just posted a whole bunch of photos of various scenes from Makongai on....
Wednesday June 8
Another beautiful day in the island paradise ... Went in to shore to go for a walk..saw the chief and had a brief chat.. went to see if we could find the track beyond the cemetery to the "big house"..so big that no-one wants to live in it....couldn't find it...everything apart from the immediate village is so overgrown, its difficult to know where to go. On the way back from the cemetery we saw a pawpaw tree with two ripe fruit and about 6 on the way...debated taking one and decided no..we don't know who it belongs to....met a young man David who said he was on his way to get pawpaw ! Back at the village had a look at the fisheries buildings....the "conference centre" is getting a makeover...inside there were some really interesting posters of fish and shelfish..and now we see that the ugly yellow fish I snagged the other day was actually a type of mahimahi..and I let it go !!!! While we are looking at this, David turns up..seems he's working on the conference centre and looking after the giant clams for a week while the other guys are in Suva...he's not keen on working too hard and decides he needs to go and have a rest ! Back to the boat and I have a go at fishing...plenty of bites but can't land anything. When the tide goes out we go ashore again to walk across the reef to the little island that can't get to by boat because of all the rocks ... found some interesting little shells, but o'wise nothing there...except rubbish...plastic bottles...that's quite common here and its not yachties, its the locals ...they really don't have a concept of rubbish disposal...not as bad here as in Tonga..but the same mentality I think. anyway, we're going to move to Naingani Is tomorrow. There is apparently a small resort there that welcomes yachties, and a couple of nice anchorages..so we'll see...its only 18 miles away so if we leave mid morning we'll be there mid afternoon. Thursday June 9 Delightful sail broad reach all the way to Naingani Is. Chart was a bit sus as it doesn't really show the relationship between the reef to the north and the island...but no problem the sun was high and it was easy to see. Anchored in 5 m over a sandy bottom in front of a beautiful sandy beach..and there is no-one here...no boats, no village, nothing. There is a resort around the other side according to Calder's book that welcomes yachties so we'll see. Tomorrow morning should be beer bottling The yoghurt hasn't 'yogged' yet so we'll see about that too ...hmm Water is 29deg and the air is 30...freezer is -20...I'm going to have a swim and then a cold beer ! Gunilla is making butter chicken for dinner...... So thats it from Naingani.... Friday June 10 Still at Naingani Is, Cagabuli Bay...still quiet and still, only boat here....went ashore this am and got a bunch of bananas from a palm..they're green still but hanging up under the solar panels they should ripen in a few days... Didn't bottle beer as its still gurgling and the hydrometer thing doesn't indicate its ready yet....maybe tomorrow. The yoghurt had yogged by 8pm last night ...into the fridge and we had some with muesli pawpaw and banana for breakfast...really good....this is actually packet yoghurt I bought in savusavu...its for a "yoghurt maker"..which in reality is only one container inside another into which you put hot water and then the yoghurt powder mixed with water in the inner container and leave it all day in the sun. It works ! one packet which cost F$8 makes a litre of yoghurt...not bad... I'm on chef duty tonight...going to make spaghetti with a sauce made of onion, cream and canned tuna...should be OK. Might be bottling beer tomorrow and then motoring around the other side of the island to where the resort is supposed to be..or go there first and bottle beer later...its 32 deg and water is 28 today...been swimming twice..the boat is all clean from the rain and the humidity is down to 75% which means that the boat is dry in the mornings ...not wet as it is when its 90%.... so all well.....haven't heard boo from Will or Ben and only sporadic mail from Pete...have to give them a rev up!! Saturday June 11 Motored around the corner to the resort...bit of a lumpy anchorage; its exposed to the SE wind...and there's lots of coral about...nearly ran into a big head on the way in, but stopped in time and backed off !! The resort is really nice and friendly...we're going to have dinner there tonight Stopped by the pool to have a beer and met an East German eye doctor who