Fiji, Vanuatu - Lil and Phil

As we’d not seen any of our children since they all came to New Zealand in January, two excited people were at Nadi International airport on Thursday 21^st September 2018, waiting for Phil and Lilly to come through the gates, sadly, Dolly had to stay in Adelaide and work.

A "must do" when in Fiji - climb a coconut tree

After a quick trip to the Suva markets next morning, we motored down to Nukulau, a small island not far from Suva, where the water was clean and Lil could swim – something very high on a 5yr old’s to-do list!! Second was to “climb a coconut tree and pick a coconut” – also accomplished (with a bit of help from dad). In fact, we ended up with five coconuts aboard that afternoon.

Next day it was off to Dravuni, a small island on the north end of the Great Astrolabe Reef, where Phil and Lilly had their introduction to the more “real” Fiji. Cruise ships now go to Dravuni though, so the villager’s income is supplemented by charging tourists’ exorbitant amounts for coconut drinks, massages and various souvenirs, amongst other things, and we did not need to do sevusevu here. Lilly made friends with two girls from another yacht, Molly and Emily, and after a visit to the school where the local children sang and danced for them, we walked up the nearby hill, found pineapples growing and looked out over the yachts in the bay below while the guys fixed a couple of generators and whippersnippers for the men in the village.

Survivor – the TV show, is filmed on various islands here in the Astrolabes, all the countries have their own island, we visited two of them – only the very welcoming caretakers were there at the time, but we were waved away from a third by an angry film crew (it would not look too good to see SOL in the background – haha).

Yes, that's SOL, way down there

On Buliya Island we had been told there were manta rays, and shortly after sunrise next morning, Phil and Jamie went snorkelling. The reef had beautiful fish and coral and they were just about to return to the boat disappointed when a huge one appeared just in front of them, majestically swimming slowly along the edge of the reef. They followed it for a while before it disappeared as quietly as it had come, into deeper water. An unforgettable experience.

An overnight sail with the wind from the southeast meant perfect conditions for the screecher and although it started out pitch black, the full moon came up shortly after midnight. It was a great sail, Jamie and Phil having fun ‘tweaking’ things and at one stage we were up to 18knots boat speed!!

We spent two nights in Vuda marina, stern tied to the rock wall, walking across a plank on and off the boat. We sneaked next-door, climbed the fence and swam in the pool at the resort, had dinner at the marina restaurant – (very disappointingly over an hour wait for meals) and went to the markets in Lautoka. On returning to SOL I was gobsmacked to see Jeff Cook and his partner, Sally, walking toward us – Derek Anderson had said we were in Fiji somewhere, so as they had all day to fill before flying home to New Zealand, they had hired a car and decided to “have a look in the marina just in case we were around” – and we were!!! Coincidence or karma?? We spent the afternoon catching up on 23 years of news.

Braids - what fun - Nan didn't have to brush my hair every day
but she did put suntan lotion on my scalp else I'd have burnt to bits!!

Monday 1^st October we sailed from Vuda to the very crowded Malolo Island and finding limited anchor room in Musket Cove we moved a lovely anchorage off Mana Island. Here Lilly got her hair braided while Jamie and Phil checked out the prices at the bar. Following the braiding, Loata, the lovely hair braiding lady, invited us to her home for dinner with her family – Lilly had a great time playing with her children, Jamie, Phil, Loata and her husband, Tom, drank numerous bowls of kava.

And it is Goodbye Fiji...

We are on the way to Vanuatu

After Mana Island it was back to Lautoka where we cleared customs on Friday 5th October and set off around lunchtime on the 450nautical mile passage to Vanuatu – a fairly slow start, with little wind we motored for a while then at dusk the wind started to fill in and we sailed along averaging about 5-6knots for the night. About 8pm, the wind was up to 15-20 and we were bouncing around in the chop when out of the darkness appeared a row of buoys – only the end one was lit – we could have so easily run into them!! Luckily apart from a small course change for a fishing boat the rest of the night was uneventful.

