| WELCOME TO ATTITUDE Neil & Kathy's Sailing Adventures |
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| Last Reported Position July 2011 Fiji |
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JUNE 25 2011-OCT 2011
New Zealand to Fiji 8 days 1150 NM
Al righty we are SO ready to head to warm weather and “beautiful” Fiji. Up the river we go to Marsden Cove where
we check out of NZ. All checked out & off we go past last buoy (few miles) and CRAP auto pilot says DRIVE STOP
Ok the good news we are still in “repair” range. Attitude does a UEY, we call Scott (our local electrician) nice he will
drive up to where we are and bring what he/we think we need (about 1 ½ hr. drive)$500 later we go out and NOPE..
Not it! Again we make a call, Scott suggests another part and Neil replaces the Auto Pilot Arm (a huge spare part we
never even had til we left Whangarei now that is good timing).Ok then Weather Window in a day or so off we go by
car BACK to Whangarei and have our bad auto pilot arm repaired. So it’s all good we will still have a spare (BETTER
NOT need it)
6-25-11 PASSAGE
I do night shift so I bundle all up I’m talking wool hats fleece, all foul weather gear even boots that have been sitting on
Attitude for 8 yrs. w/o use, and up I go, N had been hand steering cuz of high winds and really rough seas YIKES!
Calms down a bit N goes to bed. I had 35-40 knots all night FULL GALE and 5 meter seas, wow it was awesome,
Attitude did her thing and we kept on course. Thank goodness it was wind from behind!!! Now I can say I did Gale
Force winds! Squid and 3 large flying fish on deck this a.m.
29th sailing well for a few days wake up to a beautiful rainbow NOT BAD & shedding some layers only 1 jacket no
gloves!
7-2-11 NO wind so we practiced heaving to Amazing how that works and such a nice calm ride! All going well BUT
port cabin did get some water in it, I’m not naming names BUT someone was to put sponges in the dorades and did
not! HUMMMMM
7-3 first siting of Fiji sun coming up over Thankiva pass. Only a few skip jacks on this passage and we don’t even like
those ,their lucky day!
FIJI
Savusavu: old home week Boree is there to greet us with an air horn, True Companions & Australia 31 are also there .
All cleared in at boat but now need to go to hospital to pay 172 f$ for our “health clearance”. Taxi up to hospital walk
through ward , finally find a person she takes us to another ward(really people all in beds watching us go by) we knock
on a door wake a woman up and then walk back outside to a shed pay our $ and we are good to go. Off to the market
load up, buy important things like a dongle (to get internet) & Kava for the chiefs then pack away ALL winter clothes
and time to head out
Magongai: 7-8-11 great sail, 1 sm. fish tossed back. In Fiji women must have their thighs & shoulders covered, so
much for the sun dress huh! Plus when you greet people you must NOT wear a hat or sunglasses the other weird thing
is NO packs or bags on your shoulders you must put it in your hand .All these things are signs of respect that we tried
to remember as we Presented Kava to chief:
Yaqona, kava drinking ceremonies
As a guest in Fiji, you will frequently be invited to participate in one of the most common ceremonial and social customs
in the islands, the Kava Ceremony. The drinking of kava, or Yaqona, is quite common on social occasions. It is
regarded in Fiji as "the National Drink". In the past, Yagona was drunk only by chiefs.
Kava is made from the bare root of a pepper tree, pounded into a fine powder and then mixed with fresh water. Near
Matangi Island, the family grows and exports kava root to the United States and Europe for use in homeopathic drugs
and over-the-counter pills to aid in relaxation.
But in the Fiji Islands, the old customs still prevail. In fact, turning down an offer to drink a bowl of Yagona is
considered insulting in Fijian society. In traditional times, Yagona was prepared by young village girls, who chewed the
pieces of raw Yagona into a soft pulp before adding water. Today, the chief or head of the ceremony mixes the
powdered root with water in a large hardwood bowl, called a Tanoa, straining the root through a cloth to keep out the
grit. When it is ready, he claps with cupped hands to make a hollow "pop" sound.
Sitting crossed legged on the floor, guests are arranged in a circle. Each guest in turn is offered a bilo, a small bowl
made from half of a coconut, containing the liquid. He or she must clap before and after drinking. Honored guests are
served first, then others according to their status in the group. The drink should not be sipped. It should be drunk in one
continuous drink. The clapping of hands and the word "maca" signifies that you have properly emptied your bilo.
Kava has a pleasant calming effect on the body, while leaving the mind clear. Unlike alcohol, there are no hangovers.
Magongi island was a Leper colony with 5000 people from 1911-1969. Complete with outdoor movie wall and jail!
Now the big population is 23 and they raise clams for a research center. Neil did take the chief out spearfishing and we
lent the town some diesel for the generator. Even in a Small village it’s all politics. The chief had to wait for a check to
come to him then go to the nearest Village to buy diesel the check is to come every mo. BUT… ya know. No diesel, no
lights! We took a nice walk to the other side of island to see the school, 2 hrs. plus walk for us but the kids do it every
day, I’m sure faster than a bunch of “old” cruisers. Best class ever was tooth brushing! 1 kid leads tells them, all in a
line, when to brush when to sip and when to spit way too cute. Unfortunately all Colgate products!!(Not P&G). Talking
to an Elder we learned he has the kids play “store” because there is NO store and the kids would not learn currency
w/o this game. On our walk we met some guys harvesting Copra(dried coconut meat).These guys go out at low tide to
where ever, work all day(husking the coconuts) wait for high tide, make a raft pile all the harvest on and walk/swim
back to the village. Now it’s a 30min walk on path so I have no idea how long it took them to get back around the pt.
