( July 2023)
July 1st ( Saturday) was overcast, but the rain held off and so after lunch, Shawn, Ally, Luke and Kyle returned to yesterday’s snorkelling spot to do a dive. In the end, Ally decided not to dive and so she sat in the dinghy and waited whilst the boys went down. Judy and Adam came over for one last meal together as the following day we would be heading off in different directions. This time it wasn’t a late one as we all had an early start in the morning and our day began at 4am. We had an 11 hour sail around to Viani Bay with variable conditions. Trying to find somewhere to anchor in an unfamiliar area was a little tricky with the sun hiding behind cloud mid afternoon. The fish finder was showing us how uneven the bottom was, with the depth reducing massively in just seconds and we did unfortunately “touch bottom” once. Thankfully, we were moving slowly and we didn’t get stuck. Eventually we found a spot and the anchor went down. In the gloom of late afternoon, the bay didn’t look anything special, but over the next couple of days, we found it to be an incredible place. To burn off some energy, “ the kids” took the kayak out for a while before dinner. As we were all thinking about going to bed and making sure everything was secure, we discovered the kayak wasn’t floating off the back like it should have been! The flash light was used to try and locate it on the beach behind, but it was nowhere to be seen and so Shawn and Luke went out with the dinghy armed with torches – it took them several minutes to spot it pulled up onto the beach half hidden by bushes. It was retrieved and safely put back in it’s storage spot. We won’t tell you whose knot failed!!
After getting up at a leisurely pace on Tuesday morning (3rd), we decided to go ashore to the few buildings there and have a look around. We were immediately welcomed by the owner of a very small resort right on the beach before going into the dive operator on site to ask about local dives and nearby hikes where the chap happily gave us information and directions. We left him to go and look for the track that he had said we would find by passing through the school grounds, with the school being right on the beach, too. We wandered along and were greeted by a guy who introduced himself as Willie – he was so friendly and interested and when we asked him to point us in the right direction for our hike, he happily said he would show us the way to the top. Now, when we had gone ashore to investigate, we hadn’t gone prepared to hike immediately and we were all in flipflops/crocs which were not ideal for going up or down steep, muddy paths but somehow we all made it up and down again safely and with no slips, trips or falls. Thankfully, it wasn’t a long hike ( an hour maximum up and down). Willie was a great guide and when we asked about other, higher hikes, we said he could take us to another one that afternoon. Before going back to Imagination for lunch and to get prepared, we went for a walk along the beach where we were welcomed by another guy, Spencer as he passed us and then by Esther on our way back, who had her son chop coconuts down from the tree and open them for us! Both of them were happy to chat, to ask where we’d come from and about our families and adventures.
At 13.20 that afternoon, Willie picked us all up in his speedboat to take us across the bay where the next hike commenced. From a distance, the hike looked pretty clear along a grassy ridge after climbing up through foliage, but how wrong we were!! It was very steep in places and although there was evidence of the trail being used previously, Willie had to use his machete to cut his way through the tall, thick vegetation so that we could get through and several times we had to go through “ tree tunnels”, waiting, bent double as Willie forged the path ahead. At times it was tough, at times it was ok and at times it was hilarious as we all struggled to pass through the difficult terrain. At one point we did wonder if we would have to camp out on the hillside for the night when Willie lost the trail and had to throw himself backwards into the “virgin foliage” to flatten it to reroute – thank goodness he knows that area like the back of his hand. A special mention goes out to Luke as he completed the whole thing in flipflops (for reasons known only to him!). He did have several blow outs but Willy came to the rescue by tying vine around the bottom of the toe post to stop them pulling out. Unlike that morning, on this occasion there were many slips, trips and falls and we were all totally grimy and covered in sticky seeds by the time we got back down from taking in the glorious views at the top. Once again, Willie was great, giving us information about various plants, local life and his life as we walked, well, trudged and he told us we were the first tourists to make it to the top! We asked about doing a trip with him across to nearby Taveuni Island to visit some waterfalls and we made arrangements with him for the following day. As we got back to the boat, he invited us to join his village the following evening for dinner and for Kava which we very happily accepted. Shawn had surreptitiously asked about the small settlements dotted around the bay and about village chiefs and Willy had told him that his Uncle was the chief of his family settlement/village. When we told him we would like to bring some Kava root to his Uncle, he seemed surprised and rather emotional as he accepted and said that his brother would present it to the chief in a Sevusevu ceremony ( explained in last months blog – this is obligatory in the outer islands, not here on the mainland). We all returned to Imagination exhausted and hungry and after dinner spent some time learning about and playing a great card game, “Blob”( taught to us by previous crew member, Marc!).