We tow the fishing lures all day, and this trip was no different, and, as we have come to expect, we very rarely seem able to yell “Fish On!!” but shortly before we brought them in for the night, we hooked a little tuna. Overnight we manage to collect quite a few flying fish though, who commit suicide landing on the trampoline, the deck or in the cockpit.

Lilly was absolutely super on the trip, it’s not easy for a five-year-old to be confined to the boat for days on end and she did really well – we got out the cards and had numerous games of ‘Strip Jack Naked’, we played board games and Mexican Dominoes, we even had ‘dress like a pirate day’.

Three days and five hours it took from Fiji to Vanuatu, a slow passage with one engine assisting us for half a day, and at 7pm on Monday 8^th October we were in Port Resolution with our anchor down, our yellow “Q” flag and our Vanuatu flag flying from our starboard spreader – we had arrived.

It is indeed an awesome sight to be out in the bay at anchor and looking up to the cliffs on the right see the glow of the volcano.

Next day we went to the Port Resolution Yacht Club where we organised a ride to Lenekel for Customs clearance and the markets - papaya, bananas, tomatoes, and other fresh veges – not big markets, but perfectly adequate, oh, and beer – Tuskers being the local brew, as well, Phil bought kava roots.

Lil introducing some of the local children to the joy of bubbles

While Lil and I played with some local kids up at the yacht club, Jamie and Phil did the Kava thing with the men in the village that night – no women allowed (thank goodness). Under a Banyan tree, an area is cut out and bench seating made, this area, called a Nakamal, is special for kava preparation and drinking. In Vanuatu it is a little different to Fiji – in Fiji the kava root is crushed then ground into a fine powder before being dissolved in water – not so in Vanuatu – here in Vanuatu the men bite off chunks from the roots, chew it up to a glutinous mass, spit it out onto a leaf, then all these globs are mixed with water then the resultant concoction is placed in another leaf which is then squeezed and the liquid mixed with clean water before it is drunk. Kava is drunk out of a half coconut shell – (to me the half coconut shell is the only part that is ok, the rest sounds disgusting !!)

The main reason we came to Port Resolution was THE VOLCANO.

Peering down into the rumbling, exploding lava storm of Mt Yasur is a sight we won't soon forget. Arriving at the visitors centre we were treated to a local welcome ceremony before getting into 4WD vehicles that took us to within 150m of the crater rim where we walked up the ash track to the edge – here there are no safety rails or barriers. Along the path to the crater rim, there are whiffs of sulphur and loud whooshing, roaring sounds. Suddenly, the ground trembles and the inevitable fountain of fiery magma shoots up with a deafening roar and spreads against the sky, sending huge boulders somersaulting back down into the broiling hole in the earth. We wait five minutes and it all happens again. It is indeed incredible.

A once in a lifetime experience - standing on the edge of Mt Yasur as it erupts

The local government has created levels to alert people. These levels range from 0-5 and notes that - An eruption may occur at any level - Level 0 – Normal, Level 1 - Signs of Volcanic Unrest, Level 2 - Major Unrest, Level 3 - Minor Eruption, Level 4 - Moderate Eruption, Level 5 - Very Large Eruption. The mountain is closed during levels 4 and 5, we were there in level 2.

Due to the volcano, there are areas where the steam oozes out of the rock walls heating the water and we had fun swimming in them, also at the end of the bay is a black sand beach where boiling water bubbles from the sand – hot enough to cook in.

A hot water pool makes for a splendid bathtub

A landing in Dylan's Bay is not complete without a guided tour

out to the Cave of Skulls

Leaving the brilliant island of Tanna we sailed to Erromango, putting down our anchor in Dillon’s (Dylan’s) Bay where we went ashore and were given the tour of the village. This included a visit to the Skull Caves - In ancient times the people of Erromango buried their dead in caves and only a short boat ride away from Dillons Bay at Suvu Beach is the Cave of Skulls, a large cave where Chief Mete and his two wives plus many others were laid to rest. Several years ago, however, an earthquake caused the entrance to be semi-closed but luckily bones were dug out and placed near a smaller entrance. Before entering into it it is necessary to ask for permission from the spirits.