AWE FIJI LIFE……
Nananu-I-Cake: nice 9 hr sail with spinnaker, but no fish anchored in a mangrove bay
Vatia Bay, We just anchored for the night.
Lautoka: Customs get paper wk. out of the way, we needed a permit for the Yasawa & Mamanuca islands .Walked
into town to top up food and buy some more Kava! Lautoka is a major port for sugar cane, trucks piled high that had
been sent in from the fields
Denarau: very nice “touristy” place, restaurants resorts & shops. We grab a mooring and make a plan to get to the
airport to pick up Jarrid ( I’m not allowed to call him mr anymore he is 14 and that was a request)This will be his 8th yr.
on Attitude !
7-18-11
Mamanuca Islands, Malolo: grabbed a mooring in Musket cove again kind of tourist resort place. Jarrid (still mr to me)
caught and filleted a good size Walu (Spanish mackerel) boy was it delicious! Did the B-BQ thing, N went for a dive
(my reg was not working) snorkeled but the water is cold. Lots of crown of thorn starfish, which is a shame cuz they eat
the reef and are really hard to kill or get rid of, N did stab a few and we kayaked a bit. Enough of tourist places.
Although J was happy one shop had dvd for 1 buck!
Yasawa Islands:
Navadra: Now this is Fiji Jarrid said as we anchored! Ok so he is getting the idea!Beautiful Sm Island sandy beach no
people no houses .Perfect we even had a nice lg turtle say hi. A bit of a roll, so we put a stern anchor out, which was a
real pain to take up.
Eori Island: took a 15 min dinghy ride around reef to check out Eori .NO way could you dinghy in so we anchored and
swam against the current and waves into shore. Poor J his fin broke but we all made it. Did some climbing and shelling,
while gpa and J had Major sword fights. Although not too fair gpa had a huge tree while J had a piece of bamboo.
Naviti Island:
Cuvu bay Very calm motor & crystal clear water I’m on deck looking out and see a fin but can’t figure out what it is.
WOW it’s a single 12 ft. hammer head. Right next to Attitude! He circled us and then left. AWESOME but of course I
did not get camera up fast enough darn. Manta Ray resort, so we read and heard this is the pass where Mantas hang
out. In the dinghy we go drop in the water and the current carries us. We hang on the dinghy and watch. NO mantas we
try 5 or 6 passes. Oh well we did see sea snakes, moray eel, sling jaws , Coconut Octopus , painted spiny lobster
which J pointed out to us & lots of butterfly fish.We took a very rough dinghy ride to SoSo bay, beautiful long beach
with cliffs to climb but no great shells. Gpa and J did do a nice long jog back to dinghy. Glad gpa has someone to play
with!
Exploring all of Naviti we took Attitude to the N end of island anchored in SomoSomo bay. J caught another Walu,
good thing he is on board! Neil went spearfishing while J & I did the beach thing. There is a path marked on an OLD
map where you can cross the island and snorkel to see an old plane wreck. We looked around a bit for that as well.
Moved Attitude over to Narewa Bay just for the day (very rock and rolly ) while we take path to other side to see the
wreck. So 40 min to FIND the path & 45 min to hike through an almost path we made it. Here we see the sweetest
little 80 yr. old lady weaving and making brooms, which she gave me one of! Clarata pointed us in the direction to look
and off we went. Story goes she has been there since she was 5, an American soldier was showing off and his wing
clipped a palm so he went down. Figures right! Ok so not much of a plane to see in maybe 7ft of water But there were
2 lion fish to see! The “hike” back was the real adventure. We ended up in the bush even Vicky from True
Companions was karate chopping trees with her feet just to move forward. Thank goodness we found some oranges
we were all thirsty and our water was long gone. Our 45 min turned into 1 ½ hrs. to get back, at one pt. N was up
ahead and we (J, me Vicky & Steve) mutinied cuz we kept saying it was the wrong direction! J pulled us through and
finally we found the beach again yippee! 10 min. and lots of yelling into the bush for N he found his way out too The
adventure continues since we had to drag our dinghy over the coral it was LOW LOW tide. Poor Steve slipped and cut
his leg all up. Hum wonder if they will go hiking with us again??
Matacawalevu Blue Lagoon
J caught another fish, too sm he was thrown back! Blue Lagoon is civilization, resorts and restaurants. Cruiser grape
vine, needing fresh (veggies and fruits) Boree told us of a farm another cruiser told him about that will sell to cruisers.
Awesome we dinghy around the pt. looking for a pass in the mangroves, climb a muddy hill and meet Miri ,Dukie &
their 2 kids Jojo and Milly. Wow did we cash in tons of very fresh veggies and met a really nice family. Another hike,
this time a REAL path over to a tea house, well that’s what they called it. Up and over a hill to other side of island
beautiful view passed a few homes and even an outside guest room. As we walk down the back side we see lots of
smoke. A few locals were trying to burn a bit of brush but the wind took it and now they were fighting a fire NEXT to
their houses, which are palm and wood! “Can we help?” No all under control as they are standing in the flames with a
rake, ok we move on.
