Berlin Returns to Fiji

Saturday, July 8th – 0530 – Here she is! A slightly blurred photo, but how does one capture an exuberant 14-year old in action? Still at the age where the mind can survive countless hours of international travel with little impairment, granddaughter Berlin arrives raring to go. A good reason for that is that her petite frame is the size that airlines diabolically use to determine the smallest seat possible that their statistically formulated adult could tolerate. She can actually curl up and sleep without aches and pains to arrive refreshed. How The Captain and The First Mate (herein often referred to as Poppy and Nana) envy that.

The fact is, however, that we, too, are raring to go, for we have a busy itinerary planned for the next two weeks. She’s an old hand at settling in, for this is her second time on Avante. Right to her room she goes, unpacks what she needs, and then the three of us head off to the market in the Denarau Marina to pick up some last minute essentials. For Berlin, there are cereal, drinks and snacks. For us, there are limes for our evening G&T’s, and for our general libations and one ice-gobbling mis, there are 3 additional bags of ice.

0830 (Can you believe that time?): We are dropping lines and motoring out of the marina. Robinson Crusoe Resort is located 34 nm down the coast of Vanua Levu. The resort puts on a great evening show with traditional Fijian dancing. The Captain and First Mate saw it last year and knew it was something we wanted Berlin to see. The only issue is that it is outside the main encircling reef, and we need to cross waters unprotected by the wind shadow from the main island of Vanua Levu. Depending upon the wind direction and strength, it can be a very boisterous ride. What will it be today? Winds are forecast to be about 15 knots from the southeast. This means that unless we want to motor straight into wind and waves, we will be tacking our way south once we exit Navula Passage. It should be a good sail, and for Berlin, a more dynamic sail than she has yet experienced. How will she handle it? …. Fine! She does wonderfully. At first, uncertain about the degree of heel at which we are sailing, an explanation of the weight of the keel reassures her. Told that the gunnels could go in the water without us tipping over, she’s okay with that and, to The Captain’s delight, soon shows no evidence of The First Mate’s wimpy sailing fears. Standing out on the side of the boat, wind and sun in her face, she watches the shoreline go by.

Shown on the chart plotter where we are going, she wants to know why we are headed away from shore. If our destination is straight down the coast, why not sail straight down the coast? Wouldn’t that be quicker? Tacking is explained. A motor boat can go directly from Point A to Point B, but on a sailboat, often the only way to “sail” from Point A to Point B is to tack, heading away from B at an angle for a certain distance and then turning back.  That seems to make sense, but she remains somewhat doubtful as we sail further away from the coast. Arriving at our turn point, we tack and head back to shore. She can see on the chart that Avante is now headed directly to the opening in the reef which will take us to Robinson Crusoe Resort. Okay, now she’s a believer!

 

 

Though The First Mate had already called the resort to verify that the dinner and show were being held tonight, upon anchoring at 1400, we head ashore to confirm in person. All is fine. Back on the boat, snorkel gear in hand, we head out to the reef where we had been told there is good diving. It’s marginal, but for Berlin, just being back in these waters diving and twirling around is fun enough.

Back on Avante,  Nana’s silky smooth Coconut Butter Oil is found to soothe salt-dried skin.

Around 5:30, we head back into the resort. No set time was given us for the start of the evening, but we figured around this time should work. We know from past experience that a long boat comes over from the mainland with a load of tourists, so as long as we haven’t yet seen their arrival, we know we’re not too late. Schedules are quite flexible over here. It’s called “Fiji Time”. Eventually, some day, some way, it will be done, hopefully.

 

For us, it is a repeat of a delightful evening we had here last year. For Berlin, it is all new, interesting and a bit long. A 3-hour evening event after an all night flight and a long day of sailing can be taxing, but she holds up great. Waiting for dinner to start, she and Nana walk around the resort exploring the various huts and trails. The meal itself commences with the opening up of the underground oven where various root vegetables and meats have been roasted. Following that, the fire walkers demonstrate their skill as they stand on the ash-covered hot coals with bare feet. What is their secret? How do they do it?

 

Dinner done, we walk around some more, waiting for the show to begin. First a traditional Sevusevu ceremony welcomes us all to the island. The drink of welcome and celebration, Kava, is made, and all are invited to partake. Having sampled this dank, dish-watery brew in the past, we quietly decline. All is cleared away. Lights dim, loud thrumming music starts, and the energetic male dancers take the stage with batons of twirling fire. The women follow with their more seductive style of dancing. The show portrays the early native settlers to Fiji, and the arrival of the peoples who brought fire dancing to the islands.

 

 

The finale is impressive. We are all invited down the beach to the water’s edge. There the men and women with their twirling batons of fire put on a Fijian fireworks display. Tired as Berlin is, this alone is worth the evening.

 

 

 

 

Sunday, July 9th – With the wind behind us this time, we enjoy a great sail up the coast to Navula Passage. Once through the reef passage, we turn toward our destination, Musket Cove. Soon, we once again reach the wind shadow from Vanua Levu. Winds begin decreasing until eventually we must drop sail and turn on the engine for the rest of the trip. It was a great sail while it lasted!

