Yasawa Islands
June went by in a blur. We were fortunate to have two groups of guests join us as we explored the Yasawa Islands twice. It had always been a dream of mine to visit these pristine islands. When we had planned to visit the Yasawa group in 2008, we didn’t get far before our fridge died, and we had to throw our food overboard before returning to Vadu Marina for repairs. This time, I was adamant we were going to finally make it north.
Fliss and Adam arrived in early June after spending a week in Singapore. After making it aboard a little dazed at 6.30 am, we celebrated with a shot of Seville, dropped our lines from the mooring and commenced our journey north. What was forecast to be a nice sail turned out to be a bit bumpier than expected, with a northerly swell right on our nose. Fliss was feeling a little unwell, so she enjoyed a well-earned nap.
Our first stop was Octopus Resort on Waya Island. Many of our anchoring choices are dependent on whether you need to go to the village for Sevusevu. Sevusevu is an informal ceremony where you present a gift (generally kava) to the chief. Once the ceremony has been performed, you are welcome to anchor, go to shore and snorkel on the nearby reefs. We don’t have an issue with performing the ceremony, but if you are passing through for a night, we look for anchorages that are not owned by a village…hence, bays with a resort are an easy option.
The next stop was the Blue Lagoon on Nanuya Island, with beautiful blue water, a white-sand beach, and welcoming locals. It isn’t a lagoon but is well protected from most wind directions. We later discovered that the movie ‘Blue Lagoon’ was filmed on a nearby beach, which is now an exclusive resort. The highlights of the bay were walks and sundowners on the stunning beach, cocktails at the local eco-resort, a Lovo, where the locals cooked an amazing dinner underground (similar to a hangi), and a walk across the island to Lo’s teahouse for surprisingly good doughnuts covered in chocolate sauce.
After several relaxing days, we motored the 11nm to Nabukeru Bay (cave bay), located on the southern end of the northernmost Yasawa island. We arrived on a Saturday, so once we anchored, we headed to the Sawa-I-Lau caves, since they're closed on Sundays. Simon kindly dropped us off at the cave entrance just as the guide, Ratu, was getting ready to return to his village. Fortunately for us, Ranu agreed to stay and take us through the caves. The first chamber was spectacular, with tall cathedral like walls enclosing the cave's natural pool. The water is refreshing as we jump in and admire the tranquil surroundings. It is then off on an adventure we go. The first underwater tunnel swim is a little scary, but Ratu was there to guide us to the next chamber. This chamber was completely dark, with only a torch to illuminate its hidden beauty. The acoustics were incredible, and I only wished I had a singing voice worthy of belting out a tune the reverberation would enhance… unfortunately, this was not the case.
We then had to do a bit of caving, through the pregnancy rock, to reach the third chamber. With my long legs, I managed to scramble up the steep cave face with Ranu's guidance. Fliss had to put her yoga practice to the test to reach some of the hand and foot holds. Once we all squeezed through the pregnancy rock (it was a little snug for my liking), we climbed down to the third, smaller chamber and back into the water. It had a small amount of light coming from a gap in the hillside. It was in this chamber that we spotted the resident red snapper, but no sign of the eel. It was a final tunnel swim back to the first chamber. We all loved the experience and agreed that it was well worth it. As an added bit of trivia, the Blue Lagoon cave scenes were filmed here.
After lunch, we took the dinghy over to the village to experience our first Sevusevu. We all put on our sulus (Fijian sarongs) to ensure we were dressed respectfully, with our knees covered. Watching Adam trying to walk the dinghy to shore while dealing with his sarong so it didn’t get wet, had me in fits of laughter…there is a very good reason why men don’t wear skirts 😊
We were met by one of the women who walked us through the village to the chief’s house. We were welcomed into his small one-room house, where we sat in a circle on a rattan mat. Simon presented the chief with the kava. He said a few words in Fijian, we clapped a few times, and that was pretty much it. As we returned to the beach, we were told the women were selling shell jewellery and items not made locally. It was all a little embarrassing, as they put a lot of effort into displaying the items, but we didn’t have any cash with us. When we returned to the beach, we were greeted by a man carrying a machete. The conversation turned awkward as we didn’t buy anything. Needless to say, we were relieved to be finally on our way.
