We had as nice a motor sail as a motor sail can be last night. We ran the port aux at around 1300 RPMs to make about 4.5 knots of way. This set our arrival in Savusavu at 08:30 local time, just when customs and other officials open for business. The authorities are rumored to be very strict here so we didn't want to anchor or tie up outside of biz hours.

The approach to Savusavu is pretty clear but as you get close to Point reef you need to stay wide of the light as the reef extends a bit farther out than the light's location. Once around the point you can cruise along the coast to the Savusavu harbor entrance.

Savusavu is a small town (though the second largest on Vanua Levu, which is the second largest island in Fiji). The harbor is situated inside a huge bay on the South coast of Vnua Levu. The harbor is deep and has a reef closing it off at the head and a long mangrove island with tall hills running along the north side. It is very protected and many yachts tie up to hurricane moorings here for the season. We considered this for a bit after arriving.

The harbor has some mud flats on the south side that bubble with hot springs. You can see the steam rising from the edge of the water along the coast. There are three mooring purveyors here. We chose to use the Copra Shed. Though I believe that the Bosun's Locker and the Marina can all provide similar services, we have been very happy with Dolly and the Copra Shed.

On approach we hailed Dolly, the GM of the Copra Shed, and she sent a gentleman to show us to a mooring in a skiff. They also ferried the officials out to our boat. Health came first and gave us a standard $33 Fijian ( about $20US) bill which we had to pay at the hospital (a fair hike on the other side of town). Customs and Immigration came next and had no fees but 6-8 pages of forms to fill out with valuable questions like what color is the bottom of your boat. Finally quarantine visited and charged us $20 fijian. The standard, "keep the dog on the boat or we'll kill it and charge you $500", message was received.

We are now allowed to go ashore but can not leave the mooring without clearing things with the Customs office. Fiji is in the ridiculous zone when it comes to formalities. Dolly applied for a cruising permit for us, which will allow us to visit the islands. We must give customs an itinerary for all travels though and we have to check in and out of all ports of entry should we travel to one. Once we decide to leave Fiji we have to clear out at a port of entry (in the middle of the islands) and then not stop anyway on our way out (which generally requires a dangerous reef transit which can not be made in daylight if you are going West along a direct path). It is clear that they have no ability to make constructive use of all of this data, nor the wherewithal to police the policies. We comply as always but the bureaucracy is remarkable.

That said the people that came to our boat were some of the most professional and civil I have ever met wearing an official's badge. No one asked us for beer or gifts and all were polite and courteous, respecting our boat and even helping us with the forms! The Fijians are currently second in a close race with the Niuians for nicest folks in the world in our book.

We were smelling bacon frying the whole time we were filling in forms. The aroma wafted out over the anchorage from the Captain's Cafe. As soon as we were permitted we made our way there and had a nice bacon and egg breakfast. It was wonderful with good coffee as well. They also do a good pizza and have a real pizza oven.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the town and getting local currency at the bank. We are looking forward to our week here!