&^$#@+#*&%@$!!!!!!!!!

Guess what!  My bl**dy camera (the replacement one I got just over a year ago) DIED!!!!!  Ask me if I’m more than just a little annoyed!!!!!!  I babysat the damned thing, made sure it never was out of its case for more than necessary and this is how it repays me.  Why can’t they build something that lasts?  Oh, I can answer that one myself:  they’re all made in China, considered disposable and are programmed to keel over just after the warranty period is over!!  I’M NOT HAPPY!!!!!

OK, enough of the muttering and complaining.  We have moved down in a southerly direction through a few reefs and islands since leaving Savusavu and had some wonderful sailing.  The first stop was southwest to the tiny island in Namena Barrier Reef, a marine reserve.  The snorkelling there was outstanding.  We saw lots of huge groupers and magnificent healthy corals.  Paul’s spear gun trigger finger was itching terribly but as it was a reserve he had to control it. 

Next we had a perfect beam reach sail down to Makogai Island that is also a reserve.  Makogai is a former leper colony that was home to more than 5000 lepers until 1969 when it eventually closed down.  Now there are only 6 families living amongst the ruins of the colony, all of whom are working on a wonderful project.  

The old cinema

When touched, it  zaps shut

An open giant  clam

When we went ashore, the chief took us around this fisheries project where they are growing giant clams to replenish and re-establish these species in the reefs around Fiji. It was such a pleasure to hear of something being put back into the sea instead of forever being taken out.  They were all very excited that day as the huge clam they’d brought ashore had spawned so they were busy doing whatever it is they do to make sure that the eggs are fertilised. 

The village kiddies with the clam troughs behind

There were troughs aplenty filled with tiny developing clams of varying sizes and outside the village, we dived in their protected area where there were dozens of these huge chaps.  I’d never seen such enormous ones other than in photos before this.  

Apparently there are quite a few different species but, apart from the colouring, I wouldn’t have a clue what the differences are.

In the evening the following day, we went ashore again to do sevusevu with the chief and join in their kava drinking ceremony.  It’s a great way to meet the villagers and a great atmosphere but still, you can keep the kava – not my cup of tea.

After a couple of days, we pulled up anchor to sail down to Levuka on the island of Ovalau.  The wind had picked up and wasn’t in the direction predicted so we were unable to lay the entrance to Levuka.  Instead, we headed towards a pass on the northwest side then motored clockwise inside the reef to get to the anchorage. Choosing the alternative route gave us a nice fast sail but it was somewhat bouncy when we eventually dropped the hook outside the village church.

One of the reasons we pushed ahead to get to Ovalau was in the hopes of finding somewhere to watch the Rugby World Cup final on Sunday.  We sailed down with another boat, Cariad, who have relations on the island and when we arrived, they invited all of us to watch the game over at their house which is great.  Unfortunately, this means that we'll have to move over to the other side of the island where they live for just a day and then return here on Monday to check in with the authorities.  If its possible, perhaps it would make more sense to take a bus back over to check in as we believe it's a much nicer spot on the other side.

PHOTO GALLERY:

This batfish followed Paul all the while he was scraping the hull

Giant  clams at  the dock

With the Chief sporting his Springbok rugby jersey

Oops, we're at Rabi Island

After leaving Budd Reef, we headed out through the western pass towards Rabi Island, pronounced Rambi, (another quirk in the way Fijians pronounce things).  Light winds took us to the Florida Reef where we had to drop the sails to wend our way through the intricacies of that maze to reach the north end of the island.

By the time we got around to the top to find our way into Albert Cove (led in by a pod of dolphins) and the little settlement of Motawa, the sun was in our eyes; something that is definitely not advisable when one is trying to negotiate complicated reef areas.  The information that we had on our charts was far from detailed so, oops, we hit an unmarked reef lying across the bay in front of the anchorage area.  We hadn’t been able to see it at all until it was too late. We were stuck!

Fortunately, we’d been going really slowly, just in case, but we could only see worse every which way we looked so had to get out of there.  Somehow, Paul managed to spin ourselves around and, bit by bit, moved towards deeper water.  We were worried about a falling tide but, in the end, we worked ourselves loose and away from it.  A local fishing boat came by to show us that we had to head further over to the west end where there was an opening to in get behind. 

