Island hopping in the Yasawas – Part 4
(It’s getting like a book, so maybe I should say Chapter 4 as there’s a few more weeks of it to come!
Thursday 6 October – a lazy day for me, the others all went in to have a snorkel and we also sailed back to the beach between Yasawairara and Yawini Islands for the afternoon as the beach there is so lovely and has a little channel running through it. Later in the afternoon we returned to Yasawairara so Geoff and Nick could go back to see Miriyama and fix the pipe connecting her water tank into her house, apparently it has been broken for years. They promised to return tomorrow to silicone the tap into it and also fix her guttering. Overnight there was a deluge of rain, we were out at 1.00am pulling in the squabs and the washing – great for Miriyama’s new water tank set up – and cleaning our decks!
Friday 7 October – 7.00am and we’re back at Miriyama’s house with the silicone, Geoff has done the best he can with the tap, whilst Nick has siliconed the guttering together. That’s it for now, we’re leaving today for a sail down south, stopping in Mantaray Island again so that everyone can have a snorkel and then we’re going to anchor outside Paradise Island for the night. Unfortunately, the weather hasn’t been so great today, grey and spitting rain, although very humid, it hasn’t stopped us swimming though, but it would be nicer to see the sunshine again.
Saturday 8 October – Before we pulled up the anchor this morning, Nick and the boys went for a snorkel and were thrilled to see a decent-sized turtle with a little shark on its back just near the boat. What a lovely start to the day, especially as we have another grey one by the looks of it!
We decided to start our long sail down to the Mamanuca Islands and are currently just off Navadra Island where a yellowy coloured black-tipped shark has been circling the boat! It seems quite exposed with a bit of current and wind though, so we are not going to stop for the night here after all and will head on down to Yanuya Island further south instead. And just when I thought we were going to get the fish smell out of the fridge (for those of you who don’t know, I don’t eat fish and am allergic to shellfish), Nick has caught a huge walu, so there’s a lot of excitement in the cockpit. Kate and I weren’t so excited when Geoff was trying to kill it with the winch handle and it was naturally very resistant, and after a big whack, a spray of blood came our way!!! The weather has turned really bad now, the sea is lumpy and grey and it’s pouring with rain, such a shame.
Sunday 9 October – a stunningly beautiful day to wake up to, so we’re up early and sailing off to Monuriki Island, more commonly known as “Castaway” Island where the movie with Tom Hanks and his vollyball was filmed! As we got near, we noticed one of the Captain Cook Cruise ships heading in the same direction, so it was all systems go to beat them to it and get onto the island before a boatload of their guests!
It has a beautiful beach and is also a wildlife conservation site in partnership with the Vunalvi Clan landowners, the Yanuya community, civil society organisations and the government. It supports Fiji’s largest breeding colony of Wedge-tailed Shearwater from November to May and an increasing population of the critically endangered Fijian Crested Iguana. We decided to walk up the mountain to a lookout point at the top. It wasn’t easy I can tell you, first of all I was still swaying from the boat, and the track was rocky with slippery leaves and soil, and it was steep too, and very hot! Having broken 3 bones in my upper arm a couple of years ago, the last thing I wanted was to break anything else! It was much needed exercise though and I finally made it, gasping, to the top – about 177 metres.
The view was stunning and it was amazing to be able to see over the top of the closest islands to the other islands on the horizon. Coming down was a mission too, had to really focus and watch every step, but got there in the end and it was certainly worth it. By the time we got back to the beach the guests from the cruise ship had arrived and were setting up parasols and mats and all sorts of beach toys, Having been used to the exclusivity of our own islands all over the place, (yeah I know, we are getting spoiled!) even though there was only about ten percent of the amount of sunseekers you’d find on a Mediterranean beach, we decided to head off and find our own private beach on the other side of Yanuya island which was just opposite Monuriki.
Dinner on your own private island with friends? Count us in!!! Geoff’s next door neighbours in Waiheke have arrived on their yacht for the school holidays and we arranged to meet them back on “Castaway” for dinner, a bit of a pot luck dinner, lots of fresh tasty ceviche and salads from the Thorpe’s side along with a jug of Geoff’s pina colada specials. We had a fun few hours watching the lovely colours of the sun going down on the neighbouring islands and catching up on New Zealand news.
