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!!