Once we’d dropped the hook, Paul dived to see what damage we’d incurred and returned to report that, apart from the aft end of the bottom of the keel, the part that he’d just repaired whilst on the hard in New Zealand, all else was fairly intact.  Just a few annoying scratches.  Also, the reef we hit was fairly dead – I’d been concerned about the damage we’d done to that. 

From the stories that are told at various gatherings of ‘yachties’ it’s fairly evident that ‘kissing the ground’ is certainly not uncommon and if one says otherwise, he’s probably lying.  We’ve touched bottom several times but this is only the second time in seven years that we’ve hit something hard and sustained some damage.  The first being as we headed into Cartagena in Colombia and hit the ancient underwater wall built to stop marauding fleets hundreds of years ago.  We consider ourselves fortunate when we compare ourselves to so many others who have either lost their boats or received some major destruction.  However, it’s still very nerve wracking at the time.

Marianna & Terry

Motawa proved to be a gorgeous little settlement with some incredibly wonderful and hospitable people.  The first thing one learns about Rabi is that it is not inhabited by Fijians.  All the people who live on this island are from Banabas otherwise known as Ocean Island in the Kiribati group (formerly called the Gilbert and Ellice Islands).  The entire population of Banabas was removed after the British destroyed the island.  It was discovered in earlier years that the island was rich in phosphate, in fact some 20 metres deep in guano.  The islanders signed a 99 year contract at ₤50 per annum, to allow the collection of the phosphate but, before long, they had removed so much, there was nothing left of the island; they had dug down to bare coral rendering it uninhabitable.  Through negotiations, Fiji offered them resettlement on Rabi Island. The greater percentage of the population was moved there in 1945.  The last resettled as recently as 1983.

Despite living in Fiji, they maintain their own language (Gilbertese) and have a different appearance to the Fijians. There are some intermarriages but, unless through marriage, no non-Banabas are allowed to live on Rabi.  We were still struggling to get past the hellos, thanks and goodbyes in Fijian and had to start all over again in Gilbertese.

We first met Terry and Marianna, with their daughter-in-law Bau, who immediately invited us into their home, a lovely tropical thatch-roofed dwelling with reed mats and bamboo walls.  Later, after a bit of a tour along the beach to the hot springs, Terry took us to meet Banea, a very interesting character.   Some ten years ago, Banea suffered a stroke that paralysed his legs.  He was told that he’d never walk again but refused to stay in hospital, choosing to move somewhere where he’d be able to swim.  He moved to remote Motawa and was carried into the water every day so that he could exercise.  He now walks with a bit of a limp but his calf muscles are good and strong and he’s incredibly active.  When we went to visit them on the second day, Terry was walking out of the water with an enormous stingray over his head and shoulders that Banea had speared.  A most remarkable recovery.

Terry pounding the kava

On that day, we shared in another kava drinking ceremony and, feeling somewhat mellow and soporific, exchanged stories for many hours.  It gave us quite an insight into the history of the Banaban people and the way that they are now living.  Rabi is a beautiful island so, despite the fact that they have ostensibly been cheated out of adequate recompense for the upheaval they endured and the destruction of their original home, they feel very lucky to be living here.  The land is fertile which enables them to grow almost everything they need and the surrounding sea is full of fish.  Besides clothing, their only needs seem to be sugar, salt, rice and, occasionally, flour.  They even make a flour out of the cassava that they grow.  Nothing is safe though.  As we were sitting there, a crab sauntered by, zap, he was soon in a bucket awaiting the pot.

A few days later, we said our fond farewells and moved on over to the next bay where we were able to walk to the village of Nuku.  I was desperate for some flour as I hadn’t been able to make bread for a while.  It was almost four kilometres to Nuku which wouldn’t have been that bad but it was an extremely hot day and the route offered little or no shade so we were somewhat warm by the time we got there.  It had been our plan to buy flour, coke, beer and eggs but this was definitely not a hypermarket; they had flour but no coke, no beer and no eggs. Oh well, at least I could make bread again and will enjoy those drinks even more when we finally get to some form of civilisation.