After the caves we walked to the river for a swim – the river is beautiful clear fresh water, which of course, felt a bit chilly to start but great once you got used to it – Lilly and I elected to stay and swim in the rock pools – Phil and Jamie went with a couple of the local lads, climbed up, and up, and up the cliff edge then jumped off into the water below. Exhilarating.

Port Resolution

A dugout canoe - the major means of transport in Vanuatu

Sadly, we were on a mission now, Phil had already called his boss and extended his holiday by a week so it was off to Port Vila where he and Lilly would leave us for their flight back to Australia. Before he left, he and Jamie sorted a few minor repairs – Jamie really enjoyed having him around for the month and it was super to have Lil aboard, we had loads of fun and laughs but all too soon it was time to say goodbye and wave them off as they left for the airport and Australia.

On passage - Fiji to Vanuatu

Viti Levu – Suva, Vuda, Suva…

Suva Harbour is disgusting!!! The water is brown. The harbour is littered with derelict wrecks and partial wrecks. The holding is mud so when you pull up your anchor it is covered with this thick black ooze. Honestly, if you didn’t have to go here you wouldn’t!!

We anchored outside the Royal Suva Yacht Club (no idea where the “Royal” comes from!!) and dinghied ashore where we paid our $45 for a month membership, which gave us access to the dinghy dock, half price drinks at the bar, and if you paid a further $10 – a key to the shower block – we didn’t bother – one of the two in the men’s was broken and the women’s smelly and dirty.

A great selection of fresh fruit and veges at the markets, open from 5am,
loved how all the produce was sold in "heaps"

Not so sure about the lack of refrigeration - or am I just being fussy??

The bus stop to Suva central, however, was conveniently just outside and the buses very regular so we filled up with fruit and veges and topped up on internet. Unfortunately our battery charger had died just before we left Matuku so unless we ran the engine, on a cloudy day we couldn’t charge the batteries. Fortunately, Phil was coming to join us for a few weeks and could bring a new one with him from Australia.

A wave of sludge coming towards us in the harbour

We left Smelly Suva Harbour on Sunday 2^nd September for Vuda Point, the last straw being the wind change the previous day had sent a huge dirty oil slick in our direction covering our nice, previously white topsides with a three inch high layer of black – we had to get out of there to clean it. First night was spent in Vunanui Bay and at 6am next morning we upped anchor and had a lovely sail all day, going along steadily at 6-8knots with just the screecher up. Fishing lures out, as usual, but no fish. We were anchored in Momi Bay before 4pm with just a short distance to Vuda left for the morning.

It was a gorgeous morning, we were up at the crack of dawn, no wind, but the water calm and beautiful all around us – then – WOO HOO – we caught a Wahoo – big smiles indeed – wahoo are delicious eating fish and this one would make us a few meals. Within 10 minutes we had another on the line, but, he went under the boat and unfortunately we had pushed the engine control just past neutral and the prop was still turning so it very nicely wrapped the line about a hundred times around the propeller – damn – we lost the fish, the lure and about 100 metres of line, and Jamie had to get in the water with a knife and cut it from round the prop. Sad day indeed.

Anchored outside Vuda Point Marina, no berths available inside, we spent a couple of days there, we took the bus to Lautoka, to the market and found juicy sweet early mangoes – delicious.

The watermaker had developed a couple of leaks which we wanted to sort sooner rather than later and we had been given the name of a man who could fix it here in Vuda, Neil was superb, he came when he said he would, showed Jamie how to dismantle it, diagnosed the problem was new O rings needed, went away and next day was back, he and Jamie put it back together, tested it and all good. Great service, thank you Neil.

We had decided to return to Suva as from there we would be able to visit a couple of ‘non-touristy’ islands when Phil and Lilly arrived on Sept 21^st.

A heavy and cumbersome task - first remove the battens, then fold the sail, then lug it to the dinghy, load it, then take it to shore, all the while praying you don't drop it into the water!!

