Beqa, Kadavu and Ono - Southern Fiji
11 June 2017 | Southern Fiji - Beqa, Kandavu and Ono
Pam
I know, I know, this post is long overdue, but somehow life just got in the way. As I write this, it is now June 2017 and we have arrived back in Fiji after sailing to and from New Zealand and spending the Canadian winter at home. Late though it is, the story is still worth the telling...
Sequoia and Roundabout left Suva on October 4th, 2016 for a three week exploration of Beqa, Kadavu and Ono islands in southern Fiji. As mentioned in the previous blog, while we were in Suva I developed an abscessed tooth which required a root canal. The dentist wanted to wait at least three weeks before putting on the crown to ensure there was no further infection. This worked well with our plans to go south; we would then return to Suva for this last procedure.
Beqa (pronounced Mbenga)
It was a nice sail down to Beqa and we anchored off one of the dive resorts on the west side of the island. We went ashore to see the dive resort, enjoy a beer at the bar and take a tour of the grounds. To our surprise, the clientele was mainly Chinese tourists. Beqa is famous for its shark dives; and several friends had raved about the experience, although they admitted that it was pretty scary being that close to so many sharks. Ted had been keen to do the shark dive; however, he would have to forego the experience this time. He had cut his hand very badly in Suva when he slipped on the rocks getting into the dinghy in Suva and it hadn't healed well enough yet to go diving. Back on the boat that evening we were treated to a brilliant sunset. After the solitude of the Lau, we found Beqa very busy with fishing and dive boats going at speed in every direction; so the next day we moved over to Yanuca Island, still within the Beqa reef, and enjoyed some peace and quiet and snorkelling. Huge winds were forecast to be coming within the next few days; so, as we couldn't dive and protected anchorages were limited on Beqa, we decided to scurry down to Kadavu, where we knew we would find good protection in Kavala Bay.
Kadavu (pronounced Kandavu)
Much of the kava grown in Fiji is grown on Kadavu. At the market in Suva, the entire upper level is devoted to kava and most of what is sold is from Kadavu. When we purchased our kava for sevusevu at the market before leaving, we wondered aloud if it wasn't like taking "coal to Newcastle"! One sign of prosperity on the island is that it has the best wifi we found anywhere in Fiji.
When we reached Kavala Bay, we found that our friends, David on Rewa and Paul and Andy on Talulah Ruby, had moved further on around to Waya Island in Korolevu Bay (near Kandavu Village on the SE corner of the island). We thought it would be nice to catch up with them, so the next day our two boats headed south keeping a careful lookout for the reefs. We anchored in Naisogonikino Bay, but the holding was poor and we didn't fancy sitting out the coming storm there. Next day, the light was poor and there were many reefs to be negotiated to get down to Waya Island, so we opted to return to Kavala Bay. Back in Kavala Bay, we anchored next to Van Kedesi, a boat we had met in Suva. Dick and his son, Steve, are Canadian/NZ from Vancouver, but had sailed their boat from Turkey. The storm was expected the following day, so we took advantage of the good weather and hiked the roads around and above the village and up to the residential school. The storm arrived on Thanksgiving Day (Canadian) with pouring rain and big winds. Musket Cove and the Yasawas on the west side of Fiji were forecast to receive winds to 50 kts, but we later heard that they had gusts to 70 kts with several boats dragging. We were glad to be tucked into our sheltered bay, but still saw winds to 35kts.
I prepared Roast Chicken for Thanksgiving Dinner, but it was far too rough for Jan and Carl to come over by dinghy to join us. Over the VHF we could hear bits and pieces of conversation from Rewa and Talulah Ruby. Sequoia and ourselves wondered what the heck they were doing moving on a day like this! Next day both boats arrived in Kavala Bay and dropped anchor next to us. Over drinks on Rewa, they told us their harrowing tale... The winds had been very strong and the waves were breaking over the reef. Talulah Ruby thought they were dragging and attempted to re-anchor; but in the process, before they could get their anchor down, their prop got tied up in the line from a small mooring ball. With those winds they were then in a desperate position - surrounded by reefs with no propulsion and tied to a mooring that was not designed to hold the weight of a boat as big as theirs. David on Rewa came to the rescue by dinghy and managed to attach a line from Talulah Ruby onto a much bigger mooring ball used for the supply ship - very challenging and dangerous in the high seas and wind! Taloolah Ruby was now secured, but being still attached to the small mooring ball by the prop, they were lying stern to the wind and waves breaking over the reef; water repeatedly filled their cockpit through the night and ultimately destroyed their chartplotter. The storm was forecast to continue, so they knew they had to get back to Kavala Bay for better protection. It was very challenging, as the winds were still blowing hard and visibility very poor; they had to negotiate their way through all the reefs following close behind Rewa, with no chartplotter. Needless to say, they were both very relieved to drop anchor next to us. However, the excitement was not over! The high winds and rain continued through the night. Around midnight we were awoken to the sound of voices and a horn blowing. Rushing out on deck we saw the shadow of Rewa, all 65ft and 50 tons of her, barrelling down towards us. Rewa had been anchored upwind of our five boats; and miraculously, when she dragged, had threaded her way through our fleet without hitting anyone or catching anyone else's anchor. Dick's son, Steve, had stepped out on deck around midnight and realized that Rewa was dragging. He managed to make enough noise to waken David, who was alone on his boat. The night was black as Toby's ....! All of us turned on our deck lights so David could see where our boats were in the driving rain. Great sailor that he is, he quickly got control of the boat, hauled up the chain and re-anchored - all without hitting anyone or going aground on the reefs that bordered either side of us. It all ended well and by the next morning the weather was clearing and the seas settling, so the four boats headed for the north side of Ono and Great Astrolabe Reef. Van Kedesi headed for Vuda Point.