8-10-11
Time to head back to Denarau for J to fly home. Vomo Island where a very fancy exclusive resort is has a nice
anchorage on the other side good place to stop and only a few hrs. away from Denarau. We called in to see if we could
come over to their restaurant for dinner. NO all booked sorry, hum N even said sailing yacht Attitude instead of just
sailing vessel and they can’t see us on this side. 2 people swim out and around Attitude we chat they say you should
come in. Ha we say we tried they are booked …NO way you should have just come in. I guess we were not good
enough! We did see 3 seaplanes and a few helicopters land, even with my binos I never got to see who was getting in
and out, lots of luggage and help though. I wonder????J .& N did a nice hike up the mt to check out the view
So J’s last day his special treat is to skydive! All hooked up we leave go to a beach and wait. So cool to see your
grandkid coming down from the sky. Always a joy to open his eyes to new experiences, cultures and countries can’t
wait til the other 5 are old enough to come.
8-13/9-1
I’m playing grammy in the states while N works away on Attitude, I told him to go play but he varnished away for 2 ½
weeks, wow what a good guy
SEPTEMBER
I’m back time to play some more, but 1st paper work! We take a bus to Lautoka from Denarau (local bus stopping
every 2 or 3 mins. But hey good way to see real parts of Fiji for sure) go to customs for our permit to head south.
Seems we need to go to Immigration for a different paper. Walks 20 min to office ask girl at counter NOPE we don’t
do that anymore you have to go to Suva, which is NOT close. Ok I talk to her and another younger girls comes over
she asks again and they go back and forth Finally girl #1 says ok we don’t do this but I will send it there by email come
back tomorrow for it. Cool! We did find a nice local Chinese restaurant to eat at near the bus station so not all bad
Lautoka Again but this time Ingi & Bert on Boree went with us. What do you know we walked in and the nice girl had
it all ready we did not even have to wait. Back to customs got all our proper stamps to cruise south and we head for the
bus. Planning on jumping off the bus at Vuda pt marina to see Imagine, Stuart and Shelia, since they are not going back
to NZ and we may not see them for who knows. A taxi guy offers us a great deal so we taxi there which was good cuz
the walk from the bus stop to the marina was a LONG one. Nice lunch and sad good byes back on the bus we go to
Denarau, but we are now all legal and good to go.
LIKURI island Robinson Crusoe resort. We went in for a Lovo and dance show. Really one of the best we have seen
in the Pacific. The show NOT the food! Neil had a nice surprise while showering on the transom; a banded sea snake
was waiting for him on the step! Well guess who did NOT shower on the transom that night (ME!)
Lovo: are traditional indigenous Fijian banquets where food is prepared in and underground oven. A hole is dug in the
ground & stones are put inside & heated by an open fire. The food-whole chickens, legs of pork, stuffed palusami
(meat or corned beef, onion and lolo) or dolo is wrapped in banana leaves and slowly half-baked and half steamed on
top of the hot stones.
Sovi bay for a day and on to YANUCA, in Beqa Lagoon with 4 fishing lines out and 2 noise makers.. NO LUCK.
Yanuca is a really pretty bay with good snorkeling, had squid at our boat. There we met Joseph, N &J went lobster
hunting on the reef and we tasted our 1st kava really it was not bad numbs your tongue for sure! The women in the Bure
(house) gave me a seed necklace a coconut shell bracelet. Went exploring about 1 mi by dinghy to sm sand spit(bird
Island) Fabulous shell hunting True Companions went out with us and Vicky & I just kept circling the island as it was
low tide so we always found new shells ea time we went around.. My kind of shelling!
Kadavu & the Great Astrolabe Reef
SOLODAMU A real surprise, we did not go into shore and only saw 1 village we thought with a few houses. A sailing
dinghy with 2 kids came by “the village is waiting for you” What village? Seems there was a nice village with a “store”
and farms with fresh stuff. AWESOME. In we went, presented our kava to the chief, he asked if we wanted some.
Sure we said so we watched as they pounded, cleaned, mixed with water & strained quite a process. A lg. beautiful
Tanoa (wooden kava bowl) was used, we were told in this village they do things the traditional way although Vicky and
I were allowed to drink. Great day full of Kava and fresh eggplant, bok choy, tomatoes, peppers, papaya & coconuts.
VUNISEA few stores and even a post office on a hill with a beautiful view, this is the only “town” on Kadavu. Cool we
go in and find out we can order from the mainland. Nice we order important things like diet coke and popcorn and are
assured they will come in with the boat on Wed., well its only Monday so we take Attitude to hang on the reef a bit.
HA a bit more wind out there than we thought after 40 mins. of rock and roll and 30 knots we head back to Vunisea
but hey we had dolphins on the bow which I have not EVEN seen in Fiji so it’s all good. Spent a few days here: market
day was interesting one guy all dressed up serving kava in the morning, did a long 4 hr walk checking out the place and
beaches BUT we never did get our diet coke ,even after ordering from 2 different people. But if you went up to the
post shop you could use internet!
Ono:
NAGARA: great sail from Kadavu. Dinghy in to present our Kava lots of sm. boys playing in the water dragging plastic
ice cream cartons on strings(boats) very cute all help us in and introduce themself to Neil. Presented our Kava to Leslie
as he sat in a towel just out of the shower, whatever! By now we have a following of at least 14 kids as we are given a
tour of the school and village with a few original homes or Bures.
