Lautoka / Vuda Point, Fiji

20-31 OCTOBER 2011

DAY OF ARRIVAL: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20

As usual, our timing for arrival was off as we sailed a little faster than expected and so arrived around 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. in Lautoka, the second largest city in Fiji, located on the western end of the island of Viti Levu. (The largest city in Fiji is the capital, Suva, located on the east end of the same island.) We anchored in the customs harbor, slept several hours, and then dinghied in to the port offices in order to be there when they opened later that morning.

We had hoped that by getting there before the offices were open we wouldn't have to wait long, but there were two or three others in front of us, also waiting to clear in or out, when we arrived, and we wound up having to wait about an hour and a half before we could see a customs/immigration official. This gave us plenty of time to admire the faded photos of Queen Elizabeth II of England that seemed to grace every wall. (Interesting, since Fiji has had its independence from Britain for quite some time now.)

At last we were called back into one of the private offices to see a customs/immigration official. His name was Mr. Ali, and he was very courteous and helpful. He is also, no doubt, well educated. While we were in his office he answered his phone several times, speaking a different language each time. We noticed that he is fluent not only in English but also in Fijian and some Indian (think India) language as well. When he got off the phone the third time Jim asked him how many languages he speaks. Mr. Ali thought for a moment, then said, "Ten." Wish I could say the same!

Mr. Ali asked us many questions - including the color of our outboard motor - the answers to which he then typed into a form on his computer. This all took 20 or 30 minutes. Then came time to pay - a bio-security clearance fee of $89.70FD and a health fee of $172.50FD (Fijian dollars), a total of about $150US. Of course, these fees had to be paid in Fijian dollars and, of course, we didn't have any since we had just arrived in the country, so we were allowed to go into town to get some Fijian dollars, which we were able to do by using our U.S. bank card in a local ATM.

And so we walked into town, got some Fijian money, and quickly found a restaurant/bar -- the Lautoka Hotel Pub - where one can get a beer. Then back to the port and the customs office where we were told that the health (or was it bio-security?) official, who was supposed to go out to our boat, had been called away. Since we supposedly could not finish the clearing-in process without this inspection and it was already 12:30 p.m., they took pity on us and sent some other lady with us who was nicely dressed, wearing high-heels, and on her way to lunch. When she saw our dinghy and how far out the boat was anchored, she told us just to toss any fresh food items we had on board into "that trash bin over there," and with that she was off. The trash bin, by the way, was a regular ole dumpster with an open lid situated across from the dinghy dock. (And for this "bio-security inspection" we paid how much???) And so by early afternoon we were able to get under way to Vuda (pronounced Voonda) Point where we had made arrangements to haul out.

The trip to Vuda Point only took about an hour. When we were almost there we contacted the marina office via the VHF radio and were told that we should pick up the mooring ball in the middle of the marina basin. This turned out to be a bit more difficult than we had hoped as it was a TINY turning basin and I, who had to pick up the mooring ball, had never before done such a thing (male sailing friends had been aboard to assist Jim with this when we had had to pick up a mooring in Tonga.) Needless to say I botched it. Even though I picked up the mooring line on the first try - YEA!!! - my jubilee was short-lived as the boat began to run over the boat hook and ultimately I had to drop it. Fortunately, it was a very long wooden pole and it floated. Also fortunately, one of the marina employees arrived right then in a small motorboat, retrieved the pole and handed me the mooring line. Whew!

We soon were led to a slip where we remained until haul out the next day. No sooner had we gotten settled into our slip than we saw Alex and Angelique, the Ukrainian/Russian couple we had met in Pago Pago, who were also staying at the marina. We checked out the spot where Cactus Wren would be situated up under the trees after haul out, then went to the Sunset Bar, a large open-air bar out on the point by the entrance to the marina, for a drink. Afterwards we went back over to our haul-out area, ducked through an opening in the trees and found ourselves transported into another world, that of the First Landing Resort (named for the spot where the Fijians first landed on the island). Lovely! Very tropical, very relaxed, very friendly. Here in the Nalamu Bar we ate a chicken curry dinner, sipped some wine, and finally relaxed after a VERY long day.

FRIENDS FROM OZ

We were hauled out the following day, October 21, and spent a week out of the water overseeing the painting of the bottom and other needed maintenance. Jim spent a lot of time working on the boat while I did laundry and visited with our new friend, Dianne. We met Dianne in the Nalamu Bar at First Landing our second night at Vuda Point. She was having dinner there as were we, and we wound up sitting next to each other at the bar. Dianne is very sociable, and by the time the evening was over we felt like we were old friends. Since trying to cook and wash dishes and so forth were a real pain while hauled out, we ate dinner at the Nalamu Bar every night. The food was quite good, with Ika Vakalolo (cooked fish in coconut sauce) being our favorite dish.

Dianne, who was staying at the resort for several weeks, also ate there for dinner, and so we got to visit with her every night. When we mentioned in her company that this was the first place in the South Pacific that we had had any real trouble with mosquitoes, which were eating us alive as we tried to sleep at night on the boat up under the trees, she immediately invited us to stay in the air-conditioned bedroom in her villa since she preferred to sleep in the main room and so was not using the extra room. Needless to say, we were overwhelmed with gratitude and, after not being able to sleep for three nights, took her up on her most generous and gracious offer.

