11/01/2009, Viani Bay, Vanua Levu
One of the rewards of cruising is the variety of interesting and sometimes unusual people you encounter. This morning we were awakened by Jack - a third generation (mostly) English emigrant - in his aluminium skiff. Jack is the major domo of Viani Bay. He has a dive shop, runs poultry and porkers, serves as a trekking guide to the interior, works as a boat captain and delivery skipper, and farms fruits and other commodities of commercial value.
Jack arrived for breakfast and stayed through lunch during which time we covered most of his fifty-plus years of existence in Fiji. We struck a bargain or two for his services and tomorrow he'll be our guide for some snorkelling on Rainbow Reek in the Somosomo Straits.
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10/30/2009, Fawn Harbor, Vanua Levu
Following a delightful evening and dinner as guests of Greg Taylor, general manager at Jean Michel Cousteau Eco Resort, we left Savusavu Bay and continued our exploring along the east coast of Vanua Levu. We're anchored at Fawn Harbor, unusually named as I don't believe there are any deer in Fiji. Anyway, Fawn is a nice circular bay surrounded by mangroves on the inside and reef on the ouside. Looks like a potential cyclone hole if we need one while up this way.
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10/15/2009, Palmlea Lodge, Vanua Levu
At the urging of cruising friends Gwen and Don, formerly of Tackless II, and Deborah and Scott aboard Viva, we took the bus this weekend to the north shore of Vanua Levu to spend a few days at Palmlea an "oeanside eco-agritourism lodge". This was a totally relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable experience. First, the property sits on a hill facing Fiji's Great Sea Reef and looks down upon a lush mangrove and coconut palm forest along the beach. The lodge which doubles as a farm is solar-power` driven and draws its own water from one of Fiji's many underground aquifers. Palmlea grows its own fruits, vegetables and herbs and is adorned by every tropical flower and blossoming plant we know of. The variety of plants and riot of colors is truly remarkable. They are also in the process of assisting the Fiji Dept. of Agriculture in raising a herd of Boer goats, renown for their size and high-quality meat.
Sujarta and Greg, our hosts, were pinch-hitting for the owners who are taking a well-deserved break in Thailand. They did a superb job of meeting our every need in a quiet unassuming way, allowing us to explore, swim in the beautiful lap pool and generally 'veg out' all we wanted. They were also excellent company as were all of the staff at the lodge. We even had instruction in preparing various curries from Malti, their Indian chef. Meals were hearty and delicious including the goat curry Malti prepared for us Saturday night - better than beef. Our bure was spacious, airy and state-of-the-art in eco sensitivity.
If this sounds like a bit of a plug, well, it is. If you're planning on Fiji, find a way to work Palmlea into your itinerary. You can learn more from their website www.palmleafarms.com. We're already planning on going back before our time in Fiji is over.
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10/14/2009, Savusavu, Vanua Levu
.... which, as we've said before, is to remain flexible. My Fijian visa expires in early November, Judy's in late December. We have options to rectify this situation, most of which would put a crimp in our time on Vanua Levu before returning to Vuda Point. All also involve some expense. A fourth (modestly pricey) option is to apply for a temporary (12 month) residents permit which I've done, thus eliminating the cost and time of travel outside Fiji. Judy's visa issues will be resolved if we leave for NZ before Christmas.
We're having a good time in Savusavu which for a small port has an amazing number of excellent, inexpensive restaurants. Yesterday we visited the quietly elegant, ridiculously expensive Jean-Michel Cousteau Eco Resort for lunch. It was worth the price and the facility is worth a Google. This coming Saturday we've been invited to a local Hindu merchant's home to help celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights honoring the goddess Lachsmi. Judy has already acquired the proper costume and bling to blend in and is working on skin tone. Next week we hope to put Savusavu to our rudder and head east to some more remote anchorages and the Garden Isle, Taveuni.
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10/08/2009, Savusavu, Vanua Levu
Approaching Savusavu yesterday around noon we received a tsunami warning for Fiji over the VHF radio. Considering the devastation caused by the tsunami in the Samoas last week we took this news seriously. Fortunately we were still out in the deep water of the Koro Sea so we were in no danger, but local radio confirmed that cities in western Fiji were emptying out. The warning was triggered by a series of three magnitude 7 plus undersea quakes in the vicinity of northern Vanuatu some 400 miles to the west - about an hour's traveling time for a tsunami. Fortunately no tsunami developed, but after events in Indonesia and Samoa people in the South Pacific have become very jumpy about seismic activity.
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