I always have pencils, whistles and bouncy balls so we really were a big hit. Sitting back on Attitude I kept hearing
something in the water I though OHHH dolphin but finally spotted a huge turtle just cruising along, poor old guy was
really breathing heavy, never gets old I was thrilled. The next morning we were given papaya and scones, well really
some kind of bread, still it was a nice gesture. Also ended up giving Paul, local guy, few gallons of gas for a few
coconuts, hum not quite even but we do like coconuts! Snorkeled, kayaked and fished pretty beaches, a few good
shells but N had no luck with fish. Around the pt. from Nagara is KoroMakawa resort owned by Spenser and Karen
from the U.S. Now this is a fabulous place on a beach 1 place to rent with 2 bedrooms splash pool fantastic view and
even a massage table in the unit for your daily massage! Spenser takes people diving, snorkeling or even to a private
island for a meal on the beach. The house they built for themselves is beautiful, modern and has a spectacular view,
Wow N & I thought we could do this, after we can’t move around so fast on Attitude anymore anyway HA
OCTOBER-
Buliya Island: presented out sevusevu(kava) in meeting house, where all the women were working on a huge mat. We
were told the men make them lunch on days they do weaving and offered to join, we declined this time. Walked the
beach at low tide, great shell day lots of cones! From past readings you know we like to anchor close to reefs well we
did it again! The tides are big here compared to the Atlantic so all of a sudden we are in 9ft so we take up some chain
and wait a bit but it’s also storming and lightening big time and of course we end up on deck to re anchor! The storm
went by w/o bothering us or True Companions, but not until the next afternoon so like good sailors all our electronics
were in the oven or microwave ,just in case.
Kayaked around Vurolevu island looking for the manta rays (we are told they are there) No mantas but saw a beautiful
Lg. ray jump and hung out with a turtle for a while ,well until she saw me and took off. It’s about 5 pm now and Im
rounding the W side of the island watching some birds but man that one looks like a BAT. Tons of them, flying foxes or
fruit bats buzzing around and hanging on the tree ICK these suckers have a 3ft wing span eeewww.
Snorkeling on the reef was really good, turtles, big fish and beautiful coral and giant clams. We also had a few curious
black tip and white tip sharks come check us out. After lunch drifted into beach to hunt shells, met Joe the preacher (the
locals find it easier to tell us there name is Joe or Bill because their real name is usually a toughy so almost everyone is
Joe ) who was out cutting Cassava and Bill a very nice local guy. Bill &Maggie invited us to dinner at their home for a
local feast, boy was it Cassava (tavioka) taro (daol), boiled taro leaves (rourou), boiled eggplant and fish baked in
coconut cream (lolo) Clams and crabs all in lolo..Most was really good! Tons of food so Vicky asked do you have a
refrigerator for left overs? Maggie just laughed and said you’ll see no leftovers. As soon as we all said we were done
men started to arrive and ate. Soon we had 6 men eating and people at the door asking and taking bowls. Maggie feeds
all of Bills family and they were thrilled we were there so it was a special treat.
DRAVUNI: Boys went in to present sevusevu, I was really sick (maybe all the good food in Buliya!) We had 5 days of
rain so lots of our small projects got done. Finally cleared up and Manoa came by with a huge painted spiney lobster 10
F or$5 U.S. delicious. Finally had a chance to explore, out to the reef N shot some fish, hunted a beach found another
nautilus shell, we are liking this place! Early a.m. hanging in the cockpit I watched dolphin for an hr plus. So fun to
watch I think it was moms and their babies, they just kept going back and forth and the little ones would do well then
start flapping their flippers a making noise, awe kids.Headed out to Usborne Pass to fish and snorkel. BEAUTIFUL
coral, lots of filefish, triggerfish, groupers, butterflyfish and even a few sharks.. AHH we finally found the kind of place
we were looking for! Checked out Herald pass also, giant moray, humphead parrots and tons of fish I can’t I.D (yet).
Plus one strange pink “thing” while N was spear fishing this thing was swimming along it was about 6ft long and we
cannot find it in any books. I say it looks like an old dryer hose HA
NORTH ASTROLABE REEF: a 3mi. x4mi atoll w/ a lighthouse in the middle. We took Attitude up there anchored on
the N side close to the reef. Seems like this would be “the Place” for lots of fish. We did see a nice white mouth eel and
Neil shot a good size sweet lips but we decided after a few days of exploring we liked the area near Dravuni better.
NAMARA: our kind of place. Absolutely beautiful,rainbow over the island and all. White sandy beaches, nice volcanic
rock formations, clear water full of wonderful live coral and fish. We spent a week here exploring Namara,Yanuyanu-i-
sau ,Yanuyanu-i-ioma,and Qasibale, the island Neil wants to buy! All these islands are close and we kayaked around
them to fish and hunt shells on the beaches. Turtles in the bay a few days and I never got tired of the view, the water
colors were spectacular! Well they say leave the best for last. We could have stayed here months, but need to head to
Suva buy new batteries for Attitude, stock up and watch for weather windows! Time is a ticking and it will soon be
cyclone season so we need to head back to New Zealand. BUT finding this magical place we may come back up to Fiji
next yr. Neil was very serious about Qasibale island , we circled the sucker and he took a million pics, ha ya never
know!!
