Volcanic Adventures in Tonga- Species Conservation on Tin Can Island follows your journey to Tonga and your experiences trying to save an endangered bird while experiencing a new culture. Why was it important for you to share your experiences in this book?

I had three important reasons for writing this book. First, I was hoping to familiarize my readers more with Tonga, its people and fascinating culture. This island kingdom is not as well known as other South Pacific destinations and has also received depressive coverage in the news lately following the devastating eruption of the Hunga Ha’apai-Hunga Tonga volcano in 2022. There is much more to these islands and they are worth visiting, either in real or at least from your armchair, while reading my book. They also need help with issues such as drinking water supply, sanitation, and education, and I hope that my book may encourage various government and non-government organisations to invest in providing such assistance.

Second, I aim to bring the reality of conservation work in remote locations closer to readers who may not be aware of either the struggles or the joy such work can bring with it. Many other conservationists like me show remarkable resilience when confronted with different cultures to live in, adverse climates, paucity of fresh food, deteriorating equipment, stinging bugs, illness and the threat of being stuck in a remote place for longer than expected. At the same time, they, too, are often driven by relentless enthusiasm and dedication to their work. Hence, my second aim was not only to rally support for the endangered bird I studied in Tonga but also for the work of all conservationists working under similar conditions worldwide.

My third aim was to stop the nagging of my friends and family. They had told me repeatedly that my stories from Tonga, conveyed in snippets during conversations, must be written down and would make a gripping tale. They also knew that I had my letters from Tonga with detailed accounts that I could base my book on. The final nagging kick came from my PhD supervisor, Prof. Darryl Jones, who declared that my stories had all the adventure, intrigue, romance, discovery and danger you would expect from one of those breathless traveller’s tales from the past, and that a book with all these features, but based on my real escapade to Tonga rather than a tale, would be a compelling read for many. I thank all these people for their prodding and encouragement.

What is your favorite memory of your time in the South Pacific? Also, what is one experience you would have avoided at all costs if you could?

May I pick two favorite memories, please, as I can’t decide? The first one is from a day about three months into our stay on remote Tin Can Island. It relates to the feeling of finally being accepted by the locals, after months of preparations to get to that isolated place and trying to learn the language and local customs. My partner and I had hitched a lift on the trailer of the only working tractor on the island. Every inch of it was filled with firewood, banana leaves, and coconuts as well as baskets full of fish, cooking bananas or root vegetables. The coconuts served as rather uneven seats for the locals, while space was made for us to sit on our backpack barrels. I felt rather jammed in-between so many men and their supplies, but it also felt good. The men were courteous, passed me young coconuts to drink and kept away branches that threatened to hit us in the face. My attempts to hold short dialogues in Tongan language, about the local treat Ofato (a beetle larvae eaten alive) and other delicacies, were received with a big warm smile. One local even commented on how my appearance had changed from ‘small fat’ to more ‘big fat’, which is a nice thing to say in Tonga. I felt like I was just one of them, not just a palangi – a white person – standing outside their culture all the time.

My second favorite memory is that of finally being able to observe the mysterious volcano bird that was the focus of our conservation efforts. This bird is unique in that it uses a volcano as an incubator instead of sitting on its eggs, and it also completely abandons its chicks. I had spent hours sitting in a bird hide, covered in sweat from the high humidity. Finally, a pair of these Tongan megapodes arrived and the female dug a metre or so deep hole into the ground to lay her egg while the male watched from nearby. After they had refilled the burrow and left, the head of a little chick that had hatched from an egg laid 60 days ago, emerged from the burrow. The little guy had dug itself out of its underground volcanic nest and was about to start life all on its own, without any help from its parents. I was so fascinated!

An experience I would have avoided? Becoming sick with a parasite that nobody knew existed in that part of the world. It had become established through a bizarre combination of events, all of which described in my book, and I was so sick towards the end of my stay that the already limited choice of foods was even more limited by what I could digest.

With so many experiences to recount from your 17-month adventure, what were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?

In our Western society, we talk about mindfulness and living in the moment. Tongans have mastered this skill for a long time and their version is simply “Tongan Time”: don’t worry about the future, enjoy the now, and don’t care too much about punctuality and getting things done in time. But it also means they often don’t pay too much attention to planning ahead. If a cyclone that is known to arrive in Tonga happens to hit on a Sunday, when the shops are closed, that is bad luck. Many locals may not have any supplies left because they did not plan that far ahead. If you, as a white person, are trying to establish when a ferry may leave that you can catch to a remote island, you may, like us, be given three possible answers in apparently random order: In a while, in a little while, or in a long while. Tongan Time!

The second idea encompasses the importance that Tongans place on families, oral traditions, storytelling and respect for elders. In my book, I have tried to bring alive the high value Tongans place on positive social interactions and it may leave my readers pondering about how much this aspect of living is lacking in our lives.

And third, I was hoping to demonstrate that a book can transport you to a world far removed from your own, and that reading such adventure stories will make you feel more grateful again for home comforts of electricity, showers, the internet and books to read.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from your story?

That all of us can achieve far more than we ever imagine!

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