Monday 10 October – and we’re off again – firstly back to the actual Castaway resort. In we went, we got a little bit clever this time as we happened to have two stripey towels on the boat that are the same as the Castaway towels, so we casually walked in with them and made our way firstly, to the shop to have a delicious Magnum ice-cream and then off to enjoy a swim and a lounge about their pool. Very nice thank you! Not so lucky on our next stop at Likuliku resort - which is on Malolo Island– we were thwarted and got stopped at the wharf – a private resort and no-one under 18, so that definitely counted us out with the three boys in tow! Not to waste a minute we’re onto Musket Cove now.
What a great end to our day. We are in the Musket Cove Marina, right by the $2 Bar which has big BBQ’s where you can cook up your own dinners. Geoff and I had a walk down to the pool and had a lovely swim and cocktail first, then we came back to the boat and all got stuck in getting salads and meat and fish together for our dinner. We secured a great table by the water’s edge and had the most tasty meal, all the bits and pieces in the fridge thrown in together made it delicious, along with a jug of pina coladas. A very convivial night was had by all……. from what I can remember!!!
Tuesday 11 October – A lovely walk this morning over to Plantation Island followed by a swim. Whilst Geoff was frying up fish on the boat for lunch, I enjoyed a nice piece of rotisserie chicken with salads from the rotisserie in the marina, sitting on the deck opposite the beach and poring over the borrowed Hotel atlas looking at all the places we have visited on this almost-9 month trip! A lazy afternoon, followed by a walk and hamburgers on the communal BBQ followed. Another perfect day! There’s a lot of New Zealanders around in their yachts, all checking on weather and winds and making preparations for when they head back to New Zealand. It’s funny bumping into other sailors who we have seen in Tahiti and various islands around Fiji.
Wednesday 12 October – Nick and family’s last day so we are heading slowly back to Denarau Marina tonight. We’ve sailed out to the reef and anchored so we can have a snorkel. Wow, it was beautiful, it’s such a calm day and there was so much coral, an endless garden of it, incredibly beautiful with the sunlight streaming underneath the water making shimmering patterns on the coral, endless shoals of the prettiest coloured fish – blues, turquoise, striped ones, blue, green and yellow parrot fish, even one that had thin colourful stripes and looked like a rainbow, and a shoal of the tiniest blue fish you can imagine, as small as the tip of your finger. The coral was unbelievable, like manicured gardens in some spots, plenty of purple for me, pink, pretty grey with blue tips, so many different hues of greens and so lovely underneath the sun’s rays. I am so thankful Geoff taught me how to snorkel, imagine missing out on it all – you’d never know looking at the sea from the boat what beauty lies underneath it.
We’re trying to fit in as much as we can today, we sailed over to this delightful looking, tiny inhabited island, called Namotu, anchored the dinghy and walked in, luckily we managed to have a quick look around before we were told it was private and we had to leave. It can take 32 guests, mostly as a group – would be a fun place for a special celebration. The water around it is absolutely stunning, aquamarine and so clear.
Off to Seventh Heaven – it was fabulous, a floating bar in the middle of the aquamarine waters. It was so much fun, we had a great seat by the water, the boys were thrilled to be able to do the “Leap of Faith” a jump into the water from the top deck, Moses, the lifeguard was so nice and was so engaged with the boys, he even took them in their dinghy to snorkel, which left us to enjoy our pina coladas in the sunshine, listening to the music and sitting on very comfy loungers . What a wonderful way to pass the last afternoon of the last day of holiday for Nick, Kate and their family!
Over and out. We’re heading back to Denarau Marina. Jo and Earl, Geoff’s partners in Salanjo, arrive tomorrow, a few hours after Nick and his family leave, so we will provision the boat and have a tidy up and do some laundry before their arrival. We are so looking forward to welcoming them back aboard their boat for a lovely holiday before Salanjo departs on its final leg back to Auckland.