New Zealand to Fiji 8 days 1150 NM
Al righty we are SO ready to head to warm weather and “beautiful” Fiji. Up the river we go to Marsden Cove where
we check out of NZ. All checked out & off we go past last buoy (few miles) and CRAP auto pilot says DRIVE STOP
Ok the good news we are still in “repair” range. Attitude does a UEY, we call Scott (our local electrician) nice he will
drive up to where we are and bring what he/we think we need (about 1 ½ hr. drive)$500 later we go out and NOPE..
Not it! Again we make a call, Scott suggests another part and Neil replaces the Auto Pilot Arm (a huge spare part we
never even had til we left Whangarei now that is good timing).Ok then Weather Window in a day or so off we go by
car BACK to Whangarei and have our bad auto pilot arm repaired. So it’s all good we will still have a spare (BETTER
NOT need it)
6-25-11 PASSAGE
I do night shift so I bundle all up I’m talking wool hats fleece, all foul weather gear even boots that have been sitting on
Attitude for 8 yrs. w/o use, and up I go, N had been hand steering cuz of high winds and really rough seas YIKES!
Calms down a bit N goes to bed. I had 35-40 knots all night FULL GALE and 5 meter seas, wow it was awesome,
Attitude did her thing and we kept on course. Thank goodness it was wind from behind!!! Now I can say I did Gale
Force winds! Squid and 3 large flying fish on deck this a.m.
29th sailing well for a few days wake up to a beautiful rainbow NOT BAD & shedding some layers only 1 jacket no
gloves!
7-2-11 NO wind so we practiced heaving to Amazing how that works and such a nice calm ride! All going well BUT
port cabin did get some water in it, I’m not naming names BUT someone was to put sponges in the dorades and did
not! HUMMMMM
7-3 first siting of Fiji sun coming up over Thankiva pass. Only a few skip jacks on this passage and we don’t even like
those ,their lucky day!
FIJI
Savusavu: old home week Boree is there to greet us with an air horn, True Companions & Australia 31 are also there .
All cleared in at boat but now need to go to hospital to pay 172 f$ for our “health clearance”. Taxi up to hospital walk
through ward , finally find a person she takes us to another ward(really people all in beds watching us go by) we knock
on a door wake a woman up and then walk back outside to a shed pay our $ and we are good to go. Off to the market
load up, buy important things like a dongle (to get internet) & Kava for the chiefs then pack away ALL winter clothes
and time to head out
Magongai: 7-8-11 great sail, 1 sm. fish tossed back. In Fiji women must have their thighs & shoulders covered, so
much for the sun dress huh! Plus when you greet people you must NOT wear a hat or sunglasses the other weird thing
is NO packs or bags on your shoulders you must put it in your hand .All these things are signs of respect that we tried
to remember as we Presented Kava to chief:
Yaqona, kava drinking ceremonies
As a guest in Fiji, you will frequently be invited to participate in one of the most common ceremonial and social customs
in the islands, the Kava Ceremony. The drinking of kava, or Yaqona, is quite common on social occasions. It is
regarded in Fiji as "the National Drink". In the past, Yagona was drunk only by chiefs.
Kava is made from the bare root of a pepper tree, pounded into a fine powder and then mixed with fresh water. Near
Matangi Island, the family grows and exports kava root to the United States and Europe for use in homeopathic drugs
and over-the-counter pills to aid in relaxation.
But in the Fiji Islands, the old customs still prevail. In fact, turning down an offer to drink a bowl of Yagona is
considered insulting in Fijian society. In traditional times, Yagona was prepared by young village girls, who chewed the
pieces of raw Yagona into a soft pulp before adding water. Today, the chief or head of the ceremony mixes the
powdered root with water in a large hardwood bowl, called a Tanoa, straining the root through a cloth to keep out the
grit. When it is ready, he claps with cupped hands to make a hollow "pop" sound.
Sitting crossed legged on the floor, guests are arranged in a circle. Each guest in turn is offered a bilo, a small bowl
made from half of a coconut, containing the liquid. He or she must clap before and after drinking. Honored guests are
served first, then others according to their status in the group. The drink should not be sipped. It should be drunk in one
continuous drink. The clapping of hands and the word "maca" signifies that you have properly emptied your bilo.
Kava has a pleasant calming effect on the body, while leaving the mind clear. Unlike alcohol, there are no hangovers.
Magongi island was a Leper colony with 5000 people from 1911-1969. Complete with outdoor movie wall and jail!
Now the big population is 23 and they raise clams for a research center. Neil did take the chief out spearfishing and we
lent the town some diesel for the generator. Even in a Small village it’s all politics. The chief had to wait for a check to
come to him then go to the nearest Village to buy diesel the check is to come every mo. BUT… ya know. No diesel, no
lights! We took a nice walk to the other side of island to see the school, 2 hrs. plus walk for us but the kids do it every
day, I’m sure faster than a bunch of “old” cruisers. Best class ever was tooth brushing! 1 kid leads tells them, all in a
line, when to brush when to sip and when to spit way too cute. Unfortunately all Colgate products!!(Not P&G). Talking
to an Elder we learned he has the kids play “store” because there is NO store and the kids would not learn currency
w/o this game. On our walk we met some guys harvesting Copra(dried coconut meat).These guys go out at low tide to
where ever, work all day(husking the coconuts) wait for high tide, make a raft pile all the harvest on and walk/swim
back to the village. Now it’s a 30min walk on path so I have no idea how long it took them to get back around the pt.
