Yaqueta and our other favourite islands in the Yasawas and Mamanucas
Thursday 20 October – we left Malakati and the children “wowing” over all the wonderful additions Jo and Earl had purchased for their classroom and headed off to Nanuya and the Blue Lagoon, so we could drop Rattue off to catch the South Seas ferry back to the mainland.
We only just made it in time as the ferry arrived in early. On most of their stops they can’t dock as there are no wharves for them to tie up to, so they just motor in as near as they can and then the passengers get delivered to them from the various resorts by long boat or dinghy. As soon as we anchored, Geoff and Rattue were straight into the dinghy and Geoff got him to the ferry which left within minutes!
We had lunch ready but unfortunately no time for Rattue to partake of it. After lunch we pulled up anchor to head for Yaqeta Island to visit Salasa and his wife, Lissee – friends of Earl and Jo’s whom they have been helping out with various bits and pieces and they have also put their son through university. He was waiting for us on the beach and led us back to the village – a lovely walk through the school grounds where some of the local boys were playing rugby.
There are about 200 people in the village and it is very pretty, the houses are well maintained and set apart and there is plenty of lush foliage around them. Lissee gave us the warmest of welcomes and she and Salasa had arranged to do a kava ceremony for us. They sat us outside on mats underneath a canopy of fronds and she had laid out her home-made lemonade and presented us with leis she had also made especially for the occasion.
A few other family members arrived and with about 10 little kids who all ranged between 2 and 3 years old (the word cute doesn’t do them justice!) they performed the ceremony. They expressed their thanks to Earl and Jo and it was very moving. Afterwards Lissee took us for a walk through the village to the beach on the other side and as it was starting to get dark, we said our farewells and Salasa and Lissee accompanied us back to the dinghy. En route we stopped at the house of the kindergarten teacher where Earl and Jo presented her with a gorgeous big ABC mat for the kids to use.
A glorious sunset awaited us on the beach, my photos don’t do it justice, it was shades of fiery red and looked absolutely magnificent and was a stunning end to the day.
Friday 21 October – we sailed a little further around the island to visit the Navutu Stars resort – and were very happy to be allowed in! It’s a small resort with only 10 bures, very upmarket with a lovely restaurant and bar, and very friendly staff. They even showed us inside one of the bures, all very delightful but I’m not sure I could spend more than one night there, not a lot to do if you went there for a week, or even many guests to talk to either. We did enjoy a nice refreshing drink at the bar before we left, a cooling Virgin Colada for me and a beer for the others.
We’re on our way back to Mantaray Island now as Jo is keen to enjoy the fabulous snorkelling and hoping to see a manta ray. Funnily enough, as we were coming into the Navutu Stars resort this morning, one came zooming past the dinghy, so it’s looking good for her….. Sadly her snorkel was in vain, lovely coral and fish, but no rays!
Geoff took us back out in the dinghy to look at the coral, the water was so clear you could see it all from the dinghy without even putting your head in the water. Later on we went in to the resort for a sundowner and the barmen asked if we would like to experience a coconut drink at the sunset bar – yes of course we would! So he took us to the other side of the island where they had set up a makeshift bar and we watched the lady wield her machete and hack 4 coconuts with which had been sitting in ice and pour in either gin, vodka or rum mixed with the coconut water – I had white rum and it was delicious, and thankfully not as strong as I had expected. We watched the sun go down and then made our way back to the other side of the island where we enjoyed a gin and tonic by the beach before heading back and getting our barbecue going for dinner on the boat.
Saturday 22 October – morning swim and snorkels and we have now sailed down to Octopus Island and are currently anchored and drifting around in the bay. It’s very hot, so lovely to have a bit of breeze and a lazy afternoon on the boat. Dinner out tonight which is a treat and a chance to put a dress on – it’s been a while, we’ve been mostly in bikinis these days. We went ashore around 6pm for a sunset pina colada – don’t you just love a cocktail with an umbrella in it – always screams exotic!
Dinner was organised for 7pm and what a dinner it was. A set menu of 5 courses with a very accomplished chef in the kitchen, each course was beautifully presented and absolutely delicious, the restaurant was fun, a floor of deep sand and a very convivial atmosphere. We moved on to the Coconut bar afterwards where we continued with the pina coladas, there were some fun people at the bar and drinks were coming at us left, right and centre and we had a fabulous night, I think the barman shouted “last orders” three times! Around 12.30am we headed back down to the beach for the dinghy, I fell a couple of times in the sand, luckily it was deep and soft enough not to bother me although I did wonder why I had such a gritty mouth when I woke up this morning. A great night was had by all – I’ll leave it there!
Sunday 23 October – we did talk about going in for a yoga class at 7.00am this morning but funnily enough that never happened! We finally made it into the resort around 11.30am to settle our bar tab from last night and say goodbye to the party guests before we headed off down to the Mamanucas where we arrived at Castaway Resort at 5.30pm just in time for a sundowner at the Sunset bar. A quieter night was had by all!
Monday 24 October – Jo, Earl and I went in to Castaway this morning and found the Bush Walk track – it was a little bit overcast so the perfect weather for a walk and some good exercise as it was quite a climb to the top. We are being will be rewarded now as Geoff is taking us back to Seventh Heaven so we can have a lie on the loungers and relax!
And seventh heaven it was, not too many people there and the weather came right, lovely sunshine, a pizza and a glass of rosé for a couple of hours in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean – what could be nicer! Back to the boat and off to Musket Cove for our final visit this trip.
And here we are…..we’ve got our food, wine, dishes and BBQ tools at the ready to go over to the old $2 bar (now renamed Musket Cove yacht club) and have a cook up. It was pretty empty over there compared to the last few times we have visited when it was NZ and Australian school holidays, still lots of fun though. It was pretty quiet when we got back to the boat, even though it was only 7.45pm so we decide to host our own party – Earl was in top form as the DJ and we had a dance along to some great ‘60’s hits before retiring and giving the rest of the marina some peace and quiet at 10.30pm. We are in the marina and there’s a few boats left, most of the Antipodeans all waiting for the precious weather window to make their way back home for the summer.
Tuesday 25 October – sadly we are saying goodbye to Jo and Earl tonight, so we are just getting ready to pull out of the marina and head back to Denarau port so they can catch their flight back to Auckland this evening. It’s been so much fun having them here and thanks to the Skipper and his fabulous planning and itinerary, we have fitted in a lot of interesting, diverse, fun and happy experiences.