 

 

 

After anchoring in Musket Cove, we have a quick lunch before we head out to that magically appearing white sandbar, for it is now low tide. What a treat out there! The water is warm and brightly blue. Again, our water-ballet gal has a wonderful time.

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, July 10th – We are off to what has become one of our most favorite anchorages here in Fiji: Navadra Island. This is pronounced Na-Van-Dra. A “D” in the written language is pronounced as an “N-D” thanks to some complicated formula worked out by a missionary way back when in his attempt to put the native language into writing. For instance, the city of Nadi is actually pronounced Nan-di.

It is more crowded in the Navadra anchorage than we have seen before. Arriving at 1400, there are 2 sailboats and one mid-sized cruise ship on an afternoon visit. Later, the cruise ship leaves only to be replaced by 3 more sailboats. It’s a busy anchorage today.

 

 

Does it come as any surprise to learn that The Captain is determined to get to the top of the island even though that entails bushwhacking the whole way up? Telling the gals on board that we are going to the island to look for the little goats, we head ashore. Working our way inland, we are confronted by a rough wall of stone. There’s no way up that, but we do see a few goats in the brush not far from us. We do hear them above us, too, so there must be a way up somewhere, somehow. On we scramble. Going to see more goats, you know!

 

 

 

 

We follow the rock wall into the brush until it ends at an equally steep dirt and loose stone ascent. Pulling ourselves up by vines and tree trunks, wondering how we are ever going to get down this in one piece, we reach a relatively flat area with a great view over the bay below us. This is not, however, the very top. Onward and upward leads The Captain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, we reach the top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The view is a reward in itself, and the cool breeze on our hot faces is the icing on the cake.  We look down and out across to the Mamanuka Islands  through which we have sailed these last 2 days.

As we begin our search for perhaps an easier way down, a pink plastic ribbon is seen tied to a tree limb. Looking ahead, another is spotted. Then, another. Someone has been up here and marked a trail. Fantastic! Could it have been another cruiser? Maybe it was done by the Survival film crew that was here last year when we were were not allowed to anchor in the bay. This marked trail has got to be more navigable than the slick, steep loose-graveled hillside we scrambled up. It is, and when it is reaches a very steep rock section, a rope pull has been considerately affixed to make the climb safer.

More snorkeling when we get back to the boat. The waters off Navadra Island have several very interesting areas to explore. Returning to the boat, we settle in for the evening. Dinner is served on deck as we watch the stars begin to show. Then, it’s off to bed.

 

 

Later that night, the wind begins to get quite gusty with wind bullets whistling off the nearby hilltops. Berlin, wakened by the wind, goes up on deck to check things out. There’s a light off to the side of the boat. What is it? There’s little boat out there. Peering ahead, she sees a figure on the boat. Suddenly, it spots her, rises up, waves its arm and shouts “Bula, Bula”. Out of the dark of night, a local fisherman has yelled the Fijian words of welcome to her. Unnerved, frightened too, by this apparition, quick as a flash, she ducks below. We ask her in the morning why she did not yell Bula back. What? Me? No! She was too shocked. Nana empathizes knowing she would have been just as startled.

 

 

Tuesday, July 11th – We are in search of manta rays today. Pulling anchor, we set off for the anchorage on Drawaqa Island which is near Mantaray Pass where we were fortunate last year to all see these impressive, graceful creatures. We arrive in time for a quick lunch and then dinghy off to the pass. There are no manta rays this time, but we have a fantastic time drifting through the pass over the coral. The numerous schools of tropical fish which seem to surround us are amazing. Over and over, we drift through the pass, climb back on board the dinghy, bail out the leaking dinghy, motor up to the head of the pass, jump back in the water and drift through again. Chilled, finally, we call it a day. Tomorrow, we will try again to catch sight of the manta rays as they swim through this pass in search of food.

 

A nearby catamaran has some young gals on it, and though older than Berlin, they come by to ask if she would like to go for a hike with them up to the top of the ridge above the anchorage. Off she goes for some R&R with those closer to her age than we are. We’re delighted. See those 3 vertical dots at the top of the ridge just left of center. That’s them! She returns happy with her adventuring and having made new friends if only for a short while.

No luck the next day with the manta rays, even though we do head out in the morning and the afternoon with the changing tide. The coral and the huge amount of colorful fish we see are a delight anyway.

Thursday, July 13th – Our plan is to try our luck anchoring off of Octopus Resort again this year. It’s a funky little resort that welcomes cruisers, but the anchorage can be quite uncomfortable, especially in heavy winds. We have left it more often than stayed due to rolling conditions and heavy winds. Will today be different?

