Sea Cucumbers, Sevusevu & Plenty of Exercise

Taro Plantation

Still anchored off the east end of the island of Qamea, we were in the process of making plans to pick up and move off westwards when we received an invitation to visit Oco (pronounced Oh-though), the chap in the one and only house nearby; the one where the sea cucumbers are processed.  We jumped at the chance – why rush off? Isn’t this why we came to these out-of-the-way anchorages in the first place?

Oco greeted us warmly and handed us over to Nitin, the fellow connected to the Chinese who were sponsoring the operation.  Nitin explained to us the procedures involved in the process of creating bêche de mer and answered our questions on how the Chinese used these (far from delightful looking) creatures as well as our concerns about the environmental impact. Something’s got to give whenever an item is removed from the food chain in such quantities but we weren’t able to establish what, if anything, fed off these things (apart from the Chinese that is). 

A single one, about the length of your lower arm, would pay them about $25. By the time it landed on a table in China, it could be worth several hundred. I think if a thing is alive or it moves (no matter how slowly), the Chinese will eat it. I’m so glad I was born into a middle class, first world Western environment.  The worst I can remember while growing up was my parents eating tripe however, they never forced it upon us as kids for which I am eternally grateful.

Drying in the sun

During our visit, the local chief arrived which gave us the opportunity to experience our first sevusevu.  The ceremony of sevusevu (not to be confused with the town of Savusavu) is an important custom which requires all visitors to a village or an island to make a presentation of kava root to the Turagini Koro or Chief.  It is a solemn ceremony in which the chief will welcome the visitors offering his protection and all reasonable assistance and allow free access to the village, the adjacent beaches, water and reefs which are considered village property.  Kava is the root which is ground and infused in water to make the local grog, a hallucinogenic muddy drink consumed in great quantities in much of the South Pacific. 

Chief Rata Chow (or at least that’s what it sounded like) went through the formal practice of welcoming us and gave us permission to wander anywhere within his domain which proved to be rather extensive. Oco treated us to bu, drinking coconuts that were excellent and thirst quenching so we settled in to learn more or their lives and customs.  During this time, it came out that his fibreglass dinghy is in need of patching so Paul has volunteered to fix it up for him once he’s found the necessary plug for the generator to run his angle grinder ashore.

The following day we hiked over to the village in the next bay with a barefooted Oco leading the way.  The chief had indicated that it was about an hour and half’s walk which then got revised to about 2 hours.  What is it with these Fijians, it took us 3 and a half hours!  We set off early with the low tide, trudging through fairly muddy, ankle deep waters for the first hour or so.  Once we got around the point, I was a tad horrified to see the village as a group of tiny dots in the far distance way over on the other side of the bay miles away.  We left the shoreline and headed into the jungle, onto a (sort of) path thick with mud and a zillion roots designed to trip you up on every step.  However, it really was very beautiful and we eventually got to a flatter, more open region where we passed plantations of cassava and taro in amongst thick tropical growth with the odd papaya and banana tree thrown in.

Weaving a floor mat

Eventually there it was, the village.  At this stage, we were advised to don our sulus, (sarongs) as it was considered inappropriate to wander around the village in shorts or to show much flesh.  Hats also had to be removed.  We then proceeded to take a slow walk through and around the village with all the village children rushing out shouting valangis valangis (white people). It proved to be a delightful spot, clean and very well maintained and, as with the rest of Fiji, very friendly.  During a heavy downpour, we were invited into one home to shelter and then shown the ladies weaving huge floor mats in another.  One of the reasons for embarking on this expedition was to get Paul a plug for his angle grinder so Oco rummaged around his village home and came up with a suitable solution.   

Mission accomplished, we were ready to head back. No, we didn’t have to trek back three and a half hours (with the rising tide, it would have been impossible anyway).  Kim for Auspice was with us on the way there and her husband, Jim, had come around in our dinghy so our transport was waiting.  It proved to be a very boisterous and wet trip back with five in the dinghy but it sure as hell beat walking all the way.  Need I mention that the rest of the day was spent in a very comfortable, horizontal position.

 PHOTO GALLERY:

Nitin demonstrates drying process

Hand woven floor mat

Oco prepares bu

And we drink it

Chief's house in bush

Hiking to village

Bundu (bush) bashing

Cassava Plantation

Tropical growth

Fijian Bure (house)

Arriving at village

Welcoming respite from rainy deluge

Ceremonial mats

Taveuni, Qamea & Laucala

Laucala Island

In our last blog when I mentioned that the next anchorage was just ‘over there’; that was true enough.  If it hadn’t been around a corner, it would have been in seeing distance. So then why did it take us two days to get there?

