The Cannibal Isles
Bamboozle
Jamie and Lucy Telfer
Tue 22 May 2007 06:32
17:36.061S 177:26.426E
After a great 7 day passage we arrived in Fiji this
morning. We found the wind we were looking for, and plenty of it, so the last
few days were a little wet and bumpy but all in all, a quick safe trip. We
spent the last 24 hours just slowing things down a bit so we would
arrive at the passage through the main reef in
daylight. We went through the Navula Pass at 7am just after the
sun had risen and had a glorious trip up the east coast of Fiji to Lautoka
where we have spent the afternoon checking in with Customs, Immigration,
Quarantine, Health etc etc etc. Mountains of repetitive paper work
but not a difficult project with lots of smiley Fijians helping! They even
sent a boarding party out to inspect our boat and check our declared "ships
supplies" - fortunately we had the wine cellar well hidden!
From what we have seen so far the place looks
stunning and we cannot wait to start exploring the many islands. Tomorrow we are
going back into town to organise a cruising permit so we can visit some of the
outer islands where tradition still holds sway. Some of the village chiefs
still expect a gift of "kava" (the crushed root of the pepper plant - which
produces a muddy and mildly narcotic drink - yuk!) before they invite you
into the village and grant you permission to swim, fish, use their beaches
or even walk on their island. So we are off to the market to stock up on
fresh fruit and veg and a couple of kilos of Kava!!
When the islands were first discovered they were
known as the Cannibal Isles and some very unfriendly and hungry locals
chased Captain Bligh in his small open boat just a short while after he was
turfed off the Bounty by his mutinous crew. Clearly not a good week for
him, but fortunately things seem to have changed a lot since then and so
far everyone we have met has been extremely friendly. The first words
of Fijian we learnt before we had even got out of our dingy is "Bula" which
apparently means "hello" rather than "Mmm....he looks tasty"! We will be
keeping our eyes peeled for any suspiciously large cooking pots.