We ducked out of the marina to nearby Saweni Bay for a breath of fresh air and to get a few jobs done. Sunday’s are total non work days in the islands and Monday turned out to be a public holiday so customs and provisioning would have to wait for Tuesday anyway.
We spent the time testing the water maker again (we suspect another membrane is on its way out), scrubbing off barnacles and checking the rigging. It’s amazing how many barnacles the boat collected whilst sitting in the marina. The water has been like glass since we got here… so much for getting Ro acclimatised to movement of the boat.
Thankfully, Elaine’s health appears to be a bit more stable for a time, so we decided to head back to Vuda Marina to get Mari ready for the passage across to New Caledonia. This time with a new crew member….welcome Rohan!
Jammed in to Vuda marina. Getting on and off the boat was a challenge, especially at low or high tide.
To make our way to Vuda Point marina on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu we decided to go via the northern end of the island. The first night was spent at Nananu-I-cake island. This was close to a couple of affluent looking islands with modern, posh looking houses, including a private island where the main means of transport seemed to be helicopter. It was a real contrast to the villages we had seen up until now.
The second night was spent off Vatia beach where there was supposed to be an “eco resort”. Hmm, we arrived at low tide and tried to access the beach but to no avail, the shore was shallow and rocky all the way. We had been looking forward to an icy cold beer as advertised, since our beer supply had run out. Oh well….instead we had sundowners on another boat we had been leap frogging along the coast with called Scoots. They were an American couple called Vandy and Eric. It was a very pleasant evening.
We arrived at Vuda Marina the following day where they squeezed us in between a couple of other boats. The marina is arranged in a circle with all the boats around the outside with either bow or stern pointing in to the middle. It is very sheltered (read stifling) inside and is considered to be a bit of a hurricane hole. It had access to lots of services and we were able to arrange for the water maker to be fixed, also the freezer and air con.
Just after setting off at first light for Makogai Island, a large pod of what we think were small whales was sighted. They were larger than dolphins but had heads like whales. Anyway we were excited because this was our first close encounter with any whales since the start of our trip.
Our guide book informed us that “sevusevu” was required on this island so we all covered our knees and shoulders with respectable attire and gave some kava to a man on the island (he said he was the chief) who then showed us around the small research centre with some turtle and clam hatcheries. We think he was an employee of the department of fisheries rather the the village headman though. The island also used to be a leper colony and we were shown around some of the graves and what remained of some of the buildings.
Paul and Holly went snorkelling on a couple of really good bommies and saw some giant clams, real big ones!
We left Taveuni Island for Savusavu which is a small town on Vanua Levu. We were keen to get a few provisions and pick up some gifts to send home with Dave and Cathy. While we were there, some of us were struck by some kind of mystery illness and on talking to people on other boats found out quite a few had had similar symptoms spread out over several days. We hadn’t all come from the same place and hadn’t had physical contact with any of them. Anyway, we are all ok now.
From our mooring at Savusavu. Freewheel is the sky blue boat in the background.
We stayed on a mooring for a few days enjoying a bit of civilization and the Copra Shed Marina bar with other boats – Babe, Freewheel, Equinox, Dulcinea, Alchemy II. Sadly, we also said goodbye to Dave and Cathy.
