Fiji - Part 2

We last left you with our passage across Somosomo straits to the Paradise resort on Taveuni Island. Along the way J hooked a Mahi Mahi - unfortunately we dropped it just as we were getting it on the boat. Bugger..

With a little assistance from a fella in a kayak, we picked up a mooring then went ashore. Paradise resort is run by an Australian family who have lived in Fiji for the last 14 years or so, and they are very welcoming to cruisers. We enjoyed a traditional Fijian lovo feast while staying there and partook in their traditional kava ceremony. Kava is made from ground tree roots and is then mixed with water, which is the locals version of ‘grog’. It looks a little like muddy water and is an acquired taste. We also enjoyed the Fijian dancing show as part of the evenings festivities.

On Sunday, together with the Invictus crew, we hired a taxi to take us on a day tour of the island. Our first stop, after an hours drive, was Tavoro falls. We hiked for about an hour and a half up a muddy, wet, steep, winding track with the rain drizzling constantly. The kids did a great job, especially the 5 and 4 year olds from Invictus as they led the way up the track, with seemingly limitless energy! We made it to the highest waterfall, where there were people jumping off the cliffs into a torrent of water. We were all soaked through so didn't feel the need to swim. Sorry about the photo quality, it was a tad damp

Waterlogged..

We spotted Tarzan at the waterfalls doing backflips into the boiling water below

Back at the carpark with the muddy water emptied out of our shoes, we had a picnic before getting back into our maxi taxi. Along the way we noted a bit of snogging going on in the back seat. Shotgun ready Tobi? (though if it makes you feel any better, H will provide food for your lovely daughter - see below)

Spotted some Kava plants on the side of the road

Our next stop was a water slide, formed from erosion in the rock. The kids all played for about an hour until they were too cold as the afternoon sun was going down. Had it been a warmer day I think we could have stayed much longer.

Back into the bus and we stopped at the international date line for a quick run around and a picture. Then back to the boats for an early night as it'd been a big day out.

The rest of our time in Paradise was spent enjoying the resort facilities and hanging out with the Invictus family. The men had a massage, the ladies got a pedicure and the kids all enjoyed the pool and games room. Nicole and P went to Somosomo for the day to stock up on supplies for our upcoming departure, while G spent the day getting the boat ready.

The massage hut. Excellent view whilst being pampered

We sailed from Paradise on Friday, a week after we arrived. Our next destination was to be Koro island, about 40 nautical miles away. As we crossed the Koro sea, in the company of Blowin Bubbles and Swiftsure, H caught his first Mahi Mahi.

We had a great sail and rounded the top of the island, neck and neck with Swiftsure, as the wind picked up to 20+ knots.

Sails were dropped and the engine was started to enter the anchorage. We were able to pick up a mooring and Kyle from Blowin Bubbles, with Lanny from Swiftsure, dove on the mooring to make sure it was in good condition for us. Cyclone Winston hit this section of Fiji hard in 2016, and the Koro Beach resort had a large part of its beautiful long jetty destroyed. There are several ex pats who own land on Koro island and are still rebuilding their island homes after the cyclone.

On our adventure ashore we enjoyed a nice walk along a long, sandy beach, looking for turtle tracks. We also went for a snorkel on the reef and saw some healthy coral, a curious white tipped reef shark that hung around with us for quite a while until it got sick of H chasing it. P and J spotted their first turtle in the water. Apparently you don't tell the locals as they eat them (part of their normal diet) so we just watched excitedly while it swam away from us. We had a beer at the resort in the afternoon and met an Australian couple who were on the island when the cyclone hit and all their building materials for their house got blown away. It sounded like a very scary experience and glad that they are ok and now rebuilding.

We left Koro Island and then had to motor sail across to Makogai, about 4 hours away. As we approached Makogai, we had a bit of a scare when some coral heads became visible, but thankfully we adjusted course in time and steered safely away from them. We anchored and went to shore and chatted with a few guys who work at the clam farm. They grow the clams in several concrete pools for about a year and then transfer them to a cage in the bay for another 6-12 months, whilst monitoring them. Then they transport them to other islands throughout Fiji.

The following morning we met Abu on the beach and he guided us out to where the giant clams are. They were huge, approximately 1.5m long and 0.7m wide. Abu explained they were about 15 years old. He then showed us some smaller clams of different varieties and some us were able to handle them, making sure we kept our hands away from the opening. E spotted some lobsters in a rock with only their feelers poking out.

We returned to the boat and lifted our anchor, next stop, Naigani. It took about 4 hours to motor sail across the Makogai channel and inside the reef to Naigani. We dropped anchor and then hopped in for a swim. G and P snorkelled over to the shore to check out the coral. It was mostly damaged, either from bleaching or cyclone, or both. But the fish life was abundant! We saw a large grouper, a well large camouflaged octopus and heaps of fish. As we were in a bit of hurry to get to Vuda and deal with our broken saildrive, we reluctantly left early the next day. Navigating the reefs using google earth charts, our chart plotter and isailor on the iPad, obviously including a vigilant lookout, we made good distance, getting a further 25 nautical miles that planned. We dropped our anchor just as the sun was setting in Toba Valoma, on the north west side of Viti Levu. A quick dinner and bed as we planned to try and make it to Denauru the next day. We had no wind as we left our solo anchorage the next morning and continued along the north western coastline. As we rounded the island near Lautoka we found the wind, and it took us several hours to tack our way down to Denauru. The sea was choppy and the waves kept breaking over our bows, washing the decks with salty water. We arrived in the anchorage out from Denauru just after dark. Yay, we've made it!