Fiji - Heading North, off the Tourist Trail

Having spent time following the tourist trail through the Yasawas, it was a big change to head North along the coast of Viti Levu - our first stop was an inlet called Vatia Wharf.  There was not a soul in sight - the silence was complete.

Vatia Wharf anchorage - Fiji is a huge sugar cane producer and during this season it is cut and the stubble burnt.  You can see signs of charred landscape on the hills and we ended up covered with ash.

A praying mantis landed on the boat - presumably trying to escape from the sugar cane smoke and ash.

Our final stop on Viti Levu was Volivoli, one of the few dive resorts on the barren north coast.  We hired a local dive guide, Moe, who came out with us on Nautilus to dive the Nananu Passage - yet another beautiful underwater experience in Fiji!

Looking up through 20 metres of crystal clear water at Nautilus and our dinghy which are tied onto one of the dive buoys in the Nananu Passage.  We would never have found this location without Moe’s guidance.

Ian underwater 

We could easily have stayed a few more days diving at Volivoli, but we decided instead to head for Yadua Island off the west coast of Vanua Levu.  Strong winds were forecast, but our intended anchorage would provide good shelter - there is a small village on the other side of the island, but our bay was uninhabited apart from by a group of fishermen from the mainland.  They normally come over to Yadua to fish for 3 days before returning to Viti Levu with their catch but they couldn’t brave the winds in their open fishing boats so were waiting it out in shelters on the beach.

Yadua Island, with a few fishing boats on the beach.

The anchorage in Yadua - Nautilus is just visible in the middle of the bay.  It’s hard to believe from this photo that it’s blowing over 30kts behind us!

Épi, one of the fishermen took us up to the highest spot on the island - actually he almost sprinted up, a flash of red in the distance, while we struggled to keep up.  After about an hour we reached the lighthouse.  It has not worked for a very long time.

Épi standing on top of the light house base while we try to catch our breath - the views from up there were well worth the trek.

The small island in the centre of the photo is Yadua Taba, an uninhabited Nature Reserve that is the home to the Crested Iguana.  No one is permitted to land on the island after a visitor was caught stealing Iguanas for the pet market.

The little dot in the middle of the bay on the right of the photo is Nautilus.  

On our last morning in Yadua the wind finally died down enough for us to explore the other side of the peninsular - sadly the beach was littered with plastic rubbish.  This is an uninhabited part of the island - all the rubbish has been washed in from afar.

Our next destination was to be Kia, a tiny island north of Vanua Levu, nestled in the Great Sea Reef, the third largest coral reef in the world.  We took the inner route, working our way between the reefs along the north coast of Vanua Levu.  The water here is quite silty presumably from the many rivers in this area so you really have to watch out closely for the reefs.

Our anchorage, off the ‘island’ of Oadrau

We took the dinghy ashore - it took about 15 minutes to walk round the island.

Anchored off Oadrau Island, north coast Vanua Levu.

Kia Island is the northernmost island in the Fiji Archipelago, and although surrounded by the Great Sea Reef, like many reefs it is covered at high water - this would not be the place to find shelter in a storm!  There are three small villages on Kia, with a total population of about 200.  We anchored off Ligau, a village of 14 houses and also the location of the only primary school which has 52 students, 4 teachers and a headmaster.  The teaching staff come for 3 year rotations from Vanua Levu and the older children either stay with relatives or board to attend secondary school in Lambasa on the mainland.

Lambasa Village - the houses all have large rain water tanks but the government has also installed a desalination plant.  Unfortunately the operation seems  to be down to one individual who is apparently lazy - it is unclear if the plant is still operational but recently a water ship was sent over to tide them over until the rainy season starts in November.

The only occupation on the island is fishing, there is a cooperative that takes the catch to Lambasa to sell, and the villagers either rent or borrow the 5 open ‘panga’ fishing boats that belong to the village.  They also grow cassava, plantains and coconuts but although fertile, it is a very hilly and rocky island which makes cultivation difficult.

The villagers were very friendly and hospitable, several came on board to have a look round the yacht, we were given a Nautilus shell, lots of cups of tea and pancakes and several fish.  For reasons unknown, there is an old canon at the top of one of the hills - Eli took us up there bright and early one morning to have a look for ourselves.

Eli guided us up to the top, behind him you can see the mainland of Vanua Levu 25 miles away.





It is a very narrow ridge - I’m holding on, not taking a selfie!

Looking down over the village you can see the school, which of course has a rugby pitch.  Nautilus is anchored just off the beach.

The islanders are very religious - these canoe shaped drums are used to call them to church on Sundays and Wednesdays.

The final day of our stay on Kia was spent diving on the Great Sea Reef. 

We saw several turtles.

Clown fish guarding their anemones

Flower like corals

And lots of sharks - there were one or two circling us throughout the dive.  

We now need to get some provisions and it’s time to head on round Vanua Levu - next stop Lambasa town which has a large produce market, banks and WiFi.

Fiji - Mamanuca and Yasawa Islands

The Yasawa Islands to the North West of Viti Levu really are THE tourist area of Fiji - after the rural tranquility of Vatulele, it was quite a culture shock to head further round the coast and find Port Denerau Marina, complete with superyachts, a shopping centre and dozens of bars and restaurants. From Port Denerau you can take a FD$1 bus or a FD$15 (about £5)  taxi ride to the main produce markets of either Nadi or Lautoka for provisions - we opted for the taxi, who will wait for you while you shop and then drive you back to the port.

