A cruise ship is definitely a more comfortable way to explore the south seas, but a so-called “real life aquaman” has done it differently after surviving a 27-hour swim following the Tongan tsunami this week.
57-year old Lisala Folau says he was swept out to sea after attempting to escape the huge waves by climbing a tree on his sparsely-populated home island of Atata, the location of the Royal Sunset Island Resort.
“I just floated, bashed around by the big waves that kept coming,” he told Tongan media agency Broadcom Broadcasting.
At one point a police boat passed by but he was unable to attract the attention of officers, and slowly managed to swim about 8km to the main island of Tongatapu, ultimately making landfall at about 10pm on Sun.