The following day, we spent exploring the small beach that is only accessible by dinghy at high tide. We also snorkelled on the reef and were not disappointed.
Like all best-laid plans, the weather appeared to be changing for the worse, so we only had a few days left in the Yasawa before we had to head south. But we still had time for one more stop, Somosomo Bay, located in the northern bay of Naviti Island. We were expecting some wind and rain during the afternoon, and the bay looked like the perfect place for some protection.
After an easy 20nm motor sail, we arrived at our destination. We put the dinghy down and went ashore for Sevusevu. We were greeted by school children from the local kindergarten, along with Ben. Ben is the grandson of Chief Ben, who will be the next Chief. The ceremony was brief, and we donated a small amount of cash to help them continue building the Chief's new house. Walking through the village, the local ladies put out their wares. This time, after our first experience, Fliss and I bought a couple of ankle bracelets which seemed to make everyone happy. Simon bought some coconuts, which gave us plenty of entertainment while the young boys shimmied up the palm trees. Meanwhile, 16-year-old John flirted with Fliss and was extremely disappointed when he discovered her age. Back at the boat, it was lilo time until the sky turned grey and the rain washed the salt off the decks. A rainy afternoon is always welcome, with the cards coming out and Adam teaching us a new game as we enjoy a few well-earned cocktails.
The following day, we moved around the corner to One Dollar Bay. It gets its name from a long-since-abandoned backpackers' lodge that once operated in the area and famously charged travellers exactly one dollar per night. Now it is a quiet bay with white beaches, fringed by palm trees. What is underwater is even more spectacular, with some of the best snorkelling I have experienced in a long time. We spent several nights in this pristine anchorage before we headed south.
A low system was heading our way, and we needed to return to Muskat Cove to ensure we were well placed to get Fliss and Adam back to Denarau Marina the following week. Our sail down from One Dollar Bay was not too bad, so we decided to see how far south we could go to reduce the sail the following day when the wind and sea state would increase from the south, so we decided to stop at Vanua Levu. We had hoped to see the black tip sharks, but the day was overcast, so visibility was poor. We got the anchor down, and she dug in well in front of the reef. A large motorboat kept dragging and had to re-anchor several times. An Oyster yacht came into the bay but, after several unsuccessful attempts at anchoring, left for an unknown destination. It was a bit of a rolly night, even for a catamaran. We picked up the anchor just as the sun was up and continued south for 15 nm. The wind had already increased, and the waves were breaking over the bow as we bashed our way to Malolo. We were all relieved to reach the lee of Malolo and get the anchor down. G&T’s and burgers were next in order.
Our time in Musket Cove was spent enjoying the creature comforts the island has to offer, such as the resort pool, cocktails, and the best ham-and-prawn Hawaiian pizza. We celebrated Adam’s birthday at Lomani, an adults-only resort. By then, the rain had set in, and it was a very wet and muddy 20-minute walk to the resort. After changing into our finery, we enjoyed the food, wine and service, especially when the staff sang Happy Birthday to Adam. They even drove us back to Muscat Cove in their transport buggy as we sang along to 80’s tracks. That night, the wind kicked in, and we were seeing gusts of 40 knots. The wind continued the following day, but did not stop us from going to shore to have pizza one last time with Geoff from SiFar. It was a wild trip back in the dinghy as everyone stripped down to their bathers for the trip back to Felis.
The westerly wind back to Denarau propelled Felis across the ocean, for what was probably our calmest passage. After refuelling at the fuel dock, we picked up our mooring and headed to shore for our last meal with Fliss and Adam.
Provisioning :-)