Aradonna's blog

In our previous blog we mentioned we were going into Denarau to get provisions. It turns out, this was not a great idea! Firstly, the boat got covered in black ash from all the fires around the area. Then, the trip to the supermarket was a nasty surprise. We refused to buy much becasue the prices were outrageous. For example, a pathetic looking lettuce was $11, where we have been paying $1 for a nice fresh one from village markets. Some other prices I recall - $13 for a bar of chocolate (usually $4), $105 for 1 litre of Seagars Gin (usually $30), and $4 for a small papaya (we paid $1 for a large one in the market). In desperation we did pay $2 each for a couple of apples as a bit of a treat because apples don't grow locally. Next time we stop for provisions we will go to Nadi or a local village market and avoid Denarau completely! We couldn't wait to get out of the place, so sailed to Musket Cove on Tuesday. Surprisingly, the charts for this area are completely wrong - if we had foll owed the recommended route on the chart we would have ended up on a reef! Good spotting by Karl saved the day and we wriggled in and around reefs that were not on the chart - and anchored in an area that was plenty deep - even though the chart showed that we were on top of a reef! About 70 boats in the bay, many of the ICA fleet were there. Caught up with Fusio and Vegas - we had not seen them since they left Vava'u on 8th July. Joined the Musket Cove Yacht Club - lifetime membership is $5. Going ashore in the dinghy, Karl surprised a striped snake eel while walking in the shallows - it came out of its burrow and followed Karl which is most unusual for these shy creatures and gave Karl a bit of a fright! Went to Dicks Restaurant for a lovely meal - a gorgeous evening, no wind, 22 degrees C, candlelit dinner with a Fijian trio playing the guitar and singing in the background. After dinner, while waiting for our dessert we moved into the lounge to watch and listen to the music. Every couple of songs one of the band would say "It's Kava time!" and they would all drink a bowl of Kava before playing the next song. Some of the other restaurant guests joined the Kava drinking, but we were happy to just sit and watch! After exploring Musket Cove we decided that sitting in a bay with 70 other yachts was not really for us, so we left yesterday and sailed to the northern Mamanucas. We caught a small tuna on the way, so we had tuna steaks for dinner which is a nice change from Mahimahi. After being in busy anchorages the last couple of nights we are glad to be in wide open spaces with clean water around us when we jump over the side! The anchorage we are in has a legend attached - apparently the first Tongans arrived here, rounded up the locals and cooked them in a pot. The islands are considered sacred now and nobody lives here. The gap between the two islands is filled in by one massive coral reef. The whole area is densely covered in layer upon layer of coral formation s. The water here is crystal clear, similar to Tonga clarity - much improved from other snorkeling and diving we have done in Fiji. Until now, although we had pretty dives, the visibility was not as good as Tonga. But then we have been spoiled a little! Visibility in Tonga, epsecially the Ha'apai was around 25m, which is outstanding. So far in Fiji we have only had 10 - 15m visibility and the water has been slightly cloudy (but as we keep reminding ourselves, it is still much better than Waiheke!). The water temperature here is 27.5 degrees, warmer than Tonga and quite acceptable!

Since we arrived in Fiji two weeks ago we have had pretty steady, strong winds. Today the wind died away! We motor sailed all the way today in very light variable winds and flat calm seas. The whole northern coast of Viti Levu is dry and brown. Many fires burning and several large areas of scorched land. The whole of Malake Island has been burned to a crisp. Last night we anchored near Mt Tuindreke and during the night huge flames we leaping high into the sky at the head of the bay. A vast area of vegetation was on fire. Everywhere you look you see large columns of smoke rising from mountainsides. The passage through the reef system looks scary when you see it on the chart, but there is plenty of room between the large patches of reef and the channel is at least 14m deep all the way. Plain sailing! It shows up pretty well on Google Earth if you want to take a look check out the area: 17 21.907S 178 15.905E is the eastern start of the passage and then we navigated out way between the northern shore and inside the banks of reef to 17 35.154S 177 25.609E which brings us out on the western side of the island. We are now anchored in the same bay where we ended our Fiji journey last year. After crewing from NZ to Fiji on the yacht "Champagne" last year we had a few days at a resort here before flying home. At that time we were still looking for the right yacht and still hoping our plans for offshore cruising would all come together. Now we are back here and our dream has come true! We still have to pinch ourselves now and then to make sure it is real. Will stock up on provisions tomorrow at Denarau before exploring the western isles.

