Continuing their Fijian voyage as they head for New Zealand to wait out the cyclone season, Maria and Allen Wadsworth’s latest report details some of the many protected and beautiful anchorages they visited in Fiji after leaving Savusavu on the island of Vanua Levua.

FIJI

Vanua Levu

Coconut Point anchorage

We anchored in seven metres and there were live coral patches here.  Don’t anchor near the pier as the ships come and moor up in the night and need a large area to turn around. The lights are very bright.
 We didn’t go ashore, just used this as a stopping point on the way to Volivoli.

Viti Levu

Volivoli resort

Anchored in 15 metres in mud. The holding was good here.
 We went ashore and put the dinghy on their dock. You need to go to reception and check in, but we didn’t have to pay any fee. The receptionist said the fee is for people from other resorts in the area, not for cruisers. You can use the pool and the restaurants and they would like two hours notice if you want to have dinner.

Bekana

We anchored at Bekana anchorage, there are a few boats on moorings here too.  We  took the dinghy to the mainland where the ferry takes people backwards and forwards to Bekana island. There is a channel that is marked with a stick that goes up the side of the sewer outhaul pipe! There is no dock but we tied the dinghy to the rocks and paid $5 to the lady who works for the ferry service to watch the dinghy for us.  There were some rubbish bins near the main walkway and we were told we could use these.

Lautoka


Great for provisioning, good super markets, good fresh market. You can walk there, it’s only 10 minutes but plenty of taxis available if you want to buy lots of groceries and get a ride back to the dock.

Denarau

We anchored out and took the dinghy to the marina, the dinghy dock is right opposite the fuel pontoon.
You should go into the marina office and pay $10 per (24hours) day to keep your dinghy there, this fee includes leaving your rubbish, they have recycling bins too. You can also use the laundry room ($6 per load, $6, per drier) , tokens available at the marina office.  Showers are also available. If you want to get an access card you need to pay a deposit of $30 or you can just ask the staff to let you in.

There’s a good stocked supermarket here, although the fruit and vegetables are a bit more expensive than the market in Nadi.  
The Yacht Shop is well stocked and they were very helpful.
A great Indian restaurant here.  
We also ate at Lulu’s restaurant.  
Other eateries include Fijian, Mexican, Italian and a sea food restaurant.

We got the (yellow) bus to Nadi which takes about 15 minutes.  The bus stop is outside the coffee shop/ takeaway stand. You pay when you get off. It was $1.61 each way.  We got dropped off at the end of the line ( bus station)  in Nadi and caught it on the way back at the same place. There are other yellow buses that go to Lautoka but they have clear signs in the front.  You can also get the bus back from outside the “Jacks” store but if it’s in the afternoon and the schools are out then best to go to the bus station as you’ll get a seat.

Nadi


You can get most things here.  We needed some odd batteries for some gadgets and managed to get them here. We also went to the fresh market, it was similar to Lautoka but maybe a little smaller. There are also supermarkets but didn’t find one as big as in Lautoka.

Yasawas

Waya Island – Yalobi Bay

We anchored here for the night but the wind changed direction during the night and it got really horrible, put us in a lee shore. We didn’t get off the boat and had to leave early the next morning. There was no internet connectivity here at all .

Waya Island – Nalauwaki  Bay

Nice protected bay on the north of the island. You need to do sevusevu* here, they also showed us around the village. They put on a show for us in the evening and we paid $20 each . It was really worth it but make sure you have the right money because they didn’t seem to give change. It was only an hour or two and there were lots of boats in the bay so many people attended. Watch the tide here when you put your dinghy on the beach, you may come back to find you have to drag it out a fair distance. The locals will sell you fruit if you ask. Papaya was about $5.
 There’s a concrete path that joins Octopus Resort, to the village. The resort is cruiser friend.

Drawaqa Island

We anchored in about 17 metres and dolphins came in and swam around the boats. We went to snorkel with the manta rays in the pass but the water was a little murky, it did clear a bit but we still didn’t see any. There are also some mooring balls for dinghies near a coral patch and you can snorkel there.

Somosomo Bay

We anchored in bay next to the village. You don’t need to go to the village if you anchor here but we took the dinghy as we wanted to see the village. We were shown around by Marrian and she took us over to the chief where we did sevusevu* and she showed us around. She also gathered the local people to sell us trinkets, mats and jewellery.

She offered to get us fruit and then we were invited for breakfast the next day. She makes delicious bread in a pot and we drank tea and chatted with her father in law (Watty). The day before they asked if we had any empty jars or plastic bottles. They make honey here snd asked if we wanted some. Such a lovely family and we were so glad we went to the village. The dinghy was stranded on the beach when we went back and some locals came over and helped us drag it back to the water.  They asked if we could tell the other boats to come around to the village, if all the boats anchor in the other bay and don’t go ashore at the village then they don’t get a chance to sell their crafts.
The snorkelling in our anchorage was great.

Maria and Allen Wadsworth
SV Jamala

*Before entering a village, visitors must first gain formal permission from the chief. This traditional protocol is otherwise known as sevusevu and involves the presentation of kava to the village chief on arrival.

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Follow their voyage at:

www.untilthebuttermelts.com

Update from Jamala from their blog:

We’re running a bit late

When we set off from England, we genuinely thought we would be back home after five years with our feet up and the telly on – adventure done and some salty yarns in our repertoire to share with anyone with open ears. So sure were we of our timings that we drew up our expected dates in each country on a world map for everyone to see at a party at our home six months before we left. According to that map, we should have been on our sofa glaring at a widescreen in 2022.

Six years on, somewhere between Vanua Levu and Viti Levu, we made it halfway around the world. We have been idling along at less than half speed. If we carry on at this rate, we won’t be back until 2029. But who knows? We certainly don’t. There could be another pandemic; it might be challenging to transit some areas because of political instability, or the weather could become even more unpredictable. Or it might be that we like somewhere so much that we want to stay longer, as with French Polynesia. Or we might get a move on.

We have met people who have taken twenty years to complete their circumnavigation and some who have whizzed around in three. We stand a fair chance of being somewhere between the two. But as long as we enjoy it and can do it, we will continue blundering our way around the world.

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