AWE FIJI LIFE……
Nananu-I-Cake: nice 9 hr sail with spinnaker, but no fish anchored in a mangrove bay
Vatia Bay, We just anchored for the night.
Lautoka: Customs get paper wk. out of the way, we needed a permit for the Yasawa & Mamanuca islands .Walked
into town to top up food and buy some more Kava! Lautoka is a major port for sugar cane, trucks piled high that had
been sent in from the fields
Denarau: very nice “touristy” place, restaurants resorts & shops. We grab a mooring and make a plan to get to the
airport to pick up Jarrid ( I’m not allowed to call him mr anymore he is 14 and that was a request)This will be his 8th yr.
on Attitude !
7-18-11
Mamanuca Islands, Malolo: grabbed a mooring in Musket cove again kind of tourist resort place. Jarrid (still mr to me)
caught and filleted a good size Walu (Spanish mackerel) boy was it delicious! Did the B-BQ thing, N went for a dive
(my reg was not working) snorkeled but the water is cold. Lots of crown of thorn starfish, which is a shame cuz they eat
the reef and are really hard to kill or get rid of, N did stab a few and we kayaked a bit. Enough of tourist places.
Although J was happy one shop had dvd for 1 buck!
Yasawa Islands:
Navadra: Now this is Fiji Jarrid said as we anchored! Ok so he is getting the idea!Beautiful Sm Island sandy beach no
people no houses .Perfect we even had a nice lg turtle say hi. A bit of a roll, so we put a stern anchor out, which was a
real pain to take up.
Eori Island: took a 15 min dinghy ride around reef to check out Eori .NO way could you dinghy in so we anchored and
swam against the current and waves into shore. Poor J his fin broke but we all made it. Did some climbing and shelling,
while gpa and J had Major sword fights. Although not too fair gpa had a huge tree while J had a piece of bamboo.
Naviti Island:
Cuvu bay Very calm motor & crystal clear water I’m on deck looking out and see a fin but can’t figure out what it is.
WOW it’s a single 12 ft. hammer head. Right next to Attitude! He circled us and then left. AWESOME but of course I
did not get camera up fast enough darn. Manta Ray resort, so we read and heard this is the pass where Mantas hang
out. In the dinghy we go drop in the water and the current carries us. We hang on the dinghy and watch. NO mantas we
try 5 or 6 passes. Oh well we did see sea snakes, moray eel, sling jaws , Coconut Octopus , painted spiny lobster
which J pointed out to us & lots of butterfly fish.We took a very rough dinghy ride to SoSo bay, beautiful long beach
with cliffs to climb but no great shells. Gpa and J did do a nice long jog back to dinghy. Glad gpa has someone to play
with!
Exploring all of Naviti we took Attitude to the N end of island anchored in SomoSomo bay. J caught another Walu,
good thing he is on board! Neil went spearfishing while J & I did the beach thing. There is a path marked on an OLD
map where you can cross the island and snorkel to see an old plane wreck. We looked around a bit for that as well.
Moved Attitude over to Narewa Bay just for the day (very rock and rolly ) while we take path to other side to see the
wreck. So 40 min to FIND the path & 45 min to hike through an almost path we made it. Here we see the sweetest
little 80 yr. old lady weaving and making brooms, which she gave me one of! Clarata pointed us in the direction to look
and off we went. Story goes she has been there since she was 5, an American soldier was showing off and his wing
clipped a palm so he went down. Figures right! Ok so not much of a plane to see in maybe 7ft of water But there were
2 lion fish to see! The “hike” back was the real adventure. We ended up in the bush even Vicky from True
Companions was karate chopping trees with her feet just to move forward. Thank goodness we found some oranges
we were all thirsty and our water was long gone. Our 45 min turned into 1 ½ hrs. to get back, at one pt. N was up
ahead and we (J, me Vicky & Steve) mutinied cuz we kept saying it was the wrong direction! J pulled us through and
finally we found the beach again yippee! 10 min. and lots of yelling into the bush for N he found his way out too The
adventure continues since we had to drag our dinghy over the coral it was LOW LOW tide. Poor Steve slipped and cut
his leg all up. Hum wonder if they will go hiking with us again??
Matacawalevu Blue Lagoon
J caught another fish, too sm he was thrown back! Blue Lagoon is civilization, resorts and restaurants. Cruiser grape
vine, needing fresh (veggies and fruits) Boree told us of a farm another cruiser told him about that will sell to cruisers.
Awesome we dinghy around the pt. looking for a pass in the mangroves, climb a muddy hill and meet Miri ,Dukie &
their 2 kids Jojo and Milly. Wow did we cash in tons of very fresh veggies and met a really nice family. Another hike,
this time a REAL path over to a tea house, well that’s what they called it. Up and over a hill to other side of island
beautiful view passed a few homes and even an outside guest room. As we walk down the back side we see lots of
smoke. A few locals were trying to burn a bit of brush but the wind took it and now they were fighting a fire NEXT to
their houses, which are palm and wood! “Can we help?” No all under control as they are standing in the flames with a
rake, ok we move on.