We needed a few repairs whilst in Suva, we had a small hole in the mainsail from rubbing on one of the shrouds when hove-to off Tonga, which I had temporarily repaired, plus she was looking a bit worn in a few other places, so we decided to take the mainsail and the jib both off to get them restitched before more ocean passages – not such an easy task – the mainsail particularly, weighed a ton!! And then we had to load them into the yamahama and take them ashore.

We took the sails to a local man – but after two days he had not gotten back to us with a price, so we decided to hire a car and drive to Vuda and get the job done there. We would collect them when we got Phil and Lilly from Nadi airport.

Although dirty and full of wrecks in the day, by night Suva Harbour is entrancing

And no, the domestic chores don't stop, even when you're living the dream!!

Kabara, Matuku then Suva….

We had read that the island of Kabara (pronounced Kambara) was where they did the woodworking and handicrafts from the wood of the Vesi tree. Vesi is one of the most popular and famous trees in Fiji. This is the tree that is the source of all the wonderful carvings of Fiji, like the tanoa or kava bowls, the turtles and fish. This hardwood tree grows up to 40 to 50 feet high and has great spreading branches. It was formerly a sacred tree of Fiji. On the island of Kabara, vesi trees grow in abundance. These are the source of these carvings that has made Kabara well-known around the world. So, we wanted to make a stop in Kabara for sure, being right into things made from wood!!

A visit from the village men, who enjoyed our hospitality while 

the children swam and paddle boarded

Surprisingly, Kabara is not surrounded by a reef, and the lovely long white sandy beach would be exposed in most wind directions, but luckily, we had next to no wind on our arrival there so we anchored just off the beach and headed in for sevusevu. This would be the poorest village we have been to, houses with dirt floors, some with only three sides and although we asked about woodwork and tanoa (kava bowls) they were reluctant to sell us anything – they send all they make to Suva for sale there, being paid about $20-$30 a bowl – we would have happily given them $100 but they didn’t seem to know how to maximise their worth so were not interested in selling to us. 

We took a walk up the hill overlooking the village and when we got back to the boat we gathered all the extra food and clothes we had and took this back to them. It would appear not many cruisers stop here and next afternoon we had what seemed to be the entire village aboard SOL, adults and children having a super time on the paddleboards, using the masks and snorkels and fishing – it was such a treat for us and them.

From Kabara we set off on an overnight sail to Matuku, 75 nautical miles away. We were expecting a good sail, but sadly the wind didn’t turn out as forecast so it was a motorsail to begin with, one engine and the jib only until the wind filled in and we were able to douse the engine and we sailed all night with just the jib, going along pleasantly at 4-5 knots boat speed. As morning broke it was up with the screecher for a couple of hours then back to no wind and we motored the last 5 hours through the reef into the lovely secluded and protected Matuku Harbour.

Village children, Matuku, all dressed in their Sunday best for church

We spent four days in delightful Matuku, doing sevusevu at Lomati village. The local people so welcoming and friendly, taking us into their houses and their lives, giving us tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers- one evening we even had a visit on SOL from Jesse bringing us some fresh caught fish (Jamie had given him some lures and wire trace, so this was his ‘thank you’). I spent a morning catching up with laundry, then Jesse took us up Korovava (four peaks), a high mountain behind the village – not a walk in the park – it required ropes to climb at some places!! On the way down, he nimbly scaled a coconut tree, threw down a dozen coconuts and a coconut frond, then proceeded to open a couple for us to drink the delicious water inside while he wove a basket to carry the rest back for us to take to the boat. And, all this with only 1½ legs (one leg shorter than the other with a very deformed foot).

From the top of Korovava, SOL just a speck in the bay

After church, Sunday morning, the chief invited us to lunch at his house, a feast to which all the houses in the village had contributed a dish. We, the visitors eat first, then the men, and lastly the women and children. There is no waste, no picky eating, no “I don’t like/want this” and the manners of the children are impeccable. Such a joy to see.

Lunch after church at the house of the chief

Tuesday 28^th August we said our farewells and at 2pm we again hoisted the jib and night sailed towards Suva.