We stopped at another bay on the south side but decided not to stay long as the waters were a bit muddy therefore no snorkelling.  Several of the village children rowed out to us. They were fascinated with the way we lived and asked a million questions.  Too cute, two of the boys dashed off when they heard that we liked drinking coconuts, climbed a palm and returned with two for us. 

We sailed through more reefs towards another spot that showed an anchorage but, upon arrival, discovered that there was a pearl farm (a minefield of buoys everywhere) and nothing less than about 30 metres, far too deep to anchor.  As there was still time, we chose to continue on to Viani Bay, the bay we’d stopped at after leaving Savusavu.

In Viani Bay, we met up with the local honcho, Jack, again who brought us a basketful of fresh fruit and vegetables.  These people are amazing.  We would have loved to stay longer but it’s time to get back to Savusavu so we only stayed the one night before moving on to Dakuniba Bay where we bumped into Auspice again.

Our planned one night stopover panned out to two as we went aboard Auspice for dinner and Jim brought out the rum and home-made rice wine.  After that, an early start the next day didn’t appeal anymore.

 PHOTO GALLERY:

Preparing the kava

Bau outside her home

Banea with their cigarette sticks

And anti-smoker Paul  giving it a try

Look what was hiding under the sleeping platform

Marianna demonstrating how 'toddy' is made from the coconut flower

Bau cooking the stingray

Our little Rabi visitors

Collecting our breakfast fruit

Budd Reef

At Budd Reef, we met up again with Auspice.  They had arrived the day before and managed an invitation for us to the village the following day to (guess what) - watch the rugby.  And to make this one very special, Fiji was playing again and this time it was against South Africa!

Here we met Will, a wonderful erudite Fijian, his wife, Betty and 10-month old son, Alex, as well as his father (the chief), mother and many others.  What a delightful family and everyone is related in some shape or form. 

 

The game was really exciting.  Fiji was trounced by SA –sorry Fiji – and this time ‘when in Rome’ went out the window; Paul wore his SA rugby shirt and I waved the flag.   

This was followed by dinner at Will’s house as Betty had prepared a smorgasbord of a feast for us, all traditional Fijian fare – ever so good.  Fijian hospitality is definitely something to write home about.

 

Another fish caught on the way, this time a dog-toothed tuna, so

no sooner had we dropped anchor, when Auspice and Will joined us for some sashimi then a couple of days later had Auspice over again for sushi.  We’re loving all this fresh fish and so does the freezer.

We have now been in Fiji for two months but, ‘til now, had not experienced a kava drinking ritual.   

The English Oxford dictionary describes kava as such:

kava (/ka:və/

■n

(mass noun) a narcotic sedative drink made in Polynesia from the crushed roots of a plant of the pepper family.

 In an earlier blog insertion, I had mentioned the sevusevu ceremony which is performed with each chief in the various locales.  The kava root that we presented to the chief of this island was then pounded to a powder, placed into a cloth then soaked and squeezed to obtain a concoction that can only be described as mud.  A bowl, or half coconut shell, is then deferentially passed around with lots of ceremony and hand clapping.   

The first thing one feels (after getting over the shock of the repugnant taste of the stuff) is a slight tingling of the lips and tongue and, if sufficient is consumed, a very intoxicated and relaxed sensation.  This is quite amusing as, in Fiji, alcoholic drinks are highly discouraged but kava is drunk in enormous quantities everywhere rendering those who consume vast amounts as written off from any meaningful work for the rest of the day - they simply get high then fall asleep.  Verdict: leave me to my wine any day thank you very much.

This was one of those occasions where we, or rather Paul, was able to step in to help.  Will’s boat was in desperate need of repair and Paul set about fixing the various holes with fibreglass.  The boat is his livelihood so he was certainly very appreciative.  While still in Qamea, Paul had spent a few days repairing old Oco’s dinghies as well so, all in all, there are a couple of Fijians with much safer vessels around now.  Will gave us a huge lobster in thanks, along with a stalk of bananas and some papayas so we were thrilled.