The following morning, Willie arrived at 08.25 along with his wife, Pau and brother ( I feel ashamed that I can’t remember his name) to pick us up for the 20 minute ride across to Taveuni. This island is constantly topped with cloud and whilst one side has torrential rain, the other can have glorious sunshine. It is beautifully lush, green and friendly and we met our taxi driver for the day and along with Willie, we all squashed into the car with Willie and Luke in the boot! Every now and then, they had to duck right down to avoid being seen by the police or government officials – if caught, the driver would be heavily fined! The ride to the waterfalls was a long one, but it was a great opportunity to see the island and scenery. We even got to see the Fiji Rugby 15’s professional team in training. They were only there for a week, so we were lucky to catch them as they prepared for this years rugby World Cup…..they are hefty, shiny fellas!! The waterfalls, of which there are 3, are gorgeous, as were the views along the way, but after yesterdays shenanigans, the steep climbs to get to them were more challenging for some than others, especially as we were ALL in flipflops/crocs yet again, not realising what they entailed!! Willie told us that not many locals have made it up to the top waterfall due to the slippery conditions, so we did very well, but we wandered why he didn’t tell us that yesterday so we could have come prepared with trainers/boots?! Once at the top waterfall, Willie wasted no time in climbing the rocks to then leap into the cold water, very quickly followed by Kyle! Madness! Back at the bottom, Luke, Leah, Kyle and Shawn went in for a dip, but Ally couldn’t get past her calves….it was soooo cold! We were there for a good 3 hours and after a roti snack (much like the West Indies roti, only a ¼ of the size!), we headed back to the speedboat but not before we had stopped at another small river with extremely smooth rocks aka slides which Willie, Shawn and Kyle were quick to have a go at! It looked great fun, but too cold for the rest of us. We had one more stop, having passed by the local prison where got smiles and waves from the inmates, which was the International Date Line.
We got back to Imagination at around 3.30 pm and we all felt shattered so took time to relax a little before getting ready for Willie to pick us up again at 6.30pm. What a fabulous experience we all had that evening. We were taken up to the chief’s house where he introduced himself as Tom, escorted by Willie’s older brother and a group of very excited children. We sat cross legged in his humble home and the Sevusevu ceremony began with the handing over of the Kava and the chief accepting it and welcoming us into his community. He wished us well on our future travels and told us we are welcome at any time to return to the village ( this was all translated for us!). We were then shown back to a covered area outside with mats on the floor and we were invited to sit and chat and we were joined by Tom aswe were shown how Kava is prepared. One by one, we were handed a coconut shell cup with the drink to try. As we accepted it and before drinking it, we had to say “Bula” with everyone saying Bula” in return. It is customary, and best, to drink the liquid down in one! It is difficult to explain the taste. It’s not pleasant, but it’s not too bad…a little as you might imagine soil to taste (?!) and the immediate effect was a slight numbing of the tongue and roof of the mouth. We had several “rounds” before being invited to observe how they reduce the root to powder to mix with water. Basically, they used an old scuba cylinder that has had the bottom and top removed into which they put the root and then pounded it with a very heavy steel pole. It was a noisy affair requiring much effort by those doing the work for around half an hour. Another bowl of Kava drink was prepared and then our food was ready to be taken out of the earth oven where it had been cooking for the previous hour or so. We watched as everything was uncovered and the smells were amazing and the heat very intense. We were invited to help ourselves to chicken, tuna, taro leaves in coconut milk, taro, breadfruit and potato salad and we sat on the floor as we ate being watched and encouraged to take more by the villagers, more of whom had joined in the festivities. No one else ate until we had finished and even then only a few ate a small portion – we think maybe they all ate earlier as there was lots of food left over. More Kava followed before we took our leave to be dropped back to Imagination by Willie and as we left, we were given a gift of a wonderful hand made hanging . After goodness knows how many drinks we all had, and despite anxiously awaiting the effects to hit us, none of us felt any different other than Shawn getting more chatty, which is weird as it’s supposed to relax and quieten! Kava here in Fiji is taken by men, women and children once the leave school ( although we have heard from one family that allows their younger children to use it very occasionally) It is a daily ritual, mostly at the end of the day, but there are those that will take it as the day begins, too.