A beautiful sunset over Matuku as we left

Jese, our guide up the peak of Korovava, to whom we gave some fishing supplies

and he brought us a huge slab of tuna after a nights fishing

I gave the children my camera and was rewarded with these lovely pictures from inside the church (amongst others)

Jese's son's dog, Stella,
who was pulled down a crab hole as a pup and had her ears and one leg eaten by the crabs

The school bus, Matuku

A bevy of action when the supply boat arrives, all the longboats are in action to load and unload

Fulaga – the Lau Group…

Fulaga (also spelt Vulaga and pronounced Fil-ang-a, ang as in ‘hang’)) is in the Southern Lau Group. It is crescent shaped and surrounded by a fringing reef, like so many other Fijian islands. The pass to enter is fairly narrow and information we had read advised entering at certain point of the tide, with good sunlight – so we followed that plan, arriving just on high tide at 9am with a perfectly clear sunny sky. As we arrived we saw a yacht trawling along up and down outside the reef entrance, ‘Pacifico” with Herman on board, who very kindly offered to lead us through the pass – Herman had been in Fulaga for 7 weeks so was ‘almost local’. We later found that entering/leaving the pass was not a problem, although narrow, as long as the sun and wind were right.

Arriving at the pass we saw it wasn't as daunting as we had been told, however Herman guided us through

Our beautiful host family - Josua, Tedi and Ma

Anchored at The Landing we readied ourselves for sevusevu, dinghied ashore and by lunchtime we were officially welcomed into the village. 

Fulaga has a unique custom – on arrival at the village all visitors are assigned a host family. Your host family takes you under their wing, showing you round and acquainting you with the village. After church on Sunday lunch is at their place, in fact anything you need they will try to find for you. Tedi, Ma and young Josua became our Family for the duration of our stay. We shared a delicious lunch on Sunday which included fish, cassava, taro, Fiji cabbage cooked in coconut milk, noodles with corned beef and even cooked pawpaw. 

Although not essential it is traditional to bring gifts to your host family so before going to church we packed up some toys for Josua, clothes, flour, sugar, rice, noodles and canned food for them.

Looking along "the Spit", we anchored inside on the right

Monday it was up anchor and off to the Spit – a sheltered anchorage inside a long narrow sandspit which uncovered at low tide where we walked around and found a heap of fossils clearly visible in the rock, then a bonfire party for Lauren’s (Revilo) birthday along with a further dozen other cruisers in the evening. 

An incredible view from the site of the old village - you could see for miles and miles

Back to the landing Tuesday and we watched as the supply boat arrived, and unloaded, with all the village people coming out to collect goods in their long boats (all powered by 40hp yamaha engines). We had a couple of days there, walking to the other village with Ma and Josua where I spent the afternoon making a traditional Fijian broom, and watching mat weaving. On returning to the village we detoured up the hill to the site of the original village – situated at the top of the hill with perfect view of any invaders, and saw the cave which still has many bones from the past cannibal days.

Cave of bones

Later in the week we left for another anchorage, Yanuyanukalau, still inside the Fulaga reef, where we had fun walking around the island, investigating the ruins of an old village and peering into caves in the rocks. I asked Jamie to venture far back into one so I could get a photo showing its depth but he declined upon spotting a nice striped sea snake had taken up residence!!

The calm before the storm!!

On the weekend we took Tedi, Ma, Josua and a couple of other villagers out for a days fishing, trawling outside the reef, but to our great disappointment we only managed to hook a fairly small tuna – oh well, it was fun anyway and interesting to see how close to the reef we could go as it dropped sharply into deep water. We had a nice sail back too rather than motoring all day. Deciding not to attend church the next day we left for ‘Big House Bay’ so named by us as the only place in the bay was an abandoned but very European two storeyed house – the only one we have seen here. The weather packed up in the afternoon and we were treated to a storm which came up from nowhere, rain and some lightening but even then, was gone in just three hours. Next, we moved to Hurricane Shelter, a bay so named as it is protected from all directions and although no hurricane passed through we had a very peaceful two days here.

Back towards the Landing we stopped in ‘Twenty Island Bay’ or ‘Alternate Track Bay’ where we explored some of the many small islands and walked to the village via a steep track over the hill, passing by the old village and bone cave. Today we took some reading glasses and sunglasses back with us to give to the villagers, they are so appreciative of these and you know they will be well used.