Auspice’s Jim is a dentist so, despite the fact that, a couple of days later, we’d moved over to another island, Cobia, a few miles away, a boatload of villagers arrived at his stern all suffering from various stages of painful teeth.  By the time a tooth gets to that stage in this part of the world, it’s usually beyond saving so the morning saw him pull four teeth and a much happier boatload returned.  It’s wonderful that the guys are able to help out in this manner.

Cobia (pronounced Thombia - they really do have a strange way of enunciatiing things here) is an old volcanic ring of an island surrounding a large crater open to the sea on the northeast side.  It’s only residents are wild goats.  We had a fabulous hike to the top after a fairly scary start (for me anyway) as the rocks were steeply sloped with few good footholds.  Someone had placed ropes in some areas but it seemed to me that those were just where they weren’t needed whilst there were none where they would have been rather helpful.  Despite this, it was a great hike with magnificent cycads growing all over the rocky slopes and great views down into the crater and over to the islands and reefs beyond.  

After a few more days, Auspice headed off in one direction and we in another.  We're hoping to meet up again when we return to Savusavu which will have to be fairly shortly as we are getting exceedingly low on food and have had no beer or wine for over a week now - that, I may add, is devastating!

 

PHOTO ALBUM:

Will entertaining us

Will's Mom pounding the kava

View from his living room

 

Preparing the kava

Just too far

 Scenes around the islands (compliments of Auspice):

The crater

Dog tooth tuna - great  eating

Nukumbasanga Reef

  

World Cup Rugby has begun and we are in a rugby-mad part of the world.  For those who aren’t in the know, it’s taking place in New Zealand this year and Fiji is quite an avid rugby playing nation while South Africa is the reigning champion, so…..  let’s see if we can find a TV set somewhere.

We left Qamea and sailed back to Mate on Taveuni in order to buy a few provisions and search for that TV.  Well, what better locale than a neighbourhood bar serving pizza and to make it even more exciting, Fiji was playing.  We decided ‘when in Rome’ so cheered on the Fijians who gave a convincing win over Namibia.  I think we were more excited than the local crowd but then we haven’t seen TV for so long, not to mention a rugby game, so it was quite something for us.  We were with our friends, Kim & Jim from Auspice who are Americans but Jim is sports mad and was really keen to watch and learn.

Off the next morning to a tiny atoll northwest; Nukumgasanga.  I defy you to find this one on

Google Earth – you won’t, it’s just too remote and too damned small.  We had no decent charts or information but this is where the chaps from Qamea are diving up the sea cucumbers so we decided to have a look-see.  Talk about the road less travelled – this is most definitely off the standard route.

Upon arrival, we found two gorgeous islands and the scariest maze of coral heads through which we had to wend our way to the inner lagoon to anchor.  I will take a bet that no keel boats have ever anchored there before.  We followed one of the dive boats in twisting and turning through tiny channels with coral ‘bommies’ everywhere.  A tad nerve-wracking to say the least but, once inside, we safely anchored in five metres with a sandy bottom. 

The chaps had set up a temporary camp and had a large dive compressor so we were able to go for a dive and have our cylinders filled – what a luxury.  For trade, we gave them water – fair deal, water for air!   

Paul had caught a really nice sized tuna en route as well as a barracuda so we gave the latter to them too.   The tuna went a long way to replenishing the freezer.

Our strolls around the islands were delightful.  There were nesting birds everywhere, primarily boobies and frigates with their oh so cute fluffy babies.  We learned later that these islands had been overrun with rats until quite recently.  The Fijian government sent in a couple of helicopters which sprayed poison and, voilá, no more rats, leaving it a safe and sheltered nesting ground for the birds. They are now protected bird sanctuaries. 

The only negative was that it was so rolly that I suffered a little with regards to sleep (Paul sleeps through anything) so after five days, we gathered up our nerves to wind our way back out through the labyrinth with Paul up at the bow and me on the helm with very shaky knees, sucking in breath trying to make Calypso thinner.  We didn’t hit a thing but some of those coral heads were mighty close!

Once clear, we had a wonderful sail crossing right through Ringgold Reef and on over to Budd Reef. 

PHOTO ALBUM:

Oco selecting drinking coconuts

And us enjoying them

Baby Frigate

Only a few days old

You've got to admit -I'm cute!

Family  resemblance?