As we were preparing to leave the bay at lunchtime the following day, Willie and Pau came by to say farewell as he said they would, while doing his daily job of transporting the younger school children home. They had bought us a great big bucket filled with tomatoes, aubergines and green beans along with a breadfruit, which was so lovely. It’s always sad to leave after making connections with people, but we were hoping to return on our way back to Savusavu later on in the month so that he could take “the boys” diving on Rainbow Reef. We promised we would mention him and his village to other sailors we came across that were heading to Viani Bay. Almost as soon as we had said our farewells, we were off for the sail over to Matei on Taveuni Island. It was a little choppy in places, but it was only a 3.5 hour trip and Luke spotted a whale. We all watched and waited and very soon saw the back and then the tail in the air before it disappeared never to be seen by us again. Our stay at the anchorage here was just a short overnight one to reduce the following sail by a few hours to ensure arrival in daylight. This time, it was an overnight sail with Luke, Kyle and Leah each doing their allocated shifts during a mostly cloudless moonlit night. Our arrival into Bavatu Harbour on Vanua Balavu which is part of the Lau Islands group was at 15.30 after a 28 hour sail. This is a lovely bay surrounded by steep cliffs covered in lush vegetation, but the high topography meant no phone, internet or satellite connection.
On the morning of the 8th, we all went ashore to the Yacht Club that is owned by the same people who have the Coprashed Marina where we had been in Savusavu. We had to go and show our letter of introduction given to us as we left the marina to enable us to use the facilities and walk on the grounds. All the shutters were open and various equipment was out including paddleboards and BBQ, but there was no one around. We later learned that this place is “unmanned” but looked after by caretakers and yachties are welcome to use the area for BBQ’s etc if they wish. We returned to Imagination and gathered our gear to go around the corner to a spit of land where we enjoyed some pretty snorkelling where we saw tiny pipe fish and Ally saw the hugest yellow and brown spotted puffer fish. On Sunday the 9th, we returned to the Yacht Club as we could hear someone chopping wood and we met Tony who is not just a caretaker, he is one of the owners. He was a very nice chap who welcomed us warmly and told us a little bit about the area. He said we were very welcome to walk up the hill behind the yacht club to his house at the top where we could sit in the grounds and pick up an internet signal and so that is what we did. Yet again, it was a steep climb in flipflops but we all appreciated the weak signal when we got to the top! That afternoon, the boys went diving, while the girls remained onboard. We all went ashore again early the following morning and climbed the 271 steps up to the plantation workers village and then on to a glorious view over the Bay of Islands before returning to Imagination by mid morning ready to depart for the next location.
We arrived in very pretty Little Bay around an hour after leaving Bavatu Harbour and it certainly is a little bay, with a shallow inlet leading into a huge lagoon inaccessible by yacht. It wasn’t long before we were approached by a local couple with two children on their boat. They had come to welcome us to the bay and to find out a little of where we had come from and where we were going. We told them that we wanted to walk over to the village to give the chief Kava before doing anything else and were told that the chief was the his father and he would walk us over to the village. We arranged to go to their home at the side of the lagoon a little later. When we arrived, we were welcomed and invited onto the veranda where we sat and talked for a while. They are the only people living in this area, with the village being a half hour plus walk away, and they are looking after the area for the chiefs family. Nasoni and Taina told us their other 3 children were at school and they travel there and back on horseback each day – what a dream that used to be for Ally as a child! In the end it was decided that with the outgoing tide, we wouldn’t make it to the village and back in time for us to be able to get back to Imagination and so Nasoni kindly said he would take the Kava to the chief the following morning on our behalf. The next day, the boys went for another dive and in the afternoon we found a beach around the corner to have a BBQ. After a miserable morning weather wise, we finally had some sun for the few hours we were ashore.