8-10-11
Time to head back to Denarau for J to fly home. Vomo Island where a very fancy exclusive resort is has a nice
anchorage on the other side good place to stop and only a few hrs. away from Denarau. We called in to see if we could
come over to their restaurant for dinner. NO all booked sorry, hum N even said sailing yacht Attitude instead of just
sailing vessel and they can’t see us on this side. 2 people swim out and around Attitude we chat they say you should
come in. Ha we say we tried they are booked …NO way you should have just come in. I guess we were not good
enough! We did see 3 seaplanes and a few helicopters land, even with my binos I never got to see who was getting in
and out, lots of luggage and help though. I wonder????J .& N did a nice hike up the mt to check out the view
So J’s last day his special treat is to skydive! All hooked up we leave go to a beach and wait. So cool to see your
grandkid coming down from the sky. Always a joy to open his eyes to new experiences, cultures and countries can’t
wait til the other 5 are old enough to come.
8-13/9-1
I’m playing grammy in the states while N works away on Attitude, I told him to go play but he varnished away for 2 ½
weeks, wow what a good guy
SEPTEMBER
I’m back time to play some more, but 1st paper work! We take a bus to Lautoka from Denarau (local bus stopping
every 2 or 3 mins. But hey good way to see real parts of Fiji for sure) go to customs for our permit to head south.
Seems we need to go to Immigration for a different paper. Walks 20 min to office ask girl at counter NOPE we don’t
do that anymore you have to go to Suva, which is NOT close. Ok I talk to her and another younger girls comes over
she asks again and they go back and forth Finally girl #1 says ok we don’t do this but I will send it there by email come
back tomorrow for it. Cool! We did find a nice local Chinese restaurant to eat at near the bus station so not all bad
Lautoka Again but this time Ingi & Bert on Boree went with us. What do you know we walked in and the nice girl had
it all ready we did not even have to wait. Back to customs got all our proper stamps to cruise south and we head for the
bus. Planning on jumping off the bus at Vuda pt marina to see Imagine, Stuart and Shelia, since they are not going back
to NZ and we may not see them for who knows. A taxi guy offers us a great deal so we taxi there which was good cuz
the walk from the bus stop to the marina was a LONG one. Nice lunch and sad good byes back on the bus we go to
Denarau, but we are now all legal and good to go.
LIKURI island Robinson Crusoe resort. We went in for a Lovo and dance show. Really one of the best we have seen
in the Pacific. The show NOT the food! Neil had a nice surprise while showering on the transom; a banded sea snake
was waiting for him on the step! Well guess who did NOT shower on the transom that night (ME!)
Lovo: are traditional indigenous Fijian banquets where food is prepared in and underground oven. A hole is dug in the
ground & stones are put inside & heated by an open fire. The food-whole chickens, legs of pork, stuffed palusami
(meat or corned beef, onion and lolo) or dolo is wrapped in banana leaves and slowly half-baked and half steamed on
top of the hot stones.
Sovi bay for a day and on to YANUCA, in Beqa Lagoon with 4 fishing lines out and 2 noise makers.. NO LUCK.
Yanuca is a really pretty bay with good snorkeling, had squid at our boat. There we met Joseph, N &J went lobster
hunting on the reef and we tasted our 1st kava really it was not bad numbs your tongue for sure! The women in the Bure
(house) gave me a seed necklace a coconut shell bracelet. Went exploring about 1 mi by dinghy to sm sand spit(bird
Island) Fabulous shell hunting True Companions went out with us and Vicky & I just kept circling the island as it was
low tide so we always found new shells ea time we went around.. My kind of shelling!
Kadavu & the Great Astrolabe Reef
SOLODAMU A real surprise, we did not go into shore and only saw 1 village we thought with a few houses. A sailing
dinghy with 2 kids came by “the village is waiting for you” What village? Seems there was a nice village with a “store”
and farms with fresh stuff. AWESOME. In we went, presented our kava to the chief, he asked if we wanted some.
Sure we said so we watched as they pounded, cleaned, mixed with water & strained quite a process. A lg. beautiful
Tanoa (wooden kava bowl) was used, we were told in this village they do things the traditional way although Vicky and
I were allowed to drink. Great day full of Kava and fresh eggplant, bok choy, tomatoes, peppers, papaya & coconuts.
VUNISEA few stores and even a post office on a hill with a beautiful view, this is the only “town” on Kadavu. Cool we
go in and find out we can order from the mainland. Nice we order important things like diet coke and popcorn and are
assured they will come in with the boat on Wed., well its only Monday so we take Attitude to hang on the reef a bit.
HA a bit more wind out there than we thought after 40 mins. of rock and roll and 30 knots we head back to Vunisea
but hey we had dolphins on the bow which I have not EVEN seen in Fiji so it’s all good. Spent a few days here: market
day was interesting one guy all dressed up serving kava in the morning, did a long 4 hr walk checking out the place and
beaches BUT we never did get our diet coke ,even after ordering from 2 different people. But if you went up to the
post shop you could use internet!
Ono:
NAGARA: great sail from Kadavu. Dinghy in to present our Kava lots of sm. boys playing in the water dragging plastic
ice cream cartons on strings(boats) very cute all help us in and introduce themself to Neil. Presented our Kava to Leslie
as he sat in a towel just out of the shower, whatever! By now we have a following of at least 14 kids as we are given a
tour of the school and village with a few original homes or Bures.
