Minerva Reef and Fiji - May - July 2005

After being out in the boonies chasing the infamous New Zealand brown trout, big spooky and hard to get close to. Lots of fun.  We had to dash back to Whangarei just in time for our haul out booking, and the start of three weeks of dirty boat work - Peter became the "Green Man". After 'splashing' we made our way up the coast to clear customs in Opua and headed out into the big stormy ocean.

And it was stormy. We had a rough six day passage north in the arms of a nice gale and anchored in the lagoon of a mid ocean atoll - South Minerva Reef. What a place to run into on a dark wild night. You can't see the breakers until it's to late. A distinctly cool place, anchored in a 360 deg ring of surf. We hung out in Minerva for about 8 days, snorkeling, reef walking, lobster hunting etc. After 8 days it was time to set sail for Suva.

We were in Suva to catch up with old friends and re-acquainting ourselves with Suva after 25 years. The Yacht Club hadn't changed.  Our first time into town was hardly recognizable as the place we used to know. After a few visits into town we realized the place hadn't really changed. The city is still the same but bigger and just as dirty and decrepit.

An old friend who runs the yacht club took us to see old haunts and our ex  house in Nasilai Place, Vieuto. Except for lack of maintenance it is still the same. What a dejavu!!!

We had the joy of experiencing a holiday celebration for the Ratu Sukuna day holiday. This was held in Albert Park. The usual monotonous political speeches, (why do Politicians have to screw up all the fun!!! I guess they need to be seen)  Meke dancing, and a  formal Kava ceremony.                              

The hotel that brings back fond memories of our first few days in Suva 28 years ago was derelict.  What a shame the hotel in its day rivaled Raffles in Singapore for elegance and charm; even the Queen stayed there on her trips to Fiji!!  Thank goodness someone has bought this elegant old hotel and there will be a multi-million dollar renovation which should be completed in about 2 years (so they say).

We were anchored off the Yacht Club as the boats were finishing the Auckland to Suva Yacht Race. That was certainly an experience. We had a few sleepless nights when the harbour was rocking and rolling with 20-25 knot winds. Boats going aground, race boats coming in during the night and anchors dragging. Peter was out in the dinghy in torrential rain and winds helping re-anchor boats that had been dragging. A fun night.

Trivia

We left Suva and made our way along the southern coast of Viti Levu which is the main island in Fiji. Viti Levu means "Great Fiji".  Viti is the Tongan corruption of the indigenous name Viti which Captain Cook then named the main island of Fiji.  Fiji has quite a few hundred  islands, some of them uninhabited.

Fiji became a British protectorate in 1847 and gained Independence in 1970.   We arrived in Suva in January 1977 as expatriates and spent three wonderful years living in Suva. Fiji became a republic in December, 1987.

Checked into Lautoka on the western coast of Viti Levu.  Lautoka is an Indian town with sugar plantations coming right into the town. There is the Sugar Mill that dominates the town both in smell and grime. We only stayed in  the dock area just to re-provision and check into customs.  The boat was incredible filthy from the dust and grime from the Sugar Mill.

We left Lautoka to cruise the Mamanutha and Yasawaya Islands. These islands stretch about 100 km in a north-northeast direction.  The islands are about 30-35 km off the west coast of Viti Levu and the islands are dry and sunny.  The waters are clear and blue with cliffs, sandy beaches and reefs.  The snorkeling was incredible in some areas, and we even got to swim with manta rays in a passage on Waya Island. 

The first time we went to look for the rays they were  not to be found. We didn't know but they only appear at certain times in the tide to feed where the water is murky. We then smartened up a little when we realized the time to snorkel for the rays was when the local resort boats arrived that was our signal to head out to view these wonderful creatures..

The rays would do 360 degree rolls really gracefully as they stayed on station onto the current, showing white undersides and at that time they became better for me to see as I had to snorkel on the surface (too buoyant without my weight belt) whereas Peter was able to dive down and almost touch them - what an experience! We estimated there could have been about 5 or 6 rays difficult to tell, as the water was murky.

In the Islands we went to a wedding, hung out in some incredibly beautiful anchorages, snorkeled with manta rays, did a sevu sevu* in a village, met up with some friends we hadn't seen since the Cook Islands and generally had a great time.

                         Village Bure                                                                                   Village Kava Ceremony

*Sevu Sevu

On arrival at a village the guest/s present a bundle of waka which is the root of the  Pepper plant (kava) to the chief. You may be asked to make a short speech about who you are and the purpose of your visit and partake in a Yanggona  (kava) session. Then you are honoured guests to walk their reefs and beaches.

Yanggona, a tranquilizing, non-alcholic drink, numbs the tongue and lips.  The villagers have simplified the ceremony for tourists but Kava drinking is  important to the Fijian.  Even in Government offices a bowl of grog (slang for kava) is kept for the staff to take as a refreshment at yanggona breaks just like North Americans, and  Europeans have their tea and coffee breaks.

We checked out of Fiji from Lautoka , on July 27th.