, ZK1, FO, 5W/KH8, KH6)
http://www.islandhoppervacations.com (good info on all Pacific Islands)
Do you have more information on places to
operate in this country?
Use the handy feedback form to send me
information.