Our arrival in Fiji felt like our 3.5yr sailing journey was really coming to an end. With only one more passage to reach New Zealand and the official start of Cyclone season only a matter of weeks away, we knew our time in Fiji would be short. My sister, Lynn and her partner G, had already previously sailed to Fiji in their boat and had a wealth of experience and knowledge we could draw from while spending precious time with my wonderful sibling!
The date of our long anticipated re-union arrived, but the strong winds we had raced to stay ahead of when we left Tonga, were still pounding the south coast of Vanua Levu, making it easier to stay a couple more nights in the marina before venturing out into less protected waters. We spent a day exploring the island by car, venturing down unsealed potholed roads to find waterfalls, rainforest and other hidden treasures. Fiji has a similar problem with Mongoose as NZ has with Possums and we saw plenty of the animals as they ran across the road into the grass verge. They were introduced from Jamaica in 1883 to control a rat problem which was affecting the sugar plantations but, as is often the case when animals are introduced, those creatures become more of a problem, as they have no natural predators but get a taste for some of the native species!
The winds eased a little and, on checking the forecast, realized the weather was not going to allow us to head to the isolated and beautiful Lau Group, as we had hoped, so we decided instead, to head to the northern part of the other main island in Fiji, Viti Levu, which would protect us from the strong southerly winds. Along the way we stopped at a couple of islands, including Makogai – a small island surrounded by a reef with a traditional village hidden in the trees about 7km from where we were anchored.
Makogai was used as a leper colony from 1911 until 1950, accommodating upto 700 patients shipped there from the British colonies of the Pacific, including NZ. Sadly it was a one way trip for the patients and the neglected graveyard we walked through, is testament of the many nationalities that were housed on this small island. In 2016 cyclone Winston destroyed most of the old Leprosarium buildings but the foundations and old walls are now used to house a breeding programme for Giant Clams and we were given a quick tour of the various ponds accommodating different ages/sizes of Clams, some with vivid colours.
Lynn and G had visited the island before and remembered the Chief, so we set off, armed with a small bundle of Kava roots, to present a gift to the village. The ceremony of Savusavu consists of sharing a cup of kava, lots of clapping of hands and listening to the Chief speak. At the end, he thanked us for the gift and for honoring their tradition, saying we could stay as long as we wished and gave us permission to swim, snorkel or roam the island. Sadly, the weather dictated we needed to once again keep ahead of the next front that was approaching, bringing more strong winds from the south, so we headed to the sheltered northern anchorages of Viti Levu, with a surrounding reef protecting us from the rolly seas. As we sailed the well marked channel we put out our fishing line and much to our surprise and delight, caught a beautiful Spanish Mackerel and, with G’s fishing expertise, he and Steve managed to haul it on deck – our first catch of the Pacific and one that fed us for three meals! What a gift!
Now in the shelter of the island, we headed out to explore the Yasawa Group of islands, popular with holidaymakers from Australia and NZ. Most of the islands have resorts, or cater for day trippers, and have been given names to entice those wanting to experience tropical paradise – names like Robinson Crusoe Island, Treasure Island, Survivor Island, Castaway Island and Blue Lagoon. We were now in tourist central, the busiest place we had been since leaving Europe, but it didn’t feel over-run or too commercialized, probably because the local people are just so amazingly friendly and welcoming! Everywhere we went we were met with a loud “Bula!” and cheerful, genuine smile so you couldn’t help but smile back and feel the warmth of their welcome.
We sailed as far north as Drawaqa Island, which is in the middle of the Yasawa Island chain. There is a channel on the northern side of the island where Mantarays pass through as the tide falls. Leaving Steve on the boat to recover from a pulled muscle, Lynn, G and I went in search of Manta’s. Eventually we found one, swimming underneath us as it kept a wary eye on the numerous tourists who had joined us in the water. They are such beautiful, graceful animals gliding with effortless ease as they feed on invisible plankton. Some interesting facts about Mantarays. They are often seen in “trains” where one female is chased by several males in a mating ritual; Female Mantas reach sexual maturity between 8-10yrs old; They give birth to one pup once every 2-3yrs; They don’t lay eggs, but the eggs are kept inside the female for 12-13 months before hatching internally when the female gives birth to a pup.
Lynn and G had booked flights home so, after three wonderful weeks together, we headed to the marina in Denerau for a last night together. G and Steve gave it more of a nudge than Lynn and me, staying up all night talking rubbish and drinking the remains of all our alcohol! It was a perfect send-off to the crazy-adult-kids who left us with heavy hearts and lots of washing up!!!
Now things were going to get real as we started to prepare for our hardest passage to date, our final journey to New Zealand with unpredictable winds and changeable weather conditions during the 1200nm, eight-day passage. Things were starting to get interesting!