Fiji
Fleck
Fri 29 Aug 2008 07:53
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Friday 29th August
Position 16:56S 177:21.9W The Blue Lagoon,
Yasawa Islands, Fiji
Alone, again, after a wonderful succession of
family visitors over the last few months. My sincere thanks to you all for
putting up with me, my cranky old ways, and the cramped quarters! I enjoyed
every minute, especially those precious moments spent clearing hairs from the
washbasin and shower drains! (NB Thanks for the shower pump spares, Vicky. These
have worked like a charm: ever since they came on board the old pump has been
sucking for England!!)
The Blue Lagoon is a ridiculously picture postcard
perfect spot in this Island chain to the northwest of Viti Levu, Fiji's main
Island. The scenary is just awesome. Sadly the local village has sold
off the best stretch of beach to a cruise ship operator. The ships, with
maybe thirty cabins, anchor off and the passengers are ferried ashore to the sun
loungers. So sad, but it's a big lagoon and you soon learn to look the other
way. Moreover, by Fijian standards, the village is looking pretty damned
affluent! Progress is unstopable. Holiday makers in Fiji are mostly from
New Zealand. Its interresting that many Brits want to start a new life in NZ,
whilst the New Zealanders themselves are dreaming of second homes in
Fiji!! The swimming and snorkeling here is fabulous, and today I found a little
blue flower to paint. It would be easy to stay for three months, which is
exactly what Ted, in the only other yacht here today, has done. His wife
however is on board, so I must really get on back to Lautoka, check out early
next week, and head for Vanuata, New Caledonia, Brisbane and Blighty. As the
rabbit on the other side of the looking glass so rightly observed, there is
not much time.
Well, back to the diary. We (Olivia and Hannah and
I) arrived in Suva Harbour nearly three weeks ago; we arrived at the weekend, so
couldn't clear in till Monday. We took a chance and explored downtown as
illegals. Seem to have got away with it, unless the authorities intercept this
blog! Suva is big, and developing very fast. The Indian influence
(50% of the population, they were imported to sew and harvest sugar
cane for the wonderful British Empire!) is everywhere. There is serious
ongoing racial tension, with an interim government that can do no right in the
eyes of most of the poeple that I talked to, especially the native
Melanesian Fijians, and no sign of elections. For the tourist the multicultural
background is colourful, and of course I felt quite at home, to the astonishment
of those Kiwis who havn't been back to the UK for the last hundred years or
so! We spent time researching the best Indian restaurants, voting Ashiyana
a cut above most of the Bromsgrove Balti Houses. Hannah, generally a food fad of
the highest order, was keen to sample the streetside Indian sweet stalls. She
found that she didn't like the brightly coloured ones, but loved some that
looked like small sticks, and we were always going back for more.
There was a wonderful rambling fresh food market,
overspilling into the raucous oily Bus Station. The whole area was
surrounded by Chinese owned 'Supermarkets': large open warehouses with a
good variety of foodstuffs, but light on hygiene and decoration. On
Saturdays the modus operandi became apparent: Out of town villagers arrive
by bus, start shopping, and pick up a boy with a wheelbarrow. When the
barrows are full the boys empty them into/onto the returning buses for
a very small fee. Foodstalls pacify the
queues of poeple waiting for the return trip home; the fact that many of the
foodstalls are set up in the bus lanes adds both colour and chaos. Further
downtown there were malls with up to the minute coffee houses, and Waitrose
style supermarkets for the well heeled.
We were based out of Town, anchored off the Royal
Suva Yacht Club. This was a convivial place, with friendly staff, and a
successful bar. There was not a great deal of boating activity, and the Club
seemed to have seen better days. With Fleck secured on a pontoon for a
couple of days we rented a car and set off up the Coral Coast towards the
Airport. A notable lunch stop at a resort where villas were for sale at 3M NZ$.
The salt and pepper squid was a much better bargain. We stayed at the Toka Toka
Resort with a swimming pool and a water slide: Hannah in seventh heaven! Olivia
and I appreciated the hot showers. Next morning we bid farewell to Olivia
at 7am. Unfortunatley she didn't fare as well as we hoped: her flight to Sydney
was delayed, so she diverted to Auckland. When she got there no one was
expecting her, but of course these gap year girls can deal with that sort of
thing in their sleep, and I believe that she has finally arrived home!! Next
day, 7am again, Conny arrived via Tokyo. She was in good shape, and no jet lag
either. After a day of R and R poolside, and a visit to the exquisite
orchid collection at the Gardens of the Sleeping Giant we travelled back to
Suva. Another curry at Ashiyana, and next morning we set off for the sailing
part of the holiday. We sailed via Benga Island and Momi Bay to the Mamanucas.
Conny had her first taste (and probably her last, despite aquitting herself very
well!) of night sailing, even she had to admit that it is a special experience,
just how special I shall leave to her to tell!
We also put out the fishing line, complete with a
Russells Hall flying fish (blue and white surgical glove strips). This was
Hannah's idea. I was explaining that we would catch nothing in the bright sun
and calm sea when the reel suddenly screamed, and line was pulled off at an
alarming rate. Conny got the boat up into the wind to slow us down and we
struggled to regain some line, to no avail. I was about to cut the line off, to
save the rod and reel, when a torpedo with a spike on its snout surfaced about
150 yards away. A magnificent blue marlin. For sveral seconds it 'tailed'
over the sea like a speedboat, and then dived deep. The rod bent double, the
line snapped. Of course the one that gets away is always big, but this was
really big; we could never have got it aboard, and even if we had, I think
that we would have been in even more danger than the fish! I just hope that it
has managed to throw the hook and recover.
Our destination was Malolo Lailai, a small Island
in the Mamanuca Group, to the West of Viti Levu. Not just a pretty Island, but
the home of Musket Bay Resort and Marina: just what the doctor ordered: a pool
and a friend for Hannah (Nina, from 'Kliene Bar'), an endless supply of Pina
Coladas, and a bar for us yachties to keep us away from the expensive end of the
resort, complete with DIY BBQ's. I guess we must be getting close to
Australia! All too soon we were back on the Mainland in Vuda Point Marina.
Yet another friend for Hannah, Cara, from the yacht 'Magnum'. Her dad, Uve
from San Fransisco, was originally from Germany, and so there was much for
our families to discuss! Once again the Marina provided well for our
creature comforts with an excellent restaurant overlooking the ocean, and a
coffee shop which opened early in the morning, and provided Hannah with
chocholate brownies for breakfast!
We had a final mainland trip in a very cheap rental
car to Sigatoka. We ducked out of an 'authentic' river village visit on a jet
speedboat (Sue: shades of our 'Roots' trip up the Gambia years ago!), and
settled for a wildlife park instead. I was the bravest with the boa constrictor,
but we all tolerated green iguannas in our hair! We also found a great place,
Natadola beach, with horse riding for Hannah: galloping two up with a local
boy, Levi. We ended up at the Sentai Seafood Restaurant in downtown Nadi: a real
locals dive, but excellent chinese food. Next morning, 7am, we were back at the
airport yet again, and Conny and Hannah were soon on their way to Hong Kong.
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