While in the area we also spent a couple of nights in Vuda Point Marina - we had some friends stuck there with engine trouble, and it was also the marina that at one stage we had planned to leave the boat.  Like all good plans, things changed, primarily because of Cyclone Winston in 2016 ... although there are ‘Cyclone Pits’ there, our yacht insurance no longer covered us in the event of a named storm.  The cyclone pits were interesting though, literally a ‘grave’ dug in the ground for the rudder and keel and a collection of old tyres round the hole for the yacht to rest on.  Having now seen them, I think we had a lucky escape!  

Fully stocked up, we set off for Musket Cove, our first really ‘touristy’ island destination.  We’d met up with our sailing friends on Jadean and headed out for a dive - it was spectacular!  A pinnacle of coral rising up from the sea bed - being a tourist area, there was a convenient marker buoy there where we could tie up the dinghies - we have now done the same dive 4 times and it never fails to impress.

Musket Cove is a magnet for cruisers - not only for the diving, but also for kite surfing and board surfing, there is even a floating pizza bar on the outer reef, a cruiser friendly bar that serves great Mojito and for kids, a water park.  Despite the obvious attractions, we dragged ourselves away and headed up to the Yasawa Islands.

Tourism is the mainstay of the Mamanuca and Yasawa Islands, there is hardly a rock above the high tide level that doesn’t have some sort of a Resort on it - all the ones we have seen are small developments, mostly concealed by the palm trees but had Tom Hanks arrived on Castaway now, he would have been able to stay in a well appointed Bure and escape by Hobie Cat!

Castaway Island Resort - Tom Hanks would certainly find more than his Volleyball Wilson to talk to now!

Heading further north, it was delightful to be able to spend a few days in the uninhabited natural harbour at Navadra, not the place to be in a northerly blow, but fortunately we were able to spend a few days enjoying paddle boarding round the bay, walking on the beaches, snorkelling and even a dive on the reef in the bay.

Navadra and Vanua Levu form the bay, the blue dot is where we were anchored, we now regularly use these satellite images to navigate round the reefs - they are far more accurate than the charts we have!

We snorkelled the lagoon on the left,  and dived the reefs in the centre of the bay - lots of fish and coral.

Our anchorage at Navadra - absolutely beautiful!

Our next destination was Drawaqa, better known as Manta Ray Pass - under certain combinations of wind and tide, plankton are flushed through a pass between two of the islands, and the Manta Rays scoop them up, literally tumbling through the water with their huge mouths open, sweeping the food filled water in with their mandibles.  We were incredibly lucky, we arrived during a period of perfect Manta Ray feeding.

The water is literally thick with plankton, they look like little pink snowflakes in the water.

We stayed in the water for a couple of hours, there were quite a few other snorkellers from the resort there as well, and the Mantas seemed totally oblivious to our presence.  When they head for you, mouths open, you do really have to remind your self you are not their pray!

As well as the natural beauty of the waters here, there is also the wreck of the Salamander, sunk on purpose in 30 metres of water not far from Manta Ray Pass.  The wreck has been recently sunk so there is very little marine life on it as yet, however it is very atmospheric as it gradually emerges from the gloom of the depths.

Heading north through the Yasawas, after a brief stop at Somosomo bay on Naviti when we walked across the island in search of the wreck of a WWII spitfire that had crashed into the lagoon on the other side of the island.  We were unable to find the wreck, but our friends on Jadean managed to enlist the help of a local fisherman who took them there - the wings are gone, but the tail and fusillage are partly buried in the sand in a couple of metres of water.

We then headed on to Nanuya Sewa, famous as the location of the 1970’s film The Blue Lagoon with Brooke Shields.  We anchored in the lagoon, very well sheltered, beautiful white beaches but mostly now private resorts.  We did have an interesting time finding the local fruit and veg farm, tucked away in the mangroves it was only accessible at high tide.

Heading through the mangroves in search of a hidden farm.

It was very well organised with excellent produce - they simply picked a collection of fruit and veg straight from the ground and we bought it there and then.  

Our most northerly stop in the Yasawas was Sawa i Lau on Yasawa Island - an absolute jem.  Another fantastically well protected anchorage, much of the coastline is limestone which has eroded into amazing shapes.

Perfect for paddle boarding, but we also walked up the hill with our friends on Jadean for a great view of the island

Our yachts car visible in the distance on the other side of the bay.

At the top of the hill, with Kim and Jade from Jadean and their friends Ray and Deb.

The view along the top of the island - it became more barren as we got to the top, it’s not rained here for several months.

There are two small villages in the bay, and our walk took us through the local primary school.  There were no students there as it was a Sunday, but despite facilities being pretty basic, it still had a sports field complete with running track that any school in the UK would be proud of!

The Timetable, posted outside the classroom door.

Handwashing Drills!  

And the ‘piece de resistance’ ...  a full sized Rugby pitch!  It is their National Sport, and is even commemorated on a specially designed $7 bill in honour of their Gold Medal in the 2016 Olympics.

We are loving Fiji, and can really understand why people spend years cruising these waters - so far we have only seen a tiny bit of what it has to offer, the people are lovely, the place is beautiful and the weather (apart from hurricanes!) is great.

One final Fiji picture - snorkelling a coral reef.