We’re in Fiji!
We moored in the creek off Savusavu in the very tight mooring field, the red pole that you can see in the photo below was less than a metre off our stern when the wind changed direction. Nervous skipper..
The officials all came to the boat, health first, then customs and immigration followed by biosecurity. Cathy from Nelly Rose was out in her dinghy so she kindly ferried our first official to and from the dock, while G worked at getting the dinghy in the water. Before a passage, we remove the engine and tie everything on securely, so it takes a little bit of time to get it back in the water when we arrive. As G had been up since 2am and it was now 12, he had some lunch and went off to bed for a nap. H and P went to shore after lunch to pick up the customs and immigration officials. They both enjoyed the banana cake, so much so, that we gave them the recipe. During this process P had to wake G to get his signature a couple of times. P put the pen in his hand and just said ‘sign here please’, which he did in a sleepy haze. H and P returned them to shore and collected the biosecurity official. After a cuppa and some more forms, we returned him to shore. H and P went with him as he drove us through the town of Savusavu, pointing out places of interest along the way. After getting some local currency from the ATM to pay our health and biosecurity fees, we were officially checked in. They then wandered through the town, enjoying an icy pole in the heat and checking out the local shops. Being the chief provisioner, P quite enjoys exploring the supermarkets in a new place, to see what they have on offer. H and P were so excited to find vegemite, we haven't had any since leaving Australia, that we bought it then and there. We got chatting to a lovely couple from the US who have been living aboard their catamaran full time for the past 3 years, with plans to keep sailing at their own pace around the globe. The afternoon was spent tidying up the boat after passage and sorting out a local sim card so we could have internet again. In the evening we went out for some yummy chinese food with the crew from Nelly Rose. On the way back to the boat we stopped in at the carnival. There was a stage with dancing, food stalls, a jumping castle and a ferris wheel. The ferris wheel was unlike any we’ve seen before. There were 2 men running the motor that drove it, and once it was loaded with people it spun around at a great rate of knots. The line for the ride was huge and the screams and laughter coming from the people on it were infectious. No OH&S regs at the Savusavu carnival that’s for sure. The kids decided not to line up of their own accord after watching it go round and round. We sat and watched some Fijian dancing and some bollywood style dancing before returning to Be and Be. Savusavu has a great vibe so far and we look forward to exploring over the next few days. On Sunday we went to the Koro Sun resort for the day, to help Ollie from Nelly Rose celebrate his 10th birthday. We had a nice lunch and then the kids played in the pool and went down the waterslide for a few hours while the adults lazed on the day beds sipping cocktails, watching them. It’s a hard life sometimes, but we’re managing!
After our big day out, and making up our beds after getting our washing done (only $12FJD and its washed, dried and folded), poor H projectile vomited all over the floor. P was glad it wasn't on the fresh sheets but G not so happy as he cleaned it up from inside the bilges as it had seeped through the gaps in the floor panels. We only hope its too much chlorine swallowed rather than gastro, as gastro is never fun and made worse by a confined environment and limited water supply! Thankfully no one else was sick and H felt better the next morning. Next night, P & G headed over to the yacht club for a beer and met a lovely couple from Suva - Tim and Anna-Marie - who are building a house on their farm near Fawn harbour. They have lived all over the world but love the farm and plan to settle there in the near future. The next day they guided us to the local market and taught us about kava, generously buying us a kava bowl each, some kava, and the cloth you use to filter it. Kava is to Fijians what beer is to Australians and something they have most days. They were a fascinating couple who shared their time with us for a day but gave us much insight into Fijian culture and the generosity of the people. We are very grateful to have met them and look forward to showing them our city should they come to Melbourne some day.
We spent a few more days in Savusavu stocking up, eating out and exploring while we were waiting for our cruising permit. P also spent her birthday money on a stand up paddle-board / windsurfer while here, so that we can all learn to windsurf. So a big thank you to all those that contributed, we look forward to many hours of fun.
G didn't put the photo up of P falling in fully clothed... Was pretty funny : )
Whilst the young ones were dropping one of their friends off to another boat, the dinghy engine stopped and would not restart. Fortunately they were ‘rescued’ by a kind Fijian and returned home.
We left Savusavu on Thursday afternoon, and motored around to the Cousteau Resort anchorage. After we all did some paddling on the SUP, which P saw a magnificent lion fish on top of a bommie, it was early dinner and bed, as we planned to leave at 0400 for Viani bay.