On Friday we went ashore at Naigani and walked to the village. A simple way of life. Some villagers were making coconut milk and coconut oil which starts by scraping the white flesh out by hand, using a rock fastened to a stick. One lady sat with a huge pile of long leaves from the pandanus plant. These leaves are used for making mats. But first she had to strip all the tiny thorns of both edges. A laborious task. Next the leaves have to be boiled, beaten, then left to dry in the sun. Once cured the weaving can begin, to make a mat for the floor. A huge process! Following the protocol required when entering a village, we asked to meet the "Turaga ni Koro" pronounced Tooranga nee koro. This is the spokesman for the village. We then asked him for an introduction to the chief so we could present our bundle of yaqona. Yaqona is the root of a pepper tree and the Fijians pound this and mix it with water to make Kava, their favourite drink. The ceremony, called "sevusevu" is an important pr otocol to observe and officially welcomes you to the village. Once welcomed in to the village we were free to explore and take photos of village life. The people were very friendly, all keen to talk to us. An interesting observation is that after exchanging names with a local, the first question they often ask is "How old are you?" then they tell you how old they are. This seems an important part of their introductions when they meet new people. Groups of women and children were casting nets out on the shallow reef areas and then in a circle, running and splashing to chase fish onto the net before picking up the edges and all walking towards each other to bring the net together, full of tiny fish. It was very nice to see the natural way of life here. Unlike Tonga, we did not see any rubbish, there were no pigs and no church bells. Unfortunately one of the elders of the village came to inform us that we would need to shift our boat. The bay we had anchored in was a sacred fishing ar ea for the village, where they keep their sacred trevally! We were invited to bring Aradonna around to the bay in front of the village, but the wind was blowing 25 - 30 knots and it was not a good spot to stay as Aradonna was being blown back, stern to the reef. The next bay around was on the E side and the wind was coming straight in, with big waves. It would have made a better surf beach than an anchorage! The kind man at the dive resort carried our dive cylinders from the village, through the bush track in a wheel barrow to fill up the cylinders for us. We shifted to the northern bay for the night, which is sheltered in the usual SE winds. The only problem was that we had strong E winds, which whipped around the tip of the bay causing waves to roll in over the reef. After enduring a night of rolling and pitching and very little sleep we were glad to pull up the anchor and venture away. Before we could leave we had to retrieve the dive cylinders, so it was back to the bay by the v illage to meet the dive resort man who had wheel-barrowed the 4 heavy cylinders back through the bush to the beach for us at 7am as promised. We got a nice early start for the next leg of our journey, the 34 N mile passage through the reefs of northern Viti Levu, to Nananau-i-ra Island. The wind is still blowing hard, but now we are in a very calm sheltered spot. Had a good walk around the island yesterday afternoon. This is a resort island with 3 or 4 resorts and some nice houses that look like holiday rentals. A pretty spot with several families on holiday. Kids giggling as they learn to kayak, wake boarders showing off and kite surfers defying gravity.

We went exploring Makogai Island yesterday. Quite an interesting place. From 1911 to 1969 there was a large leprosy hospital here. Over 4000 people were treated here over the years, with patients arriving from all over the South Pacific. The old hospital building is gone, but many of the outbuildings and ruins of old structures can be seen. Where the hospital used to be there is now a mariculture facility. Essentially they grow turtles and clams here until large enough to have a better survival rate and then release them into the sea. Clams are relocated to many of the other islands to help repopulate the clam numbers in Fiji. We saw a large trough of tiny wee clams being grown and another trough of young turtles, about 2 years old - they will be released when they are three. The guide who showed us around suggested we have a dive at Makodroga Island to see some large clams. The dive was fabulous! Many large clams, a friendly turtle that Karl stroked the side of and a very pretty ree f. The coral and fish can only be described as a kaleidoscope of colours. We played with a pair of bright orange and white anemone fish for a while, they were ducking and diving around and kept coming out to look at us and then hiding again - but too curious to stay hidden! When we emerged from the water, Karl summed it up by saying "It doesn't get much better than that!" Later, while we were relaxing in the cockpit a turtle swam along the surface close to the boat, craning his head out and looking at us several times before diving down below again. So wonderful. Today we had a gentle sail over to Naigani Island. About half way we got a fish on the line. Karl got the sails in and Heather battled to reel it in for about 20 minutes as this fish kept peeling out more line everytime it got closer to the boat. It put up a huge fight and was tough to reel in, but eventually, with tired arms, Heather got it to the boat and Karl hooked it with the gaf hook. A 90cm Mahimahi landed. Phew! Fre sh fish for dinner tonight and Heather has made Kokoda for tomorrow night. We are now relaxing in Sova Bay after a refreshing swim and snorkel around the reefs near the bay. This is a spectacular place. Deep green dense bush covering the steep sides of the island, which drop down to a low saddle of land. The head of the bay is in the saddle with a white sandy beach and swaying palm trees. Picture post-card paradise.