The Kingdom of Tonga is like no other place in the South Pacific. The “Friendly Islands” as Captain Cook called them, became a constitutional monarchy in 1875 and is the only remaining monarchy in the Pacific. There is a strong sense of pride in heritage, family and culture. There are no McDonalds nor Burger Kings and they seem not to have suffered from this lack of world-renowned commercial fast foods. When we arrived from Niue and tied up to the Q-dock in Neiafu waiting for the officials to check us in, we could sense a palpable difference. This was authentic South Pacific.