I always have pencils, whistles and bouncy balls so we really were a big hit. Sitting back on Attitude I kept hearing
something in the water I though OHHH dolphin but finally spotted a huge turtle just cruising along, poor old guy was
really breathing heavy, never gets old I was thrilled. The next morning we were given papaya and scones, well really
some kind of bread, still it was a nice gesture. Also ended up giving Paul, local guy, few gallons of gas for a few
coconuts, hum not quite even but we do like coconuts! Snorkeled, kayaked and fished pretty beaches, a few good
shells but N had no luck with fish. Around the pt. from Nagara is KoroMakawa resort owned by Spenser and Karen
from the U.S. Now this is a fabulous place on a beach 1 place to rent with 2 bedrooms splash pool fantastic view and
even a massage table in the unit for your daily massage! Spenser takes people diving, snorkeling or even to a private
island for a meal on the beach. The house they built for themselves is beautiful, modern and has a spectacular view,
Wow N & I thought we could do this, after we can’t move around so fast on Attitude anymore anyway HA
OCTOBER-
Buliya Island: presented out sevusevu(kava) in meeting house, where all the women were working on a huge mat. We
were told the men make them lunch on days they do weaving and offered to join, we declined this time. Walked the
beach at low tide, great shell day lots of cones! From past readings you know we like to anchor close to reefs well we
did it again! The tides are big here compared to the Atlantic so all of a sudden we are in 9ft so we take up some chain
and wait a bit but it’s also storming and lightening big time and of course we end up on deck to re anchor! The storm
went by w/o bothering us or True Companions, but not until the next afternoon so like good sailors all our electronics
were in the oven or microwave ,just in case.
Kayaked around Vurolevu island looking for the manta rays (we are told they are there) No mantas but saw a beautiful
Lg. ray jump and hung out with a turtle for a while ,well until she saw me and took off. It’s about 5 pm now and Im
rounding the W side of the island watching some birds but man that one looks like a BAT. Tons of them, flying foxes or
fruit bats buzzing around and hanging on the tree ICK these suckers have a 3ft wing span eeewww.
Snorkeling on the reef was really good, turtles, big fish and beautiful coral and giant clams. We also had a few curious
black tip and white tip sharks come check us out. After lunch drifted into beach to hunt shells, met Joe the preacher (the
locals find it easier to tell us there name is Joe or Bill because their real name is usually a toughy so almost everyone is
Joe ) who was out cutting Cassava and Bill a very nice local guy. Bill &Maggie invited us to dinner at their home for a
local feast, boy was it Cassava (tavioka) taro (daol), boiled taro leaves (rourou), boiled eggplant and fish baked in
coconut cream (lolo) Clams and crabs all in lolo..Most was really good! Tons of food so Vicky asked do you have a
refrigerator for left overs? Maggie just laughed and said you’ll see no leftovers. As soon as we all said we were done
men started to arrive and ate. Soon we had 6 men eating and people at the door asking and taking bowls. Maggie feeds
all of Bills family and they were thrilled we were there so it was a special treat.
DRAVUNI: Boys went in to present sevusevu, I was really sick (maybe all the good food in Buliya!) We had 5 days of
rain so lots of our small projects got done. Finally cleared up and Manoa came by with a huge painted spiney lobster 10
F or$5 U.S. delicious. Finally had a chance to explore, out to the reef N shot some fish, hunted a beach found another
nautilus shell, we are liking this place! Early a.m. hanging in the cockpit I watched dolphin for an hr plus. So fun to
watch I think it was moms and their babies, they just kept going back and forth and the little ones would do well then
start flapping their flippers a making noise, awe kids.Headed out to Usborne Pass to fish and snorkel. BEAUTIFUL
coral, lots of filefish, triggerfish, groupers, butterflyfish and even a few sharks.. AHH we finally found the kind of place
we were looking for! Checked out Herald pass also, giant moray, humphead parrots and tons of fish I can’t I.D (yet).
Plus one strange pink “thing” while N was spear fishing this thing was swimming along it was about 6ft long and we
cannot find it in any books. I say it looks like an old dryer hose HA
NORTH ASTROLABE REEF: a 3mi. x4mi atoll w/ a lighthouse in the middle. We took Attitude up there anchored on
the N side close to the reef. Seems like this would be “the Place” for lots of fish. We did see a nice white mouth eel and
Neil shot a good size sweet lips but we decided after a few days of exploring we liked the area near Dravuni better.
NAMARA: our kind of place. Absolutely beautiful,rainbow over the island and all. White sandy beaches, nice volcanic
rock formations, clear water full of wonderful live coral and fish. We spent a week here exploring Namara,Yanuyanu-i-
sau ,Yanuyanu-i-ioma,and Qasibale, the island Neil wants to buy! All these islands are close and we kayaked around
them to fish and hunt shells on the beaches. Turtles in the bay a few days and I never got tired of the view, the water
colors were spectacular! Well they say leave the best for last. We could have stayed here months, but need to head to
Suva buy new batteries for Attitude, stock up and watch for weather windows! Time is a ticking and it will soon be
cyclone season so we need to head back to New Zealand. BUT finding this magical place we may come back up to Fiji
next yr. Neil was very serious about Qasibale island , we circled the sucker and he took a million pics, ha ya never
know!!
