Hi All,
We are loving Vanua Balavu. And yes, we have internet after a week or so with out. It was a little painful going through the internet withdrawal but once we got through the “hole” we found there was still life sans internet…..we did not go exactly cold turkey, we still had emails via the SAT phone:)))) But before I get into what we have been doing, we have a few questions to answer. We have had some questions about what is a sula and sevusevu. Below is a response Kathy sent Leslie and Terry on Orient Moon:
A sulu is a large rectangular piece of fabric that is wrapped around the waist and tied, covering the knees on men and knees and calves on women. The missionaries did their jobs very well throughout the Pacific, convincing the heathens to cover up their perfectly comfortable, non-sweating naked bodies with uncomfortable, sweaty clothing. They are still extremely conservative, especially here in Fiji. Their customs and traditions are kept in the tribal communities and it embarrasses them no end to view other’s “nudity”. So, as a matter of respect for their customs and for them, it is important to dress appropriately whilst in their villages. That includes wearing sulus, a collared shirt for men, and a shirt covering the shoulders for women. It also is disrepectful to wear hats or sunglasses while visiting the village, and all bags must be held in the hand, not slung over a shoulder. Shoes (sandals) should be removed when entering any dwelling.
Yaqona is the root of a pepper plant that is used to make the traditional Fijian Kava. It is hugely important in their culture and nothing is ever discussed/decided without a bowl of kava. Perhaps that’s why it takes them so long to make decisions! 😉 Anyway, it is traditionally offered to the chief in a sevusevu, a ceremony asking permission to visit the village and anchor in the waters (Unlike us, all waters, reefs, lands, beaches, etc. are owned in Fiji, and one must ask permission to anchor anywhere, as a matter of respect). If they accept your sevusevu, you become as a villager, and gain the protection of the chief and his clan while you are there.
So that’s the Reader’s Digest version, anyway…..If you’re interested, there’s much to be found on the internet, as Fijian culture is still very much tribal and traditional. I’m sure if you google it, lots of info will pop up!
We have also had questions as to why we are a little puckered (even John has a JSP factor, John Sweaty Palms) about all the reefs (haven’t we navigated reefs before???) and don’t we have good navigation charts. Here is another explanation written by Kathy, but bottom line, the Fijian charts are very outdated and consequently, suck (a navigational technical term:))))):
On the reefs here in Fiji, the problem is that the electronic charts are based on the paper charts that exist, and so many of them date back to the time of Capt’s Cook and Bligh! They did a remarkable job but there was (of course) no GPS back then, so when you try to apply their charts to our modern gps methods, the end result is chart that is way off! So, most of the close in navigation is done by eyesight, from high up (I usually go up on the flybridge to watch while John steers from down below) so that you can “read” the waters and see the shallow areas and reefs. If the lighting is poor, or if it’s a very cloudy day, it can be a problem to be able to see well enough to avoid the hard stuff……And there’s SO MUCH hard stuff in Fiji!! There are reefs everywhere, that pop up out of no-where! Sound like fun? 🙂 There was another boat yesterday that we heard hit the reef coming into the atoll where we are, Vanua Balavu. Ugh, ugh, ugh!! And, some very good friends hit a reef in Viani Bay (where we were with Craig & Jeanette) and a person we just met in Savusavu hit a reef and is stuck on it in New Caledonia…..yikes!!!!!
Vanua Balavu: We love it!!!!! The topography is somewhat different…..kind of like a miniature Marquesas and Niue…..there are densely covered islands with very steep to cliffs, not very many beaches…..the rock is coral and volcanic, similar to Niue with lot’s of interesting rock formations….the island is characterized by steep undercut cliffs, with fertile volcanic soil. In the Bay of Islands there are these small mushroom shaped islets that are quite stunning…..maybe like in Thailand, but much smaller?????
We anchored in several places…..Bay of Islands, Batavu Bay, Little Bay and Susui. In the Bay of Islands we mainly rested, worked on the watermaker (installing the booster pump we picked up in Taveuni), and taking dinghy tours in amongst the little islands. On one of the tours we disturbed a nest of fruit bats…..100’s of them were sleeping in the trees and then maybe 30 of them started swarming around….not very happy w/the tourists….sorry. I will have to say that almost every where we have been we have seen quite a display of the fruit bats….aka flying foxes…..they awaken around dusk and fly off in search of their favorite fruit tree so we have had many a cocktail watching these very interesting creatures!!!
Batavu Bay is another bay surrounded by lush hills and very calm waters. This is where Tony Philp (owner of Vuda Point Marina and Copra Shed Marina in Savusavu where we took a mooring) has a plantation and a yacht club outpost. They have built stairs up to the top of the ridge (272 stairs, record is 56 sec…..I was close….yeah right….NOT:))))) and from there you walk into a small village of 10-12 people who work the plantation, although we would call it a ranch as they raise cattle, sheep, horses and pigs to sell to the local villages around Vanua Balavu. There is also a hike to a lookout over the Bay of Islands our previous anchorage and the views are stunning, as well as a lookout over Batavu Bay!!
Also at Batavu Bay, Stan and Val on Buffalo Nickel caught up with us. We first met S&V when they were looking at Selenes back in 2004….they eventually bought a Selene 53, Pax Nautica. They were based in Ventura CA and when we came down the coast in 2007 we cruised some with them in the Channel Islands. They have since sold their Selene and bought a Dashew FPB 64. We had opening ceremonies on their boat and then the 2nd night we had a sushi dinner on Mystic Moon…..we had the yellow fin tuna we had caught in early May as we approached Fiji….yummers…..and we served Stacey’s (sv Bella Vita) recipe of black and white sesame seared tuna…..just out of this world delicious….thanks Stacey!!! It was somewhat a surreal occasion for the four of us as we were both first time boat owners when we bought our Selenes and now here we are cruising the South Pacific…..yes, we are very blessed indeed!!
Next was very lovely Little Bay. We anchored in the outer bay and dinghied in the inner bay…..a very large lagoon….we read the USA had a seaplane base in the inner lagoon in WWII….it was a very secure location but there are no signs that the military was ever here…..the jungle has covered up all evidence!! We also did a dive….pretty good, some coral storm damage but the largest cabbage/lettuce coral patch we have ever seen….bigger than the one on Rainbow Reef…..whoa….of course, no GoPro….we were diving on our own so Kathy wanted me completely focused on the dive.
Next we came to Susui today, an island near the Tongan pass which is the one we will use to leave this area and head to the Southern Lau Group, specifically Fulanga. There is a good trawler weather window opening next Wed-Thurs which we plan to take to passage to Fulanga (~120nm, 17 hrs-ish, 7 kts). This will be our last beamy to headwind passage and we are very much looking forward to going downwind after that!!!We will leave late afternoon on Wednesday to arrive early Thursday morning as we need to time the Fulanga entry pass as close to slack as possible. And, we are very much looking forward to joining up with Andy and Sue on Spruce, whom we haven’t seen since Whangarei and shared many an anchorage and dives with last year!!!
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
Susui Vanua Balavu Fiji
Bay of Islands
Little Bay
