Cruising Fiji

Country side near Labasa on Vanua Levu Island

Savusavu to Labasa
Oct 8, 2013
There’s rain forecasted for two days…what to do? There is a reason this island is called the Garden Island because it rains a lot! It’s green and lush with blooming flowers everywhere.
 We decide to rent a car and see the island of Venua Levu.  One day we drove east as far as the paved road went, beyond as far as the gravel road went and then beyond on single lane dirt road through villages to nowhere until we both felt nervous…we turned around. Never did we get out to the water or reefs. We saw private resorts on the choicest points and we stopped in to ask to visit. We were turned away as we needed to have called ahead with an appointment. These are six star exclusive resorts. We're told that the quests prefer privacy. No one from the public unless by permission. This was at the Jacques Cousteau and the Namela Resorts.  Seems a bit snooty. So we didn’t get to snorkel. I guess if you hire a tour guide you might circumvent these rules.  But, to tell the truth, so far the water here is pretty murky with all the rain washes down from the hills. We did dive off Point Reef and saw some interesting soft coral, but the visibility was not that good.
The next day we drove west, over the mountains, through the lush rain forest to wide open grasslands to stop for lunch in the agricultural town of Labasa. There were fields of sugarcane in various stages of burned field, cut cane and newly planted shoots. The harvest was in full swing at these time of even on a Sunday (no work allowed) there was a long line of trucks loaded high with sugar cane waiting turns at the processing plant. This is a major industry as noted by the large company letters on the plant, FSC (Fiji Sugar Co). A noxious sweet burnt smell hovered over the town.  Beside fishing and farming, Labasa has a Harwood milling plant churning out stacks of building lumber for export.  We noticed this side of the island is mostly of Indian decent.  We see more Hindi temples than Christian churches.
 We stopped for lunch in the “closed on Sunday” town at the only open restaurant. The Chinese restaurant was full and we ordered and ate in the dark as the power was out in town!( no pictures because it was raining!)
On the way back over the mountain, we passed through acres of lodge pole pines grown for construction lumber. It reminded me of the forests in Oregon, tall columns of straight pines with no branching. Not what I expected on a tropical island!
Traveling the island we see many small neatly groomed villages. There are signs posted to slow down as you enter. Funny, the village name is in bold lettering underneath the large Coco Cola logo! Subliminal advertising, what do you think...?

Every village has a Coca-Cola made sign!

If you want to visit a village, you must first get permission by the headman to visit the Chief who will then grant admission.  We respect this custom, but decide to drive by slowly and not enter any villages. It just seems too personal and we were in a traveling mood.  The homes are simple, almost shack-like structures, box shapes, colorful painted wood or corrugated steel sides with louvered glass windows covered in batik fabrics. The village homes are usually centered on a large structure, the church always surrounded by colorful plants and flowers. The villages are quite neat and pretty. Clean mowed grass is the common carpet. The homes are modest. Most villagers live a subsidence existence harvesting copra, manioc and taro for the village. They take the bus to town to the market for basics and to sell products.   The market place is bustling with people selling their wares. There are many  buses and taxis to take the population where ever.
“Bula!” (the customary greeting of hello or welcome) they call as we pass by…everyone is friendly and smiling. This is an interesting mix of cultures; Indian, Melanesian, Polynesian, Chinese and European.

Yagona root hangs drying ready to make "kava drink" for a welcoming ceremony.

We checked out of customs in Savusavu and motored to Point Reef to wait out the rain.  We are armed with the Fijian cruising permit that allows us to stop at the many village islands. We may have to present Yagona to the Chief of an island, a customary present. There we will have to partake in a sevusevu ceremony to welcome us into their village. This is ceremony where a drink made from kava is passed around , kind of like the peace pipe of old Indian days. After this ceremony, you will allowed to visit their community.  Sounds intimidating, but we’re told it’s the custom and expected. So, we buy several kilos of dried root ready to present to a village Chief if needed. There are underground hot springs all over the isalnd. Some are used for hot baths, some are used to cook food in! Fiji should put some money into harnessing these hot spots for energy!

Hot springs bubble out in Savusavu.  The locals use this one to cook food in. 

Found the gecko we brought from the Marquesas ...and she had babies! 

