Our First Week of Fiji Cruising

Our first week of cruising the islands is already over! We headed over to Paradise resort on the SW corner of Taveuni island last Friday, along with Blithe Spirit. It was a good sail of about 50nm and so we left early morning. The wind was hard on the nose most of the way but not too strong and so not too uncomfortable.

Debi in Paradise

Moored off Paradise

We were met at the resort by a man on a kayak who assisted with getting us on to one of their moorings and informed us that the resort was having a Fijian evening, with dinner, dancing and a kava ceremony. Not to be missed! So it was a fairly hectic rush to get ready and head across to the resort for the evening. Of course things didn’t go entirely according to plan, as we had to get the dinghy blown up and the outboard engine fitted. The outboard refused to start and we think it was flooded. Fortunately, Sally and Stuart were also heading to the resort and so provided transport for the evening.

Cocktails in Paradise

Fiji Night in Paradise

Saturday was a bit of a miserable day as it was pretty steady drizzle all day. Pat managed to get the outboard going and did a bit of snorkelling. Then we went ashore and had a bit of a damp walk along the coast and had a look around the resort. Terri and Allan who own and run the resort do a fantastic job of making cruisers feel welcome and nothing is too much trouble. Highly recommended.

On Sunday we went for our first two dives of the trip on the well known Rainbow reef. The dive team from Paradise resort were fantastic and there were only four of us diving. Debi had some problems with equalisation and buoyancy on the first dive, which was a shame, but the second dive went very well and we drifted along the reef seeing beautiful coral and lots of small reef fish.

Debi the Diver

We had planned to stay at the Paradise resort for a few days but on Monday Allan, the owner warned us of a trough coming through, which would bring northerly winds which are not good in the bay. So we quickly collected our laundry and along with four other boats made a quick exit across the Somo Somo Strait to the sheltered Viani Bay. We discovered our autopilot wasn’t working on the way over and so had to hand steer for the few hours across there. Fortunately it was an easy fix the next day. That evening we had a nice evening on Blithe Spirit where Stuart cooked a delicious fish curry.

Tuesday was a bit of a dull day and therefore a lazy day. We did head over to Daveta Bay for an hour in the dinghy to do some snorkelling. Stuart introduced us to some coconut eating fish! Unfortunately, Debi’s ear problems have returned following our dive on Sunday and she now has an ear infection, so no snorkelling.

Seagrass in Daveta Bay

Snorkelling in the Mangroves

Feeding the Coconut eating fish

Wednesday was also dull, windy and therefore lazy. We should have gone ashore for a look but the weather wasn’t very conducive. Sally and Stuart came over in the evening for dinner, Debi made a vegetarian Moussaka, and a few drinks.  A very enjoyable evening.

With the trough gradually moving off and the winds back to the south-east we decided to part company with Blithe Spirit and head around the corner to Nasau Bay. This involved motoring inside of the reef with Pat on the bow watching out for uncharted reef. We tried fishing on the way but no luck. On arriving at Nasau Bay we found it was very deep for anchoring with coral around the shore. It is therefore a delicate balance to get close enough to shore to anchor in reasonably shallow water but not too close to the reef. We managed to find a patch of about 17m deep and were preparing to anchor when we drifted over a patch of reef and the next thing we knew we only had 4m of water under the keel. We managed to get back to deep water without touching bottom, but it was a real lesson in the need to keep a good lookout. We ended up anchoring in 23m of water and moved the next day.

Yesterday we headed around to our current location in Buca Bay. We were again motoring inside the reef with Pat doing look out on the bow. We saw a huge turtle basking in the sun, our first of the trip. It must have been a meter in diameter. This was only a short trip and so we were at anchor by midday and decided to head ashore.

At anchor in Buca Bay

The local school

We had a nice 6km walk along the coastal road, passing through the local school and then a Mission. The Mission grounds were beautifully kept and we had a brief chat with one of the gardeners there. There is a clinic at the Mission, which is manned by overseas volunteers. All medical services to the locals are apparently provided free. 

No shortage of coconuts here

The Mission

A walk down the coastal road

Amazing - Papaya just grow on trees here

We had left our dinghy next to a local house and when we got back to the dinghy we were invited in. We sat on the verandah overlooking the bay and ate fresh picked bananas and papaya. The house was basic and Ismael, the owner, lives there with his wife, son, granddaughter and two great grandsons. They live by growing papaya, kasava, tarrow and bananas on the steep slopes behind the house and selling them at the local market. It is very much subsistence living.

Ismael and his Great Grandson

Picking up some fruit growing tips

Ismael's place

The view from Ismael's House

Today we have been chilling out in the bay. We went ashore and took some gifts, including some fresh baked banana muffins from the bananas he gave us, for Ismael’s family. We then had another walk along the coast in the other direction. Tomorrow we plan to head south to Vanua Balavu at the northern end of the Lau group of islands.  The water is 26.5 degrees so frequent cooling swims throughout the day will be in order but the snorkelling has, so far, been a bit disappointing.

X-Pat anchored in Buca Bay