Fabulous Falaga.....Top of the list?

Bamboozle
Jamie and Lucy Telfer
Thu 1 Aug 2013 19:39
019:08.737S 178:33.482W

We hugely enjoyed our stay in Savusavu which was made all the more interesting by establishing a link with a local rugby team who were in need of a little assistance. I will do a whole photo blog on the subject once we get back to a decent internet link but I am pleased to say that an email to a few mates asking if they would be interested in lending a helping hand elicited an extraordinarily generous response.

A lucky break in the weather allowed us to make from Savusavu straight down to Fulaga at the southernmost end of the Lau group, somewhere we were both particularly keen to visit this season but a destination which is not easy to get to and would normally involve a long uncomfortable beat 200 miles upwind into the prevailing trade winds. Even by Pacific standards the Southern Lau is pretty remote and is home to some of the most traditional Fijian societies. Until just two years ago special permission was still required to even visit this part of Fiji and as a result it remains as untouched and unchanged as anywhere we have ever been. In terms of links to the rest of Fiji and the outside world there is a supply ship that visits every 4 to 6 weeks and a solar powered phone paid for by the government and that is about it. There is absolutely no tourism and the few cruising yachts that make it down here each season (12 in total in 2012) are the only outside visitors who are ever lucky enough to see and explore this gem of the Pacific.

With the normal trade winds absent for a few days we actually had a wonderful sail down here taking advantage of a glorious full moon and arrived off the pass that is the only entrance to the atoll. It is quite a scary looking pass only 40 or 50 metres wide with breakers crashing on to the reef each side and battling in against a 3 or 4 knot spring tide current certainly raised the heartbeat a notch or two. It was however undoubtedly worth the effort as once we had made our way in, with a sharp pair of eyes required on the foredeck to dodge the coral bommies that litter the route, the flat turquoise water opened up in front of us...... we have arrived in paradise. The atoll is about two nautical miles in diameter with stunning blue water, white sandy beaches, coconut palms waving in the breeze and then hundreds of extraordinary mushroom shaped limestone islands scattered across the lagoon. The main island is rocky and jungle clad with a population of less than three hundred split between three small villages. Even by the friendly standards of Fiji the welcome is incredibly warm. We took our traditional gift of Kava root to the Chief (who really still is the big cheese around here) and one senses he truly means it when he welcomes you as part of the village, we feel more like guests than visitors.

We spent the first couple of days visiting the villages and getting to know some of the locals which is not hard as the minute we had finished our Sevusevu ceremony with the Chief we were invited to eat with a family and every time you pass a house you are invited in for tea! We visited the school which completely disrupted the the working day as every single one of the 43 children raced out of the classrooms, thronging around us and shaking our hands to introduce themselves. Lucy was even asked to take an English lesson with a very enthusiastic class (photo to follow!) but I was excused when I explained I can barely read my own writing and can't spell. We even had Fijian cooking lessons! We are now out exploring the lagoon and taking advantage of some calm weather to dive in the pass and on the stunning coral wall on the outside of the barrier reef where the coral reef top drops away straight into the ocean depths. The visibility is great and, as well as thousands of reef fish, the immediacy of the true ocean means the presence of lots of bigger critters as well..... sharks, rays, tuna, a battle scarred great trevally that was considerably larger than me and even a school of 14 thundering great Napoleon fish.

We can’t send any photos as our only link to the outside world is via the satellite phone and I feel my limited descriptive skills do not even begin to do justice to this incredible place. However the question people always seem to ask us about our cruising life is, “of all the amazing places you have been, where is your favourite?” and after just one week here I can certainly say this place is right up around the top of the list.