This will be our last visit to Fiji - a country and people we have grown to love. Our intention this season had been to spend a month (or at most six weeks) in Fiji and visit the west side, which we had not yet seen; then continue on to Vanuatu and New Caledonia. However, as I write this blog, it is now the middle of August and we arrived in early June!
In part, we have lingered in Fiji to spend time with cruising friends, many of whom we likely will not see again. Cruising friendships are different from at home; here they spring up quickly, with strong bonds formed through shared experiences. We have been fortunate to have met so many wonderful people on our voyage so far - some have been friends since Mexico, some belong to our "Class of 2014" Pacific Crossing and, of course, many others during our travels in New Zealand and Fiji. Many cruisers are on a schedule and once they have cruised for 2-5 years and/or reached New Zealand, IT IS DECISION TIME! Do they continue to sail the South Pacific circuit for a few more years, continue with a circumnavigation, make arrangements to sail or ship their boats back to North America/Europe OR sell their boats, closing the cruising chapter of their lives, and either return to their former lives or pursue other options? Age, health, jobs, aging parents, children, grandchildren all play a role in this decision. As a result, our circle of cruising friends is splitting apart this year, with people choosing from all the above options.
We finally left Savusavu on July 8th, as Ted had a dental appointment in Suva. We anchored in Lami Bay beside True Blue V; we first met Leanne and Craig in Mexico in 2012. Leanne was also going to see the same dentist as Ted (Stewart Street Dental). Fortunately, the dentist determined that Ted's issue was not a dental problem, but due to congested sinuses; so we only spent a few days in Suva before heading on to Musket Cove and the West side of Fiji.
The West side of Fiji is like being in a totally different country! It is the tourist side of Fiji and for good reason - wonderful dry, sunny climate and some spectacular islands reminding us of the Society Islands like Bora Bora and Huahine with rugged volcanic spires, good snorkelling/diving, swimming and beautiful white sand beaches everywhere. We went to Musket Cove on Malololailai Island first. We first heard of Musket Cove when we were in Tahiti in 2014 and were intrigued, as people seemed to stay there for months. We found Musket Cove to be a lovely cruiser friendly resort, with great hiking, beaches for shelling and full access to the facilities. We felt like we were on holiday...haha, as if our life style isn't one big holiday, but I'm sure you understand what I mean. While we waited for Sequoia to join us from Savusavu, we took advantage of what the resort had to offer - taking a snorkel trip out to Castaway and Honeymoon reefs (which included visits to two other resorts), much needed massages at the Spa, and hiking the hills and beaches of Malololailai Island daily. There were many opportunities for socializing as many of our "yachtie" friends (as the locals call us) were in and out of Musket - Mango Moon, Havachat, Scoots, Pacifico and Erie Spirit to name a few. Sequoia arrived a week later, and we enjoyed showing them around the resort. Just as we were about to head north to the Yasawas, our Inverter/Charger suddenly stopped working. We sailed over to Port Denarau, the super yacht centre on the main island of Viti Levu, to see about repairs. Luckily, an electrician with a Master's Degree in electrical engineering, had recently set up his own business there (Ravi at RavMarine). He diagnosed the problem immediately and ordered two new circuit boards from Florida. We arranged for the parts to be shipped to Yacht Help at Port Denarau (FYI using an agent like Yacht Help is the best way to expedite importing parts). We expected the part to take 7-10 days to arrive; so we planned to use that time to finally go to the Yasawas and Mamanucas.
We provisioned in Nadi and Port Denarau, then returned to Musket Cove to meet Sequoia.
(Note: Provisioning in Port Denerau - I highly recommend the Deli for specialty items such as meat and fresh arugula and the wines from Victoria Wines).
At long last we headed north to the Mamanuca and Yasawa Islands - the reason we returned to Fiji this year. Several cruisers had given us lists of their favourite anchorages and there were so many to choose from. On the passage north, we were excited to see the island of Modriki, where the Tom Hank's film "Castaway" was filmed. It was fun to look at the beach and cliff and relive the story.
Our first stop was the island of Navadra (pronounced Navandra). The anchorage itself was lovely, although more than a little rolly with the wrap-around swell in the high winds we experienced. Mango Moon and Li'l Explorers were also anchored there. Ted and I couldn't resist climbing to the top of the cliff overlooking the anchorage to take in the fabulous views. Snorkelling was good there too. We were greatly amused by the kids from Li'l Explorers, who held hermit crab races on the beach. After two days we moved on to Drawaqa (pronounced Drawanga) to swim with the Manta Rays. As the current changes to high tide, the Manta Rays can be found feeding in the channel between Naviti and Drawanqa islands. We took turns driving the dinghy, while the rest of us dropped over the side to swim with the crowds following the Manta Rays. What spectacular creatures! We spent two days swimming with the Manta Rays and hiking above the Mantaray Island Resort on nearby Nanuya Balavu Island. We had hoped to travel on to the Blue Lagoon; but an email changed our plans. Unbelievably, the parts had arrived in 4 days from Florida!!! That...and the forecast of high winds, cut short our travels and we reluctantly headed back to Port Denarau. Although we didn't spend as much time as we would have liked in the Yasawas and Mamanucas, we did stay in some absolutely drop dead gorgeous anchorages. We would have liked to hike on Waya, anchor off Tom Hanks' "Castaway" island of Modriki and seen the Blue Lagoon; but we had a good taste of the islands anyway.
We returned to Port Denarau to have the parts installed, then moved over to Vuda Point Marina in preparation for clearing out and heading to Vanuatu. It was apparent that our time in Vanuatu was going to be limited. Friends were joining us in New Caledonia in early October, and we needed to have enough time to familiarize ourselves with New Caledonia before they arrived. We applied for and received approval to check-in at Aneityum, the southernmost island of Vanuatu; and the plan was to visit the islands of Aneityum and Tanna before heading on to New Caledonia. Now we wait for the weather for the 500 nm passage to Vanuatu and another new adventure...