After a wonderful 10 days in the Lau islands, it was time to head back to Vanua Levu, the smaller of Fiji’s two main islands. We had a brief stop overnight in a wonderful anchorage in Malagi, then headed to Viani, a cruiser friendly bay on the eastern side of Vanua Levu where we we’re lucky enough to pick up a mooring in the adjacent Dolphin Bay.
The mooring belonged to the local dive establishment, but we had decided that we wanted to arrange a trip with them to a snorkeling area which wasn’t accessible to us by boat. We met the local legend Roland, who had lived in the area for over 30yrs & ran the dive shop. Consequently, he not only knew the diving spots like the back of his hand, but he also was full of knowledge about local culture & traditions.
He took us out to Rainbow reef – one of the most famous dive sites in the South Pacific, (actually composed of about 20 different dive spots). We snorkelled at the ‘cabbage patch’ (see photo – stunning) and at ‘Nuku reef’. There was really strong current during our 1st snorkel – I hadn’t factored in the effort to be honest – normally we just bob around like inflatable seaside floaties! Actually I had better qualify that statement – one of us does, the other would be highly offended by that description. Anyway, I digress, despite the effort the corals were absolutely spectacular – Bill reckons the best we have seen in the Pacific. Roland told us that the coral was 25yrs old, having recovered from a significant bleaching event in 2000. It has recovered quickly in this area because of the strong currents that wash over the reef which bring the nutrients facilitating more rapid growth, (apparently twice as fast as would normally be expected). The cabbage patch was a large area of cabbage coral or more correctly serpentine salad coral, which form layer upon layer of coral plates coalesced together to appear like cabbages! Really quite remarkable even snorkelling over it.
Nuku reef was again spectacular & busy with a kaleidoscope of colourful fish darting amongst the coral artworks. All in all a really good trip.
We then headed to Paradise resort at the southern tip of the adjacent Taveuni Island – known as the ‘garden isle’ for its lush verdant vegetation. Frankly I think that means it rains a lot. However, the resort was very cruiser friendly & offered free moorings on the expectation that you might enjoy some of their hospitality. No problem on that account, we were there with bells on enjoying sundowners well before the sun ‘downed’. We met up with fellow cruisers: Ric, Rebecca & their son Dylan, Canadians who had started their trip in the Great Lakes on a very sturdy ketch called Downstream. Our paths continued to cross for the subsequent 2 weeks.
After a necessary pit stop in Savusavu, mainly to replenish our fresh fruit & veggies from the market, (oh, and a slight detour via the wine shop), we headed under motor on a windless day to Namena, a marine reserve in the northern Koro sea. It was a stunning spot, which used to have a resort, although this was unfortunately demolished when hit by the 2016 cyclone. A reminder of the constant threat in the summer season. We anchored off a heavily vegetated hillside full of fluffy white chicks, looking like giant cottonballs, balanced on their nests, whilst their parents, red footed boobies, heading out to the ocean in search of food. All the while, malevolent looking frigate birds wheeled above, looking for easy prey. It became particularly frenetic in the evening when feeding was in full force and the squawks & screeches peaked before settling down for the night.
Back in the water, the snorkelling was fabulous with excellent clarity off the southern tip of the island & again an array of very healthy corals. There were also a couple of lovely beaches where we could explore & stretch our legs.
The winds were forecast to become stronger, but we wanted to keep moving westwards towards the largest Fiji island, Viti Levu. We had originally intended to head south to Kadavu & the Astrolabe reef, but it was beginning to become apparent that the weather wasn’t in our favour given our time constraints. Bill had mentioned before about heading over the northern side of the large island, but I wasn’t too enthused about the idea initially as it seemed that most of the anchorages in the north were in mangrove lined bays rather than coral clad islands.
However, common sense dictated our final decision & so next stop was the lovely island of Makogai. It was a fairly brisk trip getting there – closed hauled in 25-30kts with a quite choppy sea state. Mowzel Cat performed really well though with a fairly modest rig, averaging about 7kts+. Well that was until one of the upper seams tore open on the genoa, (thank goodness Bill noticed it before it tore through the leach), so we had to furl in quite a bit of the sail to prevent further damage.
It was good to drop the anchor in the gloriously tranquil wind-protected lagoon off the small village of Dalice, Marogai & what an interesting place! Between 1911 & 1969 it served as an isolation facility for patients with leprosy – not just from Fiji, but also from other pacific islands. There were 2 large residences – men & women housed separately. They were nursed by the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary, (not surprisingly Catholics). The patients were expected to grow food, fish, raise cattle & create craftworks. They were provided with a cinema – the ruins of which we visited, as well as the jail, (in which patients were incarcerated for stealing rations or sneaking into the women’s quarters) and the extensive cemetery, which apparently housed 1200 graves. There are now just 40 people living in the village.
We visited the chief & offered sevusevu. He explained some of the history of the island & also explained about their current role with the Ministry of Fisheries – cultivating giant clams for distribution around Fiji. On land, there were a number of tanks containing clams of just a few years old, after which they were moved in cages to the shallow water in the lagoon. We could snorkel amongst them in fact to witness the process in action! The chief told us they distributed 60,000 clams to various reefs with Fiji last year which is a tremendous effort. I had forgotten just how large these giant clams become – we saw one snorkelling which must have been at least a metre in length. Magnificent!
We enjoyed exploring the surrounds – in particular the beaches of the adjacent island on the other side of the lagoon. We spotted some whales slapping the water in the distance, a timely reminder for us to keep our eyes open when we were next on passage! The snorkelling around the bommies in the bay was also good – one had an area smothered with anemones with an associated army of clownfish – lovely to watch their antics.
Keeping moving, we up-anchored after a couple of days & had a blistering sail west to the small island of Naigani. And indeed, we did spot some whales breaching in the distance! We had the delightful anchorage to ourselves, but although flat calm because of extensive reef on our windward side, the wind persistently bulleted around the corner at about 20 knots. Well you can’t have it all! We trekked to the village to offer sevusevu having finally found the path through the dense vegetation. It was really quiet in the village, but we were told that many villagers were at a meeting in Suva. I don’t think it was the chief who performed the short ceremony, but he was very friendly & graciously accepted our kava & a couple of pairs of reading glasses that we had brought along. After that we enjoyed the anchorage to ourselves for a further day & had a wonderful snorkel over the reef. It was really pretty with artistically designed collections of coral with loads of fish – a bit like a marine art gallery!
Finally a 44nm downwind sail up the channel to the NE tip of Viti Levu. Not the most relaxing of trips as the wind funnelled through the strait with a great deal of vigour, (25-30kts), but we powered along very comfortably. We were lucky to see a massive pod of dolphins – around 100 we reckon. They changed direction & headed towards us giving us an acrobatic display along the way! Then amongst them & not too far off, a humpback emerged from the deep. So cool! We are now comfortably anchored in the lee of Yanutha island on the NE coast of Veti Levu & although a bit gusty, the sea is flat and we can relax – happy to have visited some lovely places despite the strong winds in the Koro Sea.