was working 10 years in Africa for the Fred Hollows Foundation and in Fiji for 2 years training doctors from all over the South Pacific to do cataract operations. He's going back to Germany next week after being away for 14 years and he really doesn't want to go! He has a young family and he really would like to buy a boat and sail around the world !! He spent about half an hour questioning me about boats, passage making etc then waxed lyrical about his work with Fred Hollows and good it made him feel to make blind people see Anyway, he told us that the resort at Wakaya Is, which is min US$2000 /night, is where all the R&F go..Opra whatshername was there recently, and its where Keith Richards fell out of the palm tree and hurt his head. Our Dr friend said Richards was taken to Suva Hospital and seen by his friend Mark who made the recommendation to send him to Auckland for surgery... Sunday June 12 Well as said earlier, left Naigani in a hurry this morning after une nuit blanche...motored out on our incoming track...couldn't see the reefs 'cos the sun is in front, rounded the reef at the N end of the island, unfurled the genoa and had a beautiful day sailing, gybing around the reefs and head NW up the E coast of Viti Levu. Had a look at a couple of bays...didn't look that great..about 1400 came into Nasava Bay...which isn't mentioned in the pilots, but is very sheltered from the SE with a white sand beach, palm trees...all the usual stuff. Fixed the broken propellor pin on the outboard and went ashore....obvious signs of previous habitation...a shed and a pile of dismembered coconuts..maybe current habitation; there's a padlock on the shed....no other signs of human life, but lots of birds and goat tracks on the beach !! Saw the goat briefly after hearing it about 20 minutes ago...it disappeared into the bush heard from terry and amanda on Clark Gable...we must have passed them somewhere between Savusavu and Viti Levu...they're on their way back to Vuda Pt and fly out to NZ on the 19th, so probably won't see them. No news from anyone else yet despite a rev up...never mind...one day I'll hear from them I suppose... Still haven't caught any fish...may have to get some new lures and hooks in Lautoka..as well as a couple of new pins for the outboard ..... And batteries for the monitor remote...and the torch ...and other stuff of course.. Played the guitar a bit this afternoon...its not rusty, but I am !! Monday June 13 Sailed away from Nasava bay this morning about 1000 and slowly sailed up the east side of Viti Levu through the reefs to Nanua-I-Cake Is.... Anchored and then went to go ashore .. there's a sign on a palm tree..Private property, Keep out, trespassers prosecuted ! Ok...we'll go and take a look at the resort on the little island next door..seems very quiet. Walk along the jetty to be met by a NZer with a camera round his neck...are you wanting to be guests ? he asks..yes ! we say...sorry the resort isn't open yet, I'm just here taking promo pics ...it'll be open in about a month.... he tells us that its called Dolphin Island and its owned by a Belgian who also owns Huka Lodge in NZ and another one in Cape Town. we ask about the island we're anchored off and the local Fijian manager tells us its owned by a man in Bermuda and there's a resort there too at the other end...the end we're at looks only accessible by boat and there's nothing here...but private property nonetheless. This seems to be everywhere now...whole islands owned by individuals for rent as playgrounds for the R&F....ordinary folk won't be able to go anywhere soon !! I meant to tell you the guy that owns Wakaya Is is the guy that owns the Red Bull energy drink company! I wonder how it is that these foreigners can buy up all these islands?..who sells them ? I suppose it puts a little back into the local economy in employment and provisions etc but it seems a shame that so much of it is owned by foreigners. Anyway....nothing we can do....go for a swim sounds like the go....still haven't caught any fish ! Tuesday June 14 Well left the land of private islands and set off through the reefs in light rain..but it cleared and we had sun all day from then on. Gunilla is doing all the navigating..searching out the beacons and the reefs and doing a good job..very conscientious... Forecast said 15-20 knots SE-E..well we had max 10 all day !...so it was pretty slow, but I took some video of the landscape and sailing and had a play with the camera altering aperture setting and frame speed and stuff...an;d discovered that I can take