'Eua

'Eua National Park is a 4.51 km² protected area on the east coast of 'Eua island, Tonga, created in 1992 and described as the country's only national forest park^[1]. It protects a band of tropical rainforest about 800 metres wide, bordered by sheer cliffs that drop to the ocean^[2]. Tonga's Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (Forestry Division) administers it^[1].

The park is home to the red shining-parrot (koki), the white-rumped swiftlet and the white-tailed tropicbird, along with the rare and endangered 'Eua forest gecko, Lepidodactylus euaensis^[1]. Birdwatchers are pointed to the koki in particular^[3].

The park's tropical rainforest shelters twelve endemic plant species, including Podocarpus pallidus, a rare and endangered conifer of roughly 1,000 trees^[1]. Famous banyan trees, the Big 'Ovava Trees, are among the sights visitors are sent to see on 'Eua^[3].

The park's eastern edge is formed by sheer cliffs that drop to the ocean, with numerous caves and chasms^[1]. The island's visitor attractions include limestone cliffs carved into archways and caves^[3].

'Eua lies in the southern part of Tonga, where the climate is tropical and the surrounding ocean keeps temperatures mild. The park's rainforest is a product of that warm, wet climate.

'Eua is part of the Tongan archipelago, which has been settled for roughly 3,000 years^[4]. The park itself is a protected remnant of the island's native forest, set between the island's interior and its coastal cliffs^[3].

The area received national park status in 1992 and is classed as IUCN Category II^[1]. A draft management plan for the park was written in 1996, alongside a study of the island's rainforest vegetation^[1].

Guided hikes through the rainforest are the main way to see the park^[3]. Nearby highlights include the Lakufa'anga Cliffs, 'Ana 'Ahu (Smoking Cave) and the Matamahina Hopo Lookout, recommended for the first sunrise^[3].

International flights land at Fua'amotu International Airport on Tongatapu, from where travellers can take a domestic flight or a ferry from Nuku'alofa to 'Eua^[3]. The nearest settlement to the park is 'Ohonua, about 4 km away.

The park protects the island's endemic plants and the endangered 'Eua forest gecko and is managed by the Forestry Division^[1]. A 1996 draft management plan and rainforest vegetation study underpin its conservation^[1].