Farewell feast before leaving

Being school holidays, the village had organised a beach picnic to be held Friday at the Sandspit for all the cruisers and families, so in the morning we ferried our family and some of their friends there and on reaching the spit we lowered the paddleboards into the water and within minutes they had been commandeered by many young children all vying, very politely, for turns. They had a ball; the paddleboards were not left without a child or three aboard for the whole day. We along with the villagers all took a plate to share, and I even helped weave plates from coconut leaves – we were picnicking island style!! A super day with beach volleyball and touch rugby as well as frisbee. A very tired couple of children slept all the way back on SOL to the Landing.

Sunday was church again, then lunch, and as we had decided to leave Fulaga Tuesday we had our family farewell meal on Monday afternoon, with delicious food, once more, kava, singing along with some other villagers who had come to say goodbye. The men of the village do the most terrific wood carving which they send to Suva for sale, we found a pile of sandpaper on the boat which we donated to the men and we asked Tedi to make us a Kava bowl, and Ma to weave me a mat, (which we paid them for and were very surprised, and kind of disappointed, to learn they gave most of the money from us to the church). At our farewell they also gave me a woven bag and Jamie a beautiful carved bowl. Such a generous people who have what seems to us to be so little, but they appear to be so happy and are certainly ever so generous. We have learned so much – thank you Fulaga, three weeks spent there is not nearly enough to see all and experience all Fulaga has to offer.

At the top is the Kava bowl Tedi carved, the pointy bit faces the chief.

Below is another bowl they gave us as a farewell gift

Anchored out by the Spit in just a couple of metres, water so clear

A lucky find amongst the rubbish as Jamie had left his jandals back on SOL !!

A fish fossil, my father would have loved this place

Vanua Balavu - the Lau Group …

July - August 2018

This remote eastern group of islands is purported to be one of the best cruising grounds in the world – if you are looking for resorts, shops and bars then stay away – you will find none of those here - but you will enjoy great fishing, snorkelling, picturesque scenery and rich cultural experiences. Island life is simple, the people being poor in material terms but rich in others, family and church playing a very important role in their lives.

Northernmost in the Lau Group is Vanua Balavu a long winding island of coral in the north and volcanic rock in the south. A 130km barrier reef, surrounds this island and the famous Bay of Islands with the village of Daliconi our first anchorage, and our first sevusevu, so we presented ourselves rather nervously but with that hurdle crossed we knew the next time would be easier!! For sevusevu the women must wear a skirt that covers the knees – or a sulu – traditional Fijian dress, and not have shoulders exposed, men a button shirt and long shorts or sulu, as well no hats or sunglasses are worn in the villages.

Church on Sunday, of course, after which we were invited to lunch with some of the villagers – a table laden with food – fish cooked 3 different ways, kasava, sweet potatoes, steamed greens in coconut milk, followed by fruit salad of banana and pawpaw, then back to the boat for a rest!!  

The village truck/bus

8am next morning saw us back in the village waiting for the village truck to travel to the nearby village of Lomolomo, the truck supposed to be leaving by 830 but the driver had to stop off to watch the closing minutes of the Rugby 7’s match (Fiji beaten by NZ, so I had to hide my NZ heritage and accent much to the amusement of all on the truck!!). On a bus, you ring the bell to tell the driver you want to get off at the next stop - on the truck you ask someone up the front to bash on the roof and he jams on the brakes - anywhere along the track!!

Lomolomo had been one of the villages hit hard by Cyclone Winston (the most intense tropical cyclone to make landfall in the Southern Hemisphere on record) in 2016. It reached category 5 intensity with recorded winds of 306km (190 mph). The village is in two parts – one side Tongan the other Fijian – separated by a small creek although the village functions as one. There were three stores (all carrying the same limited range of goods), post office and small hardware which also sold pre-mix petrol (50-1) and diesel. 