snapshot pictures while taking video just by pressing the camera snapshot button...not sure I knew that..or maybe I forgot...anyway, lots of pictures of reefs, reef "beacons", sandy cays with palm trees, locals on the reefs, fishing boats and stuff.. It was low tide when we left and nearly every reef had little boats anchored nearby and people on the reef...don't know what they were after...crabs, shellfish ?..don't know...but even towards the early afternoon when the tide was 2/3rds in they were still on the reefs we passed...waist deep in water and spread out over about 500 metres...10-12 people on each reef...maybe they have nets and are catching fish...don't know. Anyway after a rather tortuous path, we're anchored just west of the Vatia wharf, which is operated by the Western Mining company, according to the Admiralty Sailing Directions which also states that any vessel of size needs to have a pilot...well the pilot boat is moored next to the wharf and doesn't look like its been used for 20 years ! Its very calm here and I'm going to do bbq for dinner...still haven't caught any fish !! Tomorrow we'll do the remaining 20 miles to Lautoka and clear in, then hit the town for some shopping and then off to Vuda Pt I think... So..that's all the news from Viti Levu for today. Wednesday June 15 Aarrived in Lautoka at 1430 after 6 1/2 hours motoring...no wind at all..cleared in and the customs guy was really helpul...did the outward clearance for the Yasawa Is as well so we don't have to go back...amazing ! Hit the town to do some supermarket shopping..too ate for the market...come back tomorrow. The anchorage at Lautoka is directly down wind from the Fiji Sugar Coporation Sugar mill, which spews out black smoke all day ..the boat gets covered in small spots of soot whcih wash off easily enough but it getas everywhere...good to get away ! Thursday june 16 Went in to the market to buy fruit and vegetables....got some new fishing gear at the supermarket of all places, new shear pins for the propelloe from Hydraulic Hose Supplies in Marina drive... Left lautoka for Saweni bay about 1100...sat there for 3 hours waiting for the tide to rise before going to Vuda pt Marina as the entrance there is very shallow...they say 2.5 m at LAT but its not...last time we came in here at low tide the depth sounder was reading 0.00 ! Anyway by 1630 we're in Vuda pt marina jammed in between two catamarans...lots of fenders out !...just as we're tying up, Terry and Amanda come strolling buy to criticise our mooring technique !...they arrived an hour before we did and hit the bottom in the channel on the way in !!! So we're all safe and well here and about to go off and have a shower and then a drink and dinner at the First Landing Resort next door... So cheers from Vuda Pt ! Promise to upload phoptographs tomorrow now that we have good ! Taking the chance at Wakaya Island - internet courtesy of the resort...unknown to them ... to update with some news
Sailed from Savusavu to Namenalla, overnighted and then on to Makongai and anchored off the old leper colony, now a "mariculture" research station. Did the sevusevu thing with the chief (very articulate man) and then were taken on a tour of the clam culturing operation by a very gentle, but solid, young Fijian man who works fro the Fisheries Dept. They have long concrete tanks in which the calms spawn....there are about 1500 baby clams in each tank. As they mature they are moved to small concrete plates and the plates are put into wire cages and put back in the sea for the clams to grow...the cages protect them from octopus whose beaks can open the shells ! When they are grown (about 3 to 4 years) they are taken to different places in Fiji which are clam reserves where they breed on their own...the escapees are delicacies for the local villagers. There was a round tank with mature clams in it..3 different types ... he knew all their proper names, so I guess he is marine biologist or something like that and the biggest one, he said was 4 years old, would have been about 80cm across! Amazing..never seen anything like it! Gunilla took some pictures so I'll put them on the blog when we get a good internet connection again. Then we were introduced to Ratu who took us on a tour of the old leper colony buildings....the leper colony started in 1911 and was finally closed in 1969 after the "cure" was discovered. The old buildings were nothing much to look at..mostly occupied by families now, but the ruins of the cinema and the prison (seems lepers from all over the pacific came here..and