One day, while Jim remained at Vuda Point to help with work on the boat, Dianne rented a taxi for the day with her favorite taxi driver, Ali, and took me to Denarau across the water from Vuda Point. The Port of Denarau was the other place we could have hauled out, but I'm glad we chose Vuda Point because, aside from meeting such great friends there, it is a much nicer, though less upscale, place to be in my estimation. Anyway, the trip to Denarau was fun. Ali played chauffer and tour guide and left us to our own devices when we so desired. We drove through Viseisei, the oldest village in Fiji where the chief of chiefs comes from; Namaka, where I bought some limes at a vegetable market; and Denarau. Dianne had Ali pull into a McDonald's where she bought all of us hot fudge sundaes at the drive-in window. Then it was on to the Port of Denarau, a more modern development with golf course, high-rise hotels, a small marina for big boats and an outdoor shopping area right out of an American waterfront town.

The small marina is gated, but Dianne and I were able to get onto the docks to look at the boats when some other people opened the gate. No one seemed to mind, and of course we did no harm. Afterwards we had lunch outdoors at Lulu, one of the waterside cafés.

Then it was time to meet up with Ali again, and so we headed on back to Vuda Point. On the way Dianne stopped at her hair dresser's to take them some cookies. Apparently this is a custom during Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights that is celebrated quite elaborately in Fiji. Many of the women wear their best saris - absolutely gorgeous! Such luscious colors! - during Diwali and, Ali told me, many people decorate their homes with outdoor lights during this festive time, much as we do at Christmas in America. Alas, I did not have my camera with me for this trip and so have no photos of my lovely afternoon with Dianne seeing some of the countryside and towns of the island I otherwise would not have had a chance to see.

Besides Dianne, who has homes in both Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, we also met Greg, also from Sydney, who was on his boat at Vuda Point Marina, and Alan, who lives in the Sydney area as well and was staying at First Landing. All three of them gave us invitations for when we arrived in Sydney: Dianne said we could stay with her; Greg said he would take us sailing; and Alan wanted to take us to the wine country. I must say, the Aussies are a most hospitable people. (And don't forget our friend Peter from Torquay, Australia, whom we met in Hiva Oa, and Robert, who owns a sheep and cattle station out from Brisbane, whom we met in Raratonga, both of whom invited us to stay with them if we came to the Land of Oz.)

THE CROOKED PIER TO PARADISE

Our last full day in Fiji, Dianne accompanied us as we took Cactus Wren back to Lautoka in order to clear out. Once there, we all walked into town to meet Greg and his buddy at the Northern Club, a private club with swimming pool, tennis courts, and restaurant, where visiting cruisers are welcome. We found Greg at a table outside on the deck with several local expats. They invited us to join them, and we did.

One of the expats was an American named Kevin, a furniture designer and former restaurateur who now owned a lumberyard and sawmill in Lautoka. After a few libations and much jocularity, Kevin decided to go home, make up some sashimi, and bring it back for the table to enjoy. However, the Club took exception since whoever runs the restaurant there (not very good) pays to have that concession and would not be happy with Kevin's bringing in food to compete with them. So it was decided that we would all go to Kevin's instead.
After winding through town and some back roads, we came to Kevin's sawmill operation and then to his house, which is on the water. Kevin, who for three years owned a sushi restaurant in the Phoenix area, prepared sashimi and shrimp with special homemade sauces. After entering his house through the kitchen, we then walked out behind the house and beheld "the crooked pier to Paradise" (as Greg so aptly dubbed it) - a meandering wooden pier out into the water with a wider deck at the end. Here sat a rustic wooden table that Kevin heaped with delicious seafood. When, after we had pretty well put away all the fresh fish and shrimp, someone asked, "Don't you have any oysters?", Kevin went back inside and soon came out with a platter of fresh oysters. Oh, my! What a culinary delight! (And of course there was wine.)

Once it was dark, Kevin's right-hand-man built a HUGE (20 or 30 feet high) bonfire that we watched from the pier. Then it was time to go home. We called Ali, who came in his taxi to take Jim and me to Port Lautoka, where we now had the boat anchored in the harbor, and Dianne back to First Landing. It was truly a night to remember. And you know what? When we got back to the boat we could still see that bonfire raging across the harbor.

NEW CALEDONIA, HERE WE COME!

The next morning we cleared out of Fiji at Port Lautoka. This time we got a different officer, and he asked us ALL the exact same questions that we had answered when we had checked in just over a week previously. Again, he entered all the info into his computer. When we asked why he had to record all the same info on the computer that had already been entered on the computer by the same office such a short time ago, he told us that -- even though his office was just a few feet across the hall from our first customs officer's office -- the computers were not networked.

Again, the process took an hour or two, but eventually all the paperwork was done and someone - not sure what department - went with us to the boat to check and be sure we had no Fijians aboard (???). Apparently, the government doesn't want Fijians traveling from one island to another - - at least not surreptitiously. (There has been a lot of unrest in Fiji what with different factions of the population - Fijians, Hindus and Moslems - not playing well with each other.)

Since we were not smuggling any Fijians - or anyone else, for that matter, we simply had to return the officer to the shore and then dinghy back out to the boat again, haul up the dinghy and dinghy motor, haul up the anchor and LEAVE. This sounds simple enough, right? Maybe, except for the fact that once we were officially cleared out we had only 1 HOUR in which to leave!!! Who makes these rules, anyway? Obviously someone who has never operated a cruising sailboat!

It is October 31, and we're off! Happy Halloween!