From the 'real' Fiji to resort Fiji
Storyteller
Tue 21 Jul 2009 04:02
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Position, 17.38S 177.23E
I'm writing this is a windy bay between
Lautoka and Nadi, with one of our cruising companions stuck fast on a reef .With
a big wind shift, other cruising mates saved another catamaran that
had dragged at anchor--all while most people had gone to the market. Luckily the
boat that had dragged had the keys in its ignition so our
mates were able to save it.How ironic that these boats managed to negotiate
the reefs in the most remote areas only to go on a reef (uncharted) so close to
civilisation. The amazing thing was that when we came in with the sun in front
of us, the reef was invisible, while with the sun 'over our shoulders' this
morning we could see the reef very clearly., So instead of going
into the marina at Denarau to meet up with the family we're sticking around to
see if our power will be needed to pull the catamaran off the reef. We'll try to
send a photo of the drama when we have internet access.
Since Sue Alexander wrote our last blog about our
trip to north eastern Fiji, we've covered many miles and presented many
bunches of kava in the traditional sevsevu ceremony. We didn't see a road or a
car, nor handled money, for over a week.
We left Savusavu, everybody's favourite town in
Fiji in pouring rain. We headed south to the island of Koro, not much
visited by yachts. The only downside of
Savusavu was the ranting and railing of a local evangelical pastor who began at
his microphone at 7 30 am on Sundays and let up again until dark.( Since the
Speight coup, the 'born against have become very strong in Fiji--yesterday we
saw in Latouka a modern van with a sign on it 'Is your child ready for
Eternity?' Hideous.)
At Koro we were the only boat in the bay--apart
from two groups of village women fishing from kayaks--singing to attract the
fish. We had a lovely talk with them, then at dusk a man paddled out,
bringing us fruit and vegetables. There was nothing for it, next morning we had
to lower the dinghy and go ashore to present our sevusevu.After meeting various
spokesmen for the chief, and our sponsor, we sat on a grass mat in the chief's
house,while he conducted our welcome ceremony in Fijian. I was actually
chastised by the spokesman for wearing long trousers instead of a sulu--not that
easy when climbing in and out of dinghies! This ceremony gives you the
freedom of the village and the right to snorkel and dive.After a quick visit to
the local kindergarten and school--kids all in neat uniforms- we hauled up the
dinghy and set off to our next destination, about
40 kilometres away for yet another sevusevu ceremony.In all these
remote places we have been very impressed by the cleanliness and tidiness
of the villages and the dignity of the indigenous Fijian people. The lawns are
always freshly mown and there is no litter--possibly because there are no shops
and no packaged food. There's also no obesity.With hereditary chiefs in charge
you've got to say that democracy is somewhat irrelevant in these parts. Every
village has its rugby team and footy socks and jerseys hanging on the line are a
common sight. All Blacks and Wallabies are a good topic of
conversation.
Our next stop was the remote island of Makongai
which housed two leper colonies until the mid 1960's. One took patients from
across the Pacific and the other was for Indo Fijians. It has a beautiful and
well protected anchorage but the derelict buildings and the knowledge 1400
people are buried in the local cemetery made it slightly spooky. Interestingly,
some of the buildings were being used to house the administration for a giant
clam breeding program which had been financed and run by the Australian Govt.
Unfortunately giant clams, like turtles are a delicacy in the islands and have
been almost wiped out. The idea was to reseed them in protected marine parks.
However, following the coupe our Govt pulled the pin on financing the project.
There was great snorkelling in the bay and with lots of giant clams. Still hard
to escape the tragic history as old hospital beds are used as underwater racks
to protect the young clams. Sue and our friends from Harmonie and Lady Kay
took the 10km each-way walk over to the other side of the island--a stiff
walk that the school kids do every day. No wonder there's no
obesity.
Leaving Makongai we threaded our way through a maze
of reefs to the North Eastern- most point of the Viti Levu. Without any
particular expectations we were delighted to find a range of protected
anchorages and a number of small resorts ranging from wildly expensive to
backpacker. The reef diving in this area is world famous and attracts many young
Europeans who must find it inexpensive. We had parted from our rally mates a
week earlier and were surprised to see them anchored in the bay ,having arrived
only an hour earlier. A bonus was that one of the boats had landed a large
marlin, which they shared with the other boats. We didn't bother swimming as the
giant fish was being cleaned! The crews from the 7 yachts went ashore for their
happy hour but soon came hurtling back as the place was infested with
mosquitoes. Instead everyone came up to our flybridge which easily hosted 20
people.hh
Taking the inside passage through the reefs to
Lautoka was ideal for the motor boat. The water was flat and from the flybridge
we could see the reefs clearly. We all had lures out, but no luck with the
fishing.
Now we are waiting for 30kt winds to ease so we can
enter the marina at Port Denarau... the first marina since leaving Opua. I am
sure the trusty generator will enjoy a rest when we can plug into shore power.
Paddy, Sally and the children and Marg and Rob Bucket are enjoying the delights
of the resort hotels and we look forward to joining them tomorrow
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