as Ratu said "some of them misbehaved a little") were interesting as was the overgrown cemetery which goes right up the side of a hill with 1500 graves in it..all marked with headstones or crosses, or both. One grave was Mother Mary Agnes born France 21-3-1870 died at Makongai 17-3-1955...she ran the leper colony for many years apparently. In August / September it will be the jubilee; 100yrs from the start of the colony, and the cemetery will be cleaned up then....VIPs from all over the world are coming it seems. We were shown the generator house with its 100 yr old Lister diesel...still supplying power to the village and the research station...you'll hear it start up tonight Ratu said. On the way back to the village, passed two young guys clearing ground and planting kasava (tapioca)...one of them asked..where you from..New Zealand...got any wines on board ? ...sorry no only tea!....oh OK, he said and went back to cutting the weeds with his machete. So thanks all round and goodbyes...see you tomorrow, you can walk to the other side of the island to the other village...its only 5 kilometres...ok see you tomorrow... It's all very pleasant and friendly....everywhere I go I get asked about the Rugby 7s...the All Blacks won the series, of course, but one of the last games was Fiji v NZ and Fiji won ...score was something like 44-19, and they all take the opportunity to mention it !! Two other boats came in while we were touring... a funny looking Dutch boat and an old style American boat (covered in junk as usual). I'm cooking fried rice tonight...but not sure what to put in it...had a bit of a disaster with vegetables...a big bunch of Pak Choy we only got two meals from as it went rotten in the heat and humidity...should have put it in the fridge..dum de doo as Pete would say ! Saturday Watched about 10 men set off in the Fisheries dept launch to go fishing.."good morning" as they passed by. We set off to the beach about 10 to do the 5k walk to the next village...talk about a bush walk !..the first 100 m was almost straight up !...got easier after that, but it took quite a while..good exercise though..well worth it. Arrived at the other village..it was hardly occupied... followed the road to the beach and met a man from the village where we are anchored. He had come around in his boat with his wife and two grandchildren ( we saw them leave before we went ashore)...he showed us around ...nice school classes 1 to 8, two teachers, with all the usual Fiji school rules posted up on the notice board...be nice, kind, don't bully, don't put rubbish on the ground etc etc Then he said..you going back now ?..Yes we said...you want to come with us in the boat ? OK thanks ! So we helped grandpa and grandma put their stuff in the boat, along with another grey haired old fella and off we set ...must have doing about 20 knots, got back in a flash (took some nice video of the quick trip)...helped unload the boat and the woman said "here, take some bananas and pawpaw - we have plenty"..so loaded up with fruit we came back to our boat. Finally completed the toilet floor..filled in the remaining holes a few days ago, today sanded the filler off and painted it...looks good. Also had to modify the underneath of the gas locker lid..the new bottles I bought are slightly taller then the old ones and the regulator wheel buts up on the lid stopping it from sitting flat, so I chiseled out a hole in the lid to accommodate it and painted that too ! We may stay here another day or two..its really nice and the people are very friendly. Two other boats in here....a Dutch couple with their niece that came with them from NZ..they have been away for 7 years doing a circumnavigation....and an old fashioned american yacht...quite small with an American skipper and two jeune hommes francais for crew. Been swimming 3 times today..water is nearly 29 degrees...ambient temp is over 30 and of course the humidity is very high. So that's it from makongai for today..... Sunday Serious Sunday today...church started about 10 and went on 'til 12 or so..then they all came out for lunch I gather...singing didn't sound too enthusiastic..or maybe that's the natural Fijian reserve. Last night the saltwater pump for the galley gave up the ghost...oh dear I thought, there's tomorrows task..I have a complete spare pump..the fresh and salt pumps are the same type so everything is exchangeable. So...ok tear into the pump locker...which is spaghetti junction now with 3 pumps in there plus an accumulator and hoses going every where....got the pump out easily