Bay of Islands, Vanua Balavu, with its mushroom islands, created by the erosion of waves and wind

Next day we entered the “Bay of Islands” an incredibly beautiful area with many islands poking like mushrooms out of the water. We got out the paddleboards and did some exploring of this magical spot, staying here two days before we left for Bavatu, a pretty big harbour which is well protected and has, in the past boasted a yacht club – now abandoned and in rather poor shape but the bones still remain leaving us to wonder how good it would be to resurrect it and host the visiting yachts-people and live ‘the good life'

Locally made headwear - not the Melbourne Cup - but....

Also in Bavatu is a track up the side of the hill which leads to a grave site (Kenneth James Allardyce 1881-1937). Kenneth was a Scot who settled here and established a plantation. The best part was not the grave but its situation – walking just a few metres behind the grave to the edge of the cliff is a lookout with views that stretch for miles, we saw SOL at anchor way below us in the harbour, and looked right over the Bay of Islands - the aerial view gave such a spectacular sight of the coral reef surrounding the islands and photographs just don’t do it justice – but I took loads.

From the lookout atop the hill at Bavatu

After Bavatu it was off to Little Bay, where we squeezed into the small anchorage with another two yachts and went to do our next sevusevu. Tui and Bui welcomed us and after presenting our Kava (Yaqona) and other gifts (flour, rice, sugar, noodles, some T-shirts and reading glasses) they invited us to join them for a Lovo that evening so along with the crew of Kattum and Josida we enjoyed the traditional Fijian earth oven feast. 

Bui fishing off the stern of SOL

Tui had a meeting in Lomolomo and was going to be away the night so on Monday Bui came out and slept the night on SOL with us – being keen to fish, and to show us the local way of fishing, we sat for many hours with lines dangling and caught a creditable number of fish (salala, doulu, and trevally) certainly enough that she took a basketful back home next morning and we had quite a few meals tucked away in our freezer. It was extremely informative and entertaining - she would drop in her hand-line, hook a fish, squeal in delight then pull it aboard where she would quickly dispense with it by wringing it's neck (well snapping it's spine at gill height !!) then chuck it in a bucket beside her and returning the line to the water to catch the next one. We discovered that she had never been and slept on one of the visiting boats before so felt rather special.

Our next anchorage was Susui. Susui is the southernmost village in Vanua Balavu and here we stayed for the next three days, visiting the school and playing volleyball with the children. After the volleyball game it was time for coconut drinks - nothing more refreshing than a newly picked coconut, the top cut off so you can drink the  cool water. 

Later that afternoon we were taken to the Hidden Lagoon and Turtle Pond by Jacob, in his longboat. Oysters grow at the waterline in the mangroves and on hearing how much I liked oysters, Jacob went back the next day and came back with a huge number he collected and prepared for me – I was in heaven!!! 

There is a moratorium that prohibits the killing and eating of turtles here in Fiji and the locals, in Susui, when they find a turtle they catch it and release it in the Turtle Pond which is slightly inland from the Hidden Lagoon. They now have 30 or more turtles living peacefully here – hopefully they will continue to do so even after the ban on killing/eating is lifted!!

Along with David, Linda and Mel from ‘Josida’ we left about 9am on Friday 3^rd August bound for Fulaga, 120 nautical miles away, and an overnight sail.

Plantation houses, Bavatu, with lovely rock walls and the 'Sometimes' Store - it was not one of those 'sometimes' when we were there !!

Yamahama to the Rescue - fellow yachtie being towed back to his boat in the Bay of Islands

Village of Daliconi, Vanua Balavu

Tui and Bui preparing traditional food for our Lovo (earth oven feast), Little Bay

A quick check of the doneness of the food in the Lovo before taking it to the table

Rudimentary method of pounding the Kava roots before mixing with water then drinking the muddy looking brew

Salala, covered with banana leaves, cooking over a smokey fire - the end result - delicious

A traditional mat being woven from pandanus leaves, at least two women work together on it,

the pandanus leaves being soaked, boiled and dried before being split into strips.

 

No, not dugout canoes, but village drums, beaten with the stick to announce church times, school times etc., the drums, always two, are kept in their own house