Graptolite - Stuck in a Rut in Vanua Levu
Graptolite's Sailing Log
Martyn Pickup & Heike Richter
Wed 25 Jun 2008 09:03
This week has seen us exploring Vanua Levu (which is the big island in the
north of the Fiji group). On Sunday we rented a 4WD car to look at the
western side of the island and came very close to not making it back as the
dirt roads here are so very nasty.
The next day we stuck to the heavily potholed sealed roads to take a look at
Labasa in the north. A walk in the Waisali Rainforest Reserve on the way was
an interesting but sweaty experience. Labasa turned out to be an Indo-Fijian
town from the days when sugar-cane was king here. The place could have been
anywhere in India and was well off the tourist trail. After a quick curry we
headed back to the more Melanesian Savusavu in some heavy rain that flooded
the streets knee-deep.
Yesterday, along another dirt road from Savusavu we found the Jean-Michel
Cousteau resort which, not surprisingly, is mainly a diving place. We did
two tank dives off the reef with them. The coral was good but big fish were
in short supply.
We are now enroute to the Yasawa Islands in the west which can only be
reached by a long overnight sail through some very dangerous-looking waters.
M