enough...sure enough it reads high resistance between the power leads..something's amiss. Got the spare pump out ...then thought...I'll just have a look inside the existing pump, maybe it's something simple....took the end cap off..theres the power connections and the brush carrier and well...one of the brush leads is corroded / broken. Ha should be easy enough to fix ! After a half an hour of trying to resolder the lead, I give up and then...thought...why not get another piece of wire and just solder it to the brush holder..it's brass after all..so do that..measure with the ohmmeter...bingo 0.6 ohms..good enough...reassemble the pump motor ...meter across the power leads : 19 ohms...that'll do me !! Put it all back in..and guess what .... it's all working ! Hooray ! OK...next...no stop for a cup of tea first... Now, put on a brew of beer...its a bit warm (32 deg) but anyway, we'll see. Had lunch of papaya and banana with sour cream and chopped nuts (she does that well!)...went for a swim...then went ashore for a walk along the beach. Met at the beach by a young fella by the name of Amos. Hello he said, where are you going...we thought we'd walk along the beach...OK, he says, lets go...so the three of us walk along the beach having a halting chat with Amos. Turns out he's 12, last year at the local school, next year high school in Suva, he has 2 brothers and one sister already there, staying with relatives, but they come home in the holidays. He asks us about where we come from ... NZ...NZ eh ?...won the rugby world cup !...but we beat you once !...yes I said I heard that !...I watched it on TV says Amos, obviously quite pleased to be Fijian when that game was on ! We come across a dead snake on the beach which Amos insists on turning over with his foot...the smell is terrible. Back at the wharf, Amos suggest we sit under the shelter to cool off...good idea..its very hot !..Amos starts singing "I thank the lord eternally, for the shoes on my feet and everything I have to eat...." he has a nice voice , but the songs are the result of the indoctrination they get...Amos is a 7th day Adventist (as is the headmaster of the local school) so his day was Saturday (yesterday) and get the feeling he's at a bit of a loose end today when all the others are going to church....I think they're mostly methodist, looking at the school roll yesterday where every child is listed and categorised by class, age and religion ! While we're sitting in the shelter a whole horde of little children come running along, most carrying sticks (swords), a couple with old rubbish bin lids (shields)and even one with a makeshift helmet...they all pile into our zodiac and start shouting and waving sticks..Amos tells them all to get out ..of course they take no notice and continue to put sand in it...I walk out and say..OK that's enough and they all jump out !. We decide to go back to the boat.. Amos says, you going ? ..yes, but we'll come back ...when you come back? ...later.... ok...come back later ?,, yes we say, see you later !! ...OK bye... Nice guy.... While all this on the beach stuff was going on, the Dutch family came in, tied their dinghy up to the wharf and went walking on the beach...didn't even say hello...yet they came and said hello the other day....we're back on the boat, and they motor past ..still don't say hello...dunno...folk... anyway, we may go to Wakaya Is tomorrow..Amos says there's deer there..its only about 15 miles..so we'll see. In the meantime this is a nice place to be..the people are friendly and kind..and Amos wants us to remember him as "Amos of Makongai Island"..I said I would write about him in my book..he seemed pleased about that Monday Left Makongai to sail to Wakaya Is...wind was on the nose so it was tacking all the way...good sail though 4 tacks and did 25 miles for a 15 mile as the crow flies distance. Arrived at the island and anchored in Nuku Tibu bay only to find that its a private island ! Theres a a sign on the beach that states quite clearly "Private Island, Strictly NO ADMMITTANCE" Anyway..there's a very faint wireless signal here so was able to get on the internet briefly and google Wakaya Island...and found a web page...its a resort ...Very Expensive ! Take a look at www.wakaya.com ..tells all... So it was a whole day of sailing to get here...for nothing really !...Will go back to Makongai I think tomorrow..and then think about heading west towards Viti Levu ... At 6/4/2011 7:46 AM (utc) our position was 17 °26.51'S 178°57.19'E |
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