What is "vavau"

Vavau is the island group of one large island ( ʻUtu Vavaʻu) and 40 smaller ones in Tonga. It is part of Vavaʻu District which includes several other individual islands. According to tradition the Maui god fished up both Tongatapu and Vavau but put a little more effort into the former. Vavau rises above sea level at Mount Talau . The capital is Neiafu, which is the fifth largest city in Tonga, situated at the Port of Refuge (Puatalefusi or Lolo-a-Halaevalu).