Well firstly, once we got outside the reef, we were in the Somosomo Strait which is the narrow channel between Vanua Levu and Taveuni Islands.  Due to the extensive reef outside our last anchorage, it makes the channel very narrow so with over 20 knots of wind from guess where, yup right on the nose, and 3 knots of current from the same damned direction, anything remotely described as ‘speed’ was out of the question.   

We had chosen Naselesele as our next stop with the anchorage on the northeast corner of Taveuni Island but, as we got to the point, a howling gale hit us with sufficient force to make us decide to turn around and high tail it out of there.  Besides, with the constant squalls and approaching evening, we couldn’t see a thing.  The distance that had taken us literally hours to achieve was swallowed up in the matter of minutes in the other direction. We anchored for the night half way down the island and the following day (which looked so much better) found us tacking back and forth against unfavourable winds and currents again but at least it was more achievable and we eventually dropped the hook just outside the tiny village of Mate.

There was one other yacht there, Auspice, so we joined up to hire a taxi to take us to the village of Lavena which offers an amazing hike running through the rain forest along the coastline.  The hike proclaimed to be three hours return so, being relatively fit and used to so many times being overestimated, we thought about two and a half should do it.  Ha!  Nearly five hours later, we arrived back at the beginning having had a fabulous excursion along the coast then up a river headed by a gorgeous waterfall.  The last stretch can only be reached by swimming up the river, into a sort of grotto, where two waterfalls fall into the same pool.  We loved it - so cool and refreshing and a magical setting.

The first waterfall that we swam to

On the return trip, we stopped at another waterfall, the first of three in that region but, it was now getting late and we’d done sufficient hiking for one day so one was enough.  A thoroughly enjoyable day.

 

A few days later, we moved farther east to a spot between the islands of Qamea and Laucala, a deep bay with coral reefs and heads spotted around the entrance and sides.  And just look at what Paul caught along the way!  Dinners in abundance!

Laucala is a privately owned island with stunning views from the 25 bures (the Fijian word for house), beautiful beaches and some of the most spectacular snorkelling imaginable. 

At first, we anchored in the bay off the steep slopes of Laucala where we could see nothing other than rain forest, but apparently they could see us and politely asked us to move farther away.  I guess three small cruising yachts were considered a bit of an eyesore to their clientele.  We then moved across the bay but Paul & I took the dinghy and went around to the north end where the resort was located.  Wow! What a place!

A little research taught us that the prices range from US$3800 - $8400 per unit per night (all inclusive), each have their own swimming pool and, of course, there would be the usual fitness/wellness facilities, private dining amenities, diving, horse back riding, jet skiis and anything else one can muster up.  However, if you feel that that doesn’t quite fit the bill, you could hire the hill-top unit for a mere $26,000 per night!

You, too, could stay here for only $26,000

Well, it was below this that we decided to do a bit of snorkelling.  We could hear someone yelling at us from above which probably meant that they didn’t approve, however, we had just chatted to the same chap who’d asked us to move the boats farther away and he seemed quite happy even indicating this as a good spot to snorkel. Besides, all the guests had left the night before – the resort was empty of the rich and famous.  Somehow those who can pay such prices seem to get the best of everything, as this was truly magnificent coral. 

The current between the two islands gets very strong at times so, the following day, we chose the outgoing current to drift-snorkel northwards across the reef.  What an amazing experience that proved to be.  It was a little like low flying over fields of colourful flowers with some very interesting inhabitants.  Quite spectacular.

This appears to be a very remote area as not many yachts visit and, on the east side of Qamea, there is literally only one house.  There are no roads and the chap who lives in the house can reach the village in the next bay only by boat or on horseback along the coast at low tide.  He has been sponsored by the Chinese to develop a business to dive for ‘bêche de mer’, which is the fancy name for the homely sea cucumber, more aptly nicknamed donkey turds.  These are salted, smoked and dried before being shipped over as a delicacy to China.  If you have ever seen a sea cucumber, you would have to ask yourself, ‘would I want to eat one of those hideous things salted, smoked and dried?’  My answer is an unequivocal NO! 

As I write this, the weather has turned foul.  The wind is howling, the rain squalls hitting us regularly and our anchor chain is rubbing and jerking on rocks making it somewhat disconcerting and uncomfortable but we’ll sit it out until is passes then move on to a new spot.  So much more to see.

PHOTO GALLERY:

Taveuni Rain Forest

Suspension Bridge on Hike

Lavena Village

Second Waterfall at Bouma

Our self-appointed guides

Village Munchkins

Relaxing along the way