G and P got up at 0400 and lifted the anchor and headed towards the pass, but as we approached there was another vessel. Unsure of what type of vessel it was we veered to starboard to allow plenty of room. At night it is difficult to judge the distance of other boats, so we prefer to stay well away. Once it was determined the boat was past us, we exited the reef and hoisted the sails. Our upwind passage took about 8 hours and was anything but dull. P was sitting at the helm while G was at the side and he ducked as a wave hit the side of the boat and P got drenched, while he stayed dry. Obviously this gave G quite a laugh! It is definitely preferable to sail with the wind behind you rather than into it as its a lot more comfortable. No one got seasick so all in all a good passage. We anchored just after lunch in the protected Viani bay. This was to be our home for the next few weeks while we learned to dive.
On our first evening we met some lovely cruisers from Canada and California. Kyle and Shelley from Blowin Bubbles are both SCUBA instructors, who are in their 4th year afloat. Ginger and Lanny from Swiftsure, we met in Savusavu, so it was nice to hang out with them some more. Next morning, with G channelling his inner chef
We tried out the windsurfer, which P got up and managed to sail first try (much to G’s surprise and disdain as he wasn’t as good..)! The rest of the weekend was spent studying for our upcoming week of Open Water dive training at Fiji Dive Academy.
On Monday P, S, E and H went to shore to start the course and after theory and lunch, were all in the water with tanks on, and diving. Wow, that was quick. They spent the week going over the theory and doing more dives while practicing the necessary skills. On Friday they did the exam and everyone passed with flying colours! The following day they completed the final open water dive and it was awesome. They dived at the cabbage patch, where they swam along the reef looking at the fish and coral before arriving at the famous cabbage patch. It is aptly named as the coral looks like cabbages and there is a large area with several cabbage corals. It was absolutely stunning.
Saturday night saw Marina and Jone from the dive academy hosting a get together on the beach. There were many people from the village and when we arrived everyone was sitting on the ground on mats in a circle around the kava bowl. Marina had made kokoda (pronounced kokonda) which is a fijian dish of fish in lime juice and coconut milk. Everyone bought something along and we had a lovely evening chatting, dancing and meeting new people. We headed back to the boat and the kids all informed us of the plans they had made for the following day.
The Be and Be kids, along with the Skylark kids all went over to Swiftsure in the morning as they had arranged to meet Ginger and Lanny’s 2 russian blue cats, Sweetpea and Scoots. They stayed there while J went to shore with P and G to do his bubble maker course with Marina. Marina briefed J on the dive and they geared up and walked into the water. P and G snorkelled nearby and checked out several clownfish and the pretty christmas tree worms. J stayed under water for about 40 minutes and only came out as he was cold. He dove to 2-3 metres on his own with Marina. J is now keen to become an open water diver when he turns 10.
The others then had Kyle over for Ukulele lessons, should have heard the tunes…
While dad snuck out for a couple of dives, the rest headed for a visit to the local school and were made most welcome. Then they topped it off with a dinner on Be and Be
S and G started their advanced open water diver course on Monday but due to some weather constraints had to delay a couple of their dives, so completed all the theory first. On Wednesday G, P, S, E, and H all did a dive together. We returned to the cabbage patch which was just as beautiful as the first time, and G was amazed as it was his first time. Then we had a break on shore before diving on Nuku reef. We saw loads of fish and more beautiful coral.
Viani bay was a very sociable anchorage and given that we’d been on everyone else’s boat, it was our turn to host on Wednesday night. The crews from Invictus, Swiftsure, Skylark, Eerie Spirit, Eyrie II, Blowin Bubbles and Rewa, together with Marina and Jone all came over. The cockpit was pretty crowded but we managed and everyone enjoyed the evening, eating, drinking and chatting.
The next morning G and S completed their course and then they picked P up for one more dive. We dove Eagle rock where we saw some white tipped reef sharks and the star of the dive was the 8 or so eagle rays that glided below us. They are magnificent creatures and watching them fly gracefully through the water was an absolute delight. Our anchor retrieval the following day was very slow as it seemed to wrapped around bommies but we raised it eventually and then motored towards Taveuni. En route we discovered a problem with our starboard sail drive, so now one engine down, we will slowly head toward Vuda Point on Fiji’s main island to get repairs done.