Sailing Fiji
Oct 10, 2013
We went to a seminar on sailing the Fiji islands put on by an “Old Salt” by the name Curly.  There were 20 other cruising newbies in attendance.  We learned how to be careful and not go aground, by remembering some navigational rules.  The islands have fringing reefs extending all around and many passages are only navigable in good light when you can see the coral heads, 10-20 ft visibility.  The rules in Fijian waters are similar to the French Polynesian and Tuamotu and all other reef areas;
1.Only travel in daylight between 9-3 when the sun is high
2. Don’t travel in poor visibly…period.
3. Watch the weather as it can change daily making some channels hazardous
4. Never trust the electronic charts (now that’s a hard one not to follow)
So, after this 3hr navigational warning lecture, I was overwhelmed and didn’t want to go anywhere outside of this marina!
But, today, we let the rain clear into a glorious flat calm sunny day and we are motoring over to Koro Island for a look.  Anchor down at 2:30pm.

Sailing  from Savusavu to Koro Island

Threading our way into a bay through shallow reefs of turquoise on either side has me reaching for the beer at anchor down time! Fiji is a technical sailing area full of dangerous reefs. My suggestion anyone sailing these waters is too read up on several notes of cruisers who have documented their travels; one is by S/V Soggy Paws. Google their travels around the South Pacific. Good information.

The longest jetty in Fiji at the Koro Beach Resort

Koro Beach Resort view

We are safely sheltered in the North anchorage of Koro Island at 17 .15S, 179.22E. It’s calm and quiet, but remote. The next day we motor around the corner to Dere Bay and take a mooring off the Koro Beach Resort which is a private subdivision of 40 homes and lots for sale. Many ex-pats are "living the island life" here. It is very rustic and not built up at all.

Koro Beach Resort

Snorkeling is great at Koro Island

Colorful coral and so many varieties!

We enjoyed one day of snorkeling along the outer reef off  Koro Beach Resort.  It was a beautiful  calm, clear day. (Later, John will say it was the Calm before the Storm you always read about.) While exploring we landed the dingy on a beach to “shell” when a couple of boys from the village came to say hello.  It was the Fijian Independence Day holiday so all the kids were out playing or fishing. They really “eye-balled” our dingy and wanted to know all about where we sailed from. We offered the boys a ride in the dinghy  and Oh Boy! Was that a treat for them! Yelling and whooping at their friends and they came running down the beach to try and catch a ride…but alas, too late, as we sped out in a spray away to the commands and excitement of the boys to leave their friends behind. All in good fun!

New friends!

Around 3:00pm we explore Sandy Island, a small sandbar that appears only at low tide. It was great fun to “shell” in the shallow sand.  Suddenly, we looked up to see dark ominois clouds forming on the horizon.  We decide to get back to the boat. And no sooner than minutes late at 25knot blow swept through! We had minutes to close the hatches and get ready. We were on a mooring, but on a leeshore with strong winds. If the mooring line breaks there is only seconds before the boat may be away on the reef!  We thought it would be just a squall and over in a few minutes, but no…it continued into the night, a full on low pressure, unexpected by the local forecasts.  The boat rock’ n ‘rolled and hobby-horsed.  We had promised to have dinner at the Koro Beach Resort so had to go ashore. We tried to enjoy a dinner with other visitors, but were too distracted watching the boat pitch. We went back early to the “wild Ride” and I spent a long night on anchor watch!

A quieter night at anchor

Oct 10

In the morning,  the storm had passed. We decided to move across the infamous Vatu-I-Ra channel to Makongai Island.  This is a narrow pass between two land masses with reefs on either side.  There is always reported strong winds.  Our winds were a fresh 20 knots. Sailing along at 6.5 knots is fine boat speed for Wizard. But, as we enterd the pass the winds and chop became stronger.  It was a challenge to negotiate the given waypoints into the pass and entrance to Makogai Island.  We could see breaking reefs on one side and light turquoise shallow spots (reefs) on the other as we bumped and rolled throught he chop! I was none too happy about this challenge!  We tacked  for a new course and BAMM! all the kitchen drawers flew out over the cabin sole! What a fricken mess! Knives, silverware, beans and cans all over the place! Luckily, no open containers.

A pitch and roll and the whole galley explodes!

John keeps his cool! And negotiates the pass and into the anchorage at Makongai Island. Another wild ride! We're happy to be here and ready for a rest and to explore another island in Fiji!

Makongai anchorage