Image Kat and Seiorse Acrux Robinson Crusoe Island to Malolo Island, Fiji Note: Its six months later. We are in Majuro in January 2016. Back in Fiji I made the fatal mistake of getting behind in with a blog post or two then it was all over.
While we are settled in one place for a while I'm going to continue the story of our journey here for our own record. Feel free to read along or not.
Aug 28, 2015 Janet "Margarita Janet?" Need the man ask? This has been our evening ritual since Richard arrived in Fiji two weeks ago. To be honest my liver is struggling but I can't say no to tequila and fresh lime juice. There will be time to dry out once Richard gets on a plane back to Wellington.
*** Another day on the road found us rounding the coast to western Fiji. Through yet another reef we entered the Mamanucas (pronounced Mamanuthas). Finally, I thought, we would get the reputed lighter winds in this much vaunted yachting mecca. Not. We anchored in Musket Cove, home of marina, yacht club and resort, and bounced around all night in howling winds.
In the morning Richard and I bravely (or foolishly) took the dinghy to shore to shop and do laundry. Landing on the island was like being transported to another world. Gently waiving coconut palms greeted us as did friendly staff dressed in red and black. People wandered around in holiday mode and sipped on ice-cold beers at beach bars under thatched roofs.
First I tracked down the laundry. Having access to a washing machine for a halfway reasonable price is a rare treat in the tropics. We loaded up the machine and wandered off to the shop. It was surprisingly cheap for a resort and I stocked up on pawpaws, bananas and salad stuff including fresh basil and mint which is grown behind the resort. Bring on lunch I said to Richard.
Back in the dinghy the tropical mirage evaporated and we were at the mercy of the sea and her bad mood. The waves were huge for our tiny, now very laden, boat. The sea sloshed into the dinghy soaking us and our shopping. Back on board we quickly hauled anchor and began navigating the coral around to the lee side of Malolo.
As we rounded to corner to Likuliku Bay we breathed a sigh of relief. It was calm. And almost empty. We'd expected it to be full of other boats escaping the wind but no, there was only one other boat anchored there. A kiwi boat. A boat we'd heard on passage on our radio net. We became instant friends with Kat and Seiorse, two gorgeous 30 somethings off Acrux, sharing drinks, meals and computer files within moments of acquaintance. They were foodies too so we delighted in swapping recipes and ideas. Our boats were of a similar vintage and they were on a similar budget to us, although we were old enough to be their parents and at the other end of our economic lifetime with a few assets behind us. I love Kiwis, they are so down to earth, especially these two, and I enjoying speaking in a common lingo.
We'd anchored off a very exclusive resort and about three times a day a helicopter came in, plus ferries, runabouts, and sea-planes. We weren't allowed to go to shore, they didn't want yachtie riff-raff spoiling the place for their exclusive guests who were paying $3000 FJD a night for their over the water bungalows. We swam, we read, and we swam. What an indolent time. David and the Acrux crew went exploring a bay nearby finding local eggs and meeting a people who were making fibreglass longboats right there on the beach.
Many Fijians are entrepreneurial and are good at making do with what they have at hand.
*** Now we are back on the road and I'm glad of it. Heading back to the mainland to drop Richard off and restock, we stopped at Musket Cove to watch the Bledisloe Cup. This time anchoring in idyllic conditions.
The Navire crew had spent several days practicing the New Zealand national anthem in Maori. As the room seemed to fill with people with Australian accents I started worrying about the prospect of being lynched when we sang. On the big screen the teams ran on to the field. To our surprise the Aussies sat mutely through their anthem. Then most of the 50 strong crowd erupted into the New Zealand national anthem, in Maori. I was so proud to be a kiwi. To top it all off we thrashed the Aussies this time.