Kava in Kadavu

Safiya
Harvey & Sue Death
Sat 30 Sep 2017 18:36
Kava in Kadavu
Following our shark dive we left Beqa and headed for the most southerly
group of islands in Fiji - Kadavu.
The islands are surrounded by the 4th largest barrier reef in the world, the
Great Astrolabe Reef, and we had read that the diving was amazing. It did
not disappoint, the hard and soft corals were the best that we have seen so
far, the water was deep blue with amazing visibility. Following the
craziness of our shark dive, this was a lovely gentle swim through tunnels
and caverns.
We found an anchorage close to the dive sites in a very pretty little bay
beside a tiny village. As is customary here we went ashore to ask permission
to anchor in the bay. Being a Saturday afternoon (very helpfully) all the
main players in the village, the chief, mayor etc (all men of course) were
sitting around drinking Kava. We presented the Kava that we had bought and
we sat down on the mat in a circle with them as they conducted the Kava
ceremony and we were formally welcomed into the village. The Kava cup was
past around, ugh... I couldn't really refuse it! I took the smallest sip and
my lips went tingly, I hate to think how I would be after 3 or 4 cups, think
I'll stick to vino blanco!
We went back to the village on Monday to visit the village school which was
made up of 4 classrooms catering for 40 children aged 4 to 13. We met a
couple of the teachers, they are appointed to the island by the government
and have a years contract at a time. They are given living accommodation but
it still must be very hard for them living in such a tiny, primitive
community away from their families.
We gave the school some pens, pencils and pads that we had bought with us.
We also had a selection of prescription spectacles both kids and adults
(courtesy of Henry our Specsavers friend), which we gave to the mayor to
distribute as he thought fit. His eyes lit up as he told us that he was
going to have first pickings because he is struggling to read small print!!
The major asked us if some of the locals children could visit our boat. They
selected 6 of the boys aged 6 to 13 and bought them over. These kids were so
bright and confident, their eyes were on stalks as they looked at all the
navigational and computer gear. But what fascinated them most was our
bedroom and bathroom, having seen their living accommodation which is a at
best a mat on the floor we could understand why.
The people from the village could not have been more friendly and welcoming
and it was very humbling to see how simply they live and how few material
possessions they have.
By complete contrast the next day we visited another island nearby which is
privately owned by an Australian billionaire. He has built a luxury resort
on the island with no expense spared. It was the 30th wedding anniversary of
our friends Ken and Lisa (a coincidence that they got married just 2 weeks
before us in 1987), and we were picked up from our yachts by the hotels
private launch and whisked off to the resort where we had arguably the best
meal of our trip so far.
We were now getting very low again on supplies so we headed up to the main
land and after two short day sails during which we caught another lovely
Mahi Mahi we arrived at Port Denaru where we had reserved a berth. This big,
bustling Marina is well on a par with any marina in the Med. It incorporates
a big shopping/restaurant complex including Hard Rock Cafe - we had
definitely landed in the 21st century!!
The fruit and veg market in Nadi the nearest town was superb and we also
found a great butcher and Italian Deli, so all provisioned up we set off
again for another group of islands - the Yasawas.
This string of islands are on the North West fringe of Fiji. It is much
hotter here than we've been used to recently and there is very little
rainfall so the landscape is more arid. The islands are very pretty but much
more commercialised than other islands we've visited in Fiji as it is a mere
hop in a sea plane or ferry from Nadi where the International airport is, so
very accessible. With our friends from Altair we also met up with another
two Oysters Sea Flute and Tienelle and enjoyed a couple of very pleasant
evenings with them. We are currently anchored in the Blue Lagoon where the
1980 film of the same name starring Brooke Shields was filmed.

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