Tourist helps free tangled cow at roadside in Tonga

Vava'u Island in Tonga is incredibly beautiful, and visiting here is often described as stepping back in time. Tonga is a Polynesian Kingdom of 169 islands south of Fiji, of which 36 are inhabited. Life here is simple and straightforward. There are a total of 100,000 Tongan citizens. Their main employment comes from tourism, specifically whale watching and sailing enthusiasts who shelter in the harbors and buy food and supplies. Residents also work in construction during the off season. Many of the people here are farmers and they feed their families in the traditional manner of raising various livestock on small properties with natural and uncultivated landscape. It is common to see pigs, chickens, cows and horses wandering on a front lawn or empty lot covered in brush. With a lack of fencing, cows and horses are often tied to a stake in the ground or a tree at the side of the road.