Savusavu, Fiji: A pretty spot
by Andrew and Clare 8 Sep 2018 10:00 UTC
Oops no time to get dressed © Andrew and Clare
We left Tonga 1st September and sailed to Fiji in near perfect conditions. It is a three and a half day trip and we had the spinnaker up for the last thirty hours. We rarely experience a trip as good as this and to top it off we caught a 110cm Mahi Mahi along the way.
A Pretty Spot
We are on a mooring ball in the Nakama creek alongside the township of Savusavu which is known as the hidden paradise of Fiji. This is because Savusavu, nestled in amongst the mountains, cannot be seen either by land or sea until you are in the creek. We are at the old Copra Shed Marina, built in the 19th Century and renovated in recent years to house the Savusavu Yacht Club. It is a very pretty spot in perfectly flat conditions. The marina staff are very pleasant and we are enjoying the facilities of the Yacht Club. It is nice to have hot showers available, a laundry, shops, coffee lounge and a bar area where we gather every night to catch up with friends for happy hour and to enjoy the sunset.
Good to Hear
The check-in process to the country was a very pleasant experience. The Health and Customs Officials were helpful and interesting. The Health Official talked about how to stay healthy whilst in Fiji taking into account the local water, mosquito bites, eating out and generally the things that might cause us some concern and what action to take if necessary. In our fourteen years of cruising this is the first time a Health Official has mentioned such things. The Customs guys talked about the most recent and powerful cyclone Winston, other lesser cyclones and which boats survived the cyclones and why. They also told personal stories about families crowded into a bathroom or toilet to gain maximum protection. They mentioned how the children were terrified and crying and how one family came out of their bathroom after Winston to find that the bathroom was the only room in the house left standing. I don't blame the kids for crying, under these circumstances I think I would be crying too.
What a Treat
We are mostly in company with 'Acapella' and 'Jonas' but we have sailed with and have friends on some of the other boats located here. I am particularly enjoying the air conditioned IGA supermarket with many Australian and New Zealand products available. It's quite a treat to see reasonably priced Australian wines, Vegemite and Tim Tams. The local fruit and vegetable market is huge with high quality local produce at very inexpensive prices. In addition IGA imports fruits and vegetables not grown locally. Last night we went out to The Wok Restaurant with 'Acapella' and 'Jonas' and shared seven different dishes with rice. The food was delicious and after splitting the bill three ways, our meal cost us AUD $28.
The Best Made Plans....
Yesterday we had this great idea of taking the local bus to the island's capital Labasa. We heard via the Cruisers Net that the bus left at 10am. Acapella, Jonas and Eye Candy arrived at 9.35 only to find that we had missed the bus by five minutes. So after confirming the correct departure time with a bus driver we planned to be on the bus the following morning. However the driver failed to tell us that as today is a public holiday the buses are not running. Oh well we don't feel too bad about it as we have now spoken to some cruisers who did catch the bus yesterday. They said the trip took two and a half hours each way, there wasn't much to see when they got to Labasa, the bus didn't have air con, the seats were hard and the bus was crowded, particularly on the way home with people packed along the centre isle. So maybe missing the bus was a blessing in disguise:)
What We Need to Know
We have booked in for a Seminar on Sunday about cruising Fiji presented by a colourful expat called "Curlie". There are many islands to explore and some of the charting for the area is under developed. Curlie has lived and cruised here for a number of years. He provides a lot of information along with chart overlays with way points he has established. We will be very happy to receive this information as we certainly don't want to run into any uncharted reefs.
So What's Next
Fiji is our final destination for this season. So now we can just relax and enjoy the area before leaving the boat here and flying home in November.
For now we are looking forward to moving away from the town and exploring what Fiji has to offer. We have read and heard that the diving and snorkelling is good. The weather is a little warmer than Tonga and the water temperature is a lovely 27 degrees. We have a nice feeling about Fiji and we are very excited about the coming weeks.
This article has been provided courtesy of the Freedom and Adventure.