On Wednesday the 12th July, we had a choppy, windy, overcast and wet 3.5 hour sail to the small island of Susui and the weather didn’t improve after arrival so we all remained on board reading, watching tv, resting etc but the next morning, we were keen to go and introduce ourselves and present Kava. There were many boats in the area that have been part of the Pacific Rally and when we met Jacob on the beach, he told us the crews from all the other yachts were taking part in a joint ceremony tomorrow before a village fundraising open day begins and he invited us to join in and told us we were free to go wherever we wanted in the meantime. We had already been told about the open day and so were happy to join the other crews for the sevusevu ceremony as part of that. We went for a walk along the beach on the windward side – it really was windy with the weather remaining overcast and occasionally wet but it didn’t stop Luke, Kyle and Leah taking the dinghy out after lunch to explore other areas while Shawn and Ally did chores onboard. The morning of the 14th the weather was still unsettled which was a real shame for the villagers who had been preparing for their open day. We went ashore at 10am along with the crews from the 11 other yachts in the bay and after our Kava donations were collected, we were all shown into the school building where the ceremony was performed. It was a more lengthy ceremony than the one in Viani Bay, with 3 village elders, including the Chief, taking turns to talk/pray and it was emotional at times as they were clearly moved by the volume of people even though some had been unable to make it. Then, there was weaving for the ladies or a guided hike up to the ancient village. Leah and Ally decided weaving wasn’t for them, so joined the hiking group, along with several other ladies who felt the same way. As has been the common theme this month, most were in flip flops/crocs, but Ally had actually bought trainers along this time and was very grateful for them! The hike, at the end, was more like rock climbing than hiking and not what anyone in the group had expected with the ancestors village being small caves and strongholds at various points. It was good to be back at sea level again where a great lunch had been prepared for everyone. Due to the weather, the afternoons activity of going out in local boats to a secret lagoon and snorkelling was cancelled so most returned to their yachts for a few hours before returning at 5pm for the evenings festivities. It began with Kava before another great meal of lamb, beef chow mein, fish, cassava, chicken curry, potato salad, lobster and sea grapes. When everyone had finished eating, we were treated to singing and dancing by the women and children. At the end of a great evening, an announcement was made that they had reached the required target to allow them to buy an outboard engine for the village speedboat which would give them access to healthcare and provisioning on neighbouring islands. Fantastic!
The following day, Luke, Kyle and Leah had made arrangements to meet up with a few of the local older teenagers to go spearfishing and even though the weather wasn’t brilliant again, they had a great time catching fish and then building a fire on the beach to cook their catch and they were all super excited to have seen their first free swimming shark. The weather continued to be bad on Sunday the 16th but we sailed to an unnamed anchorage which reminded us a little of Thailand with the limestone overhanging rocks. We were there for just one night before leaving for the sail back to Savusavu. It was another night sail which started off calm and peaceful before things changed and we had persistent rain and winds gusting to 32kts periodically. We arrived back at the Coprashed Marina midmorning, but after the uncomfortable night, we all spent the rest of the day relaxing/recovering. The next morning was a leisurely one before doing some shopping and Ally packed her bags ready for a visit home. She left Imagination the following afternoon and the rest moved Imagination back down the coast to the Jean Michel Cousteau Resort area for a couple of days before sailing back around to Viani Bay where they spent several days snorkelling, scuba diving and swimming with Manta Rays with Willie and his brother. They had some incredible encounters before having to return yet again to Savusavu, this time for Luke, Kyle and Leah to fly home. The boat was peaceful and Shawn was able to make the most of the continuing grotty weather and enjoy some well deserved down time.