Ono and Great Astrolabe Reef
Our four boats sailing along in a nice breeze made a beautiful sight as we headed for the north side of Ono. Our friends, Craig and Karene on Il Sogno, had been here earlier in the season and provided us with some good information on dive/snorkel locations etc. We anchored in an unnamed bay adjacent to Alacrity Reef. It was a beautiful sunny day, so once anchored we headed out to snorkel on Alacrity Reef. The snorkelling was wonderful, with the most colourful hard corals we had ever seen and lots of fish. Unfortunately, on the three-mile return trip, our Mercury outboard stopped working yet again! The best it could manage was a slow idle. Jan and Carl stuck with us for much of the trip, but it was painfully slow. The group gathered on the beach for a potluck that evening which was lots of fun. Next day, Ted cleaned the hull in preparation for returning to New Zealand, where hulls are inspected on arrival. There was only a small amount of slime, so we were pleased with the Carboline 3000 anti-fouling we had put on in New Zealand and would recommend it. The afternoon was spent on Talulah Ruby playing a marathon game of Mexican Train with all four boats participating - what fun!
Next day the group separated with Rewa and Talulah Ruby heading for Vuda and Sequoia and ourselves returning to Kadavu to explore the north shore and another suggestion from Il Sogno - Papageno Resort. We received a warm welcome from the staff at Papageno and were given a tour of the grounds. Of course, we decided to have dinner at the lodge. There were only three guests there, a couple of American birders and their British guide. Constance, the acting manager, insisted that we must hike to the waterfall the next day. We all enjoyed the hike and Ted and I enjoyed a freshwater swim. When we returned, Constance insisted that we help ourselves to fresh vegetables from their wonderful garden. The lodge grows all its own produce. Jan and I picked some tomatoes, eggplant, lettuce, arugula and a few fresh herbs. We again had dinner at the lodge and were invited to join the staff in a pre-dinner kava ceremony. We are beginning to get used to the taste, but mostly it is the sense of camaraderie that we enjoy. Baskets of fruit, picked by the staff, were waiting for us when we left the lodge. Such lovely, friendly people. In my basket, among with other types of fruit, were Kumquats. I had no idea what to do with them, but a quick search on the Internet and I found a recipe for Kumquat Marmelade. I made it and shared it with Sequoia. It was the most delicious jam I have tasted!
Carl and Jan planned to return to Kavala Bay on a "sevusevu reconciliation" tour, as we felt badly that we had not done sevusevu in Kavala due to the storm. We sailed back to Kavala Bay and anchored again in front of the dock and store, which is about a mile away from the village. When we arrived at the village to do sevusevu, we were directed to the chief's substitute, as the chief was out working. A few of the villagers joined us, including Seri, the chief's wife, who was from Daliconi on Vanua Belavu. One of the young men gave us a tour of the village, showing us the kava drying, the grog pounder and the church. When we returned over the hill to the store by the dock, the owner came out to thank us for respecting their customs. News travels fast. It just reinforces the point that it is appreciated when cruisers respect the ways of the people whose islands we are visiting. We met some boats that did not do sevusevu and the villagers were not pleased. We need to remember that we are guests in their land.
Viti Levu
Next day we set sail for Suva for my dental appointment. The ceramic crown was put on with no problems. I can certainly recommend Stewart Street Dental in Suva.
Next day we sailed round to Vuda Point Marina and found a place in the famous hurricane hole. Lots of familiar boats there. Everyone talking about the weather and trying to decide on a good departure date. Judy from Code Blue, Joyce from Chara and I took a bus into Lautoka for last minute provisioning. Five days later, on October 26th, Roundabout headed for New Zealand and third time lucky...we had a good passage directly to Marsden, arriving in nine days. We had three weeks to get the boat ready and up onto the hard again at Norsand Boatyard, bid farewell to our friends and fly home to Canada for the winter.