Viani Bay - Taveuni Jan - Mar 2017

This was our third and final season in Fiji and we decided to spend as much time sailing and diving as possible.  Some of the best sailing conditions occur during the Cyclone season and we had as of yet not taken advantage of that.

   Our first season we spent in the Pit at Vuda Marina which facilitated getting a lot of boat worked done and providing lots of time for land touring.  Last year we sought safety in Savu Savu which is a well-protected anchorage when Cyclone Winston was circling Fiji.  We were there when the local weather station blew away at 300 + km/hr.

   This year we left Savu Savu just as the January rains began and spent the following 6 week out on the Rainbow Reef and adjacent anchorages.

   It was spectacular.  We spent time with friends Eric and Lynne and their two wee doggies Chui and Scrumpy and they are just as cute as they sound, on their sailing cat Amarula.

 

   Lucky for Gary, Eric and Lynne are both accomplished sailors from South Africa and excellent divers.  Gary loves to dive and when he meets fellow divers (and especially ones with their own air compressor) let the fun begin…we had a lot of fun diving this spectacular reef.  We saw a range of sea coral, some bleaching, but mostly healthy and we were encouraged to see the abundance of sea life.    

   One day we were especially lucky to end up in the middle of a pod of Giant Manta rays.  Of all the creatures we have seen in the diving, these gentle giants bring a dimension of ballet to the ocean.  They are so amazingly graceful as they glide effortlessly thru huge swooping turns feeding all the while and without any apparent fear of our presence.  They stayed with us for some time, but aside from their intentional passes, they are much too fast to swim with.  We quickly took turns in the water, each of us trying get that elusive camera shot, and like your automobile mirror says…objects may appear closer than they are. 

    Regardless, it is something special to see these 10 foot wide   sea creature swimming toward you with his 3 foot mouth wide open and into which you could easily fit…and so thankful that you know it is only filter feeding on plankton, the smallest of all marine animals.  What a treat! 

   While anchored in the new bay…we met Chris and Scott who had just purchased 40 acres of property fronting on this beautiful bay.  We were reminded again of how small the world is when we learned they are fellow Canuks from the same province (BC) where Kaija and I lived before our Nomadic Cruising Lifestyle began. 

   We dove the adjacent reef to their property and discovered a large number of Crown of Thorns.

 

   These nasty starfish are as prickly as they sound.  They also destroy the reef.  Kaija and I spent many days scouring and removing these predators of the coral life.

 

   Our new friends Chris and Scott had never sailed, so we took a quick day trip across to Somo Somo on Taveuni Island. 

We were so close to the 180 meridian we hired a cabby to get us there and he got lost…but we had fun and a lot of giggles. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of Chris and Scott’s workers in a nearby village invited us to his son’s 4^th Birthday Party.  Kaija made her famous Chocolate Pound Cake.  Being from Finland she grew up with a tradition of hiding money inside the cake.  So she did this with the little boys cake, and then had explain to the parents what she had done…which at first they did not understand, but quickly grasped the concept  and told the children they had to be careful eating the cake…who did not quite grasp the reasons why and so you could see their dilemma in their faces trying to figure out whether to just dive in and eat the cake or whether it was going to harm them. It all turned out well, once the money was discovered and the candles were gone, the happy kids demolished that cake.

 

   Meanwhile Gary, Scott, Chris and Kaija had joined the village menfolk who were busy enjoying their traditional Kava ceremony, which is what they call this weekly, or nightly (if they have enough Kava…a root that is pounded to powder then added to taste to water, giving a mild gum numbing affect…but is cumulous and the affect increases with usage) otherwise to the 4 newbies it was a rather tasteless watery gritty favorite like drinking a cup of water with sand in it.  It is apparently an acquired taste.  

   Once again we were faced with the parting with new friends.  We said our goodbyes to Scott and Chris with an invitation extended for Kaija to visit them at their ranch in BC.  We had a beautiful day for a perfect sail back to Savu Savu for provisions and more good byes.