1045 – The Captain, at the bow, is raising the anchor. Suddenly, about when the anchor should become unstuck from the bottom, it refuses to budge. The First Mate, at the helm, is told to increase throttle. Nothing. Then we try to swing around to pull from different angles. No luck. That anchor is stuck down there, probably wedged between coral, at 70 feet. We cannot swim down anywhere near that far to see what the problem is. The Captain, now at the helm, maneuvers the boat directly over the anchor and then backs down hard on it several times. The anchor finally releases, but unfortunately, our anchor roller is bent in the process. There goes another “boat unit” or two to get it fixed! Out here, unfortunately, there is no help, no assistance in trials like this, except your own resourcefulness. We freed ourselves, but at a cost.

By 1305, we are anchored in front of Octopus Resort in Likuliku Bay. Conditions are not as bad as we have seen at other times, though the 15-knot winds are only being partially blocked by the island. Lunch is eaten and off we go to snorkel over a nearby coral bombe whose steep drop offs make for interesting views. Upon returning to the boat, we discover that not only have the winds increased to 19 knots, they have clocked around further south making conditions much more uncomfortable and bouncy out on the boat. No good. We decide to move around to the better sheltered Naluwaki Bay on the other side of the island.

 

 

 

1710 – We anchor in Naluwaki Bay. To our surprise, winds are coming off the high and steep hills in front of us and plummeting down on us at 15 – 20 knots. The difference, though, from where we previously were in front of Octopus Resort is that we are in a spot where the holding is great, and there are no waves tossing us around and no nearby reefs.

 

Friday, July 14th – Today’s destination is Natuvalo Bay just off of White Sandy Beach Resort whose name is a bit of a misnomer.  There is a beach, but it stops at the high tide line. There is marginal access to the shore for boats due to rock ledges and sharp coral. We have seen guests and workers having to scramble over these rock ledges through shallow water with luggage and supplies to reach the boats. It is an ungainly sort of resort, but a pretty anchorage none the less.

 

Snorkeling on the reefs to our south is good, and that we do that as soon as we arrive.

We have heard that there is a secluded beach called Honeymoon Beach. It is around Honeymoon Point just north of the resort. Launching out in the dinghy the next morning, we set off to explore. Securing the dinghy line to coral below us, we dive in and discover a great snorkeling area.  Swimming around, we find ourselves moving toward the beach where we get out for a short hike. It is easy to see how guests from the resort could hike over here, and we wonder how many do so.

Back on Avante, stow the leaking dinghy, a quick lunch, and we’re off to anchor below Botaira Beach Resort where there is supposed to be a good hike up and across the ridge behind the resort.

1340 – Captain’s Log: “Start the engine and raise the anchor. As the anchor reaches the bent bow roller, the shackle pin jams on the side of the roller and the windlass shuts down and will not work at all. We manually stow the anchor, then motor out of Natuvalo Bay heading south.”

In half an hour, we are at our destination, but unable to find a place to anchor where the depth is lower than 60 feet, we decide that we better return to Natuvalo Bay where depths are only 35 feet. If The Captain is unable to fix the windlass, raising the anchor by hand from 35 feet is many times easier than from 60 feet. Not easy, mind you, just easier!

By 1450, we are back in our bay looking to anchor where we were last night. Right in our spot, however, is Awesome, the big yellow Yasawa Flyer, an inter-island passenger vessel making its afternoon call at the resort. Okay, we circle around waiting for it to move on out as it usually does fairly quickly. The little resort boats “finish their loading and unloading. When the resort boats leave, the Yasawa flyer fails to motor away.” We keep on slowly circling with the thought crossing our minds that the people on Awesome are wondering what we are doing as much as we’re wondering why they’re not moving. “We suspect they might be waiting for something or someone else, but then we hear a loudspeaker announcement that there is a mechanical problem.”

1510 – Captain’s Log:  “Finally the Yasawa Flyer drifts far enough away that we are able to move in and lower the anchor using gravity. We are anchored in the same spot as before in only 35 feet. Bill begins troubleshooting the windlass problem.” First he climbs into the small anchor locker to check the electrical connections. No obvious problems there.

Checking the electrical bus bar under the navigation table, he finds a blown fuse. Simple fix! How nice if all such problems could be resolved so easily, and looking over to where Awesome is still drifting along with the current, we know those on board are wishing the same thing. Half an hour later, Awesome rumbles to life, but instead of picking up speed, it moves on out at a snail’s pace. We wonder how many stops it still has to make and what time tonight it will arrive at Port Denarau. Some of those poor passengers must be looking to make evening flights out of Nadi International Airport. Will they make it in time?

 

Sunday, July 16th – None of us is unhappy about returning to Navadra Island on our way back south. By 1335, we are back there anchored with 2 other sailboats. Packing a picnic, we head ashore where sitting in the shade just off the beach we enjoy our lunch. Afterwards, there’s a small cave to explore.

 

 

 

 

 

Then we hike along the beach and around to the other side which looks across at the chain of Mamanuka Islands that we saw from the top of the island.  Looking northwest, the massive rock at the entrance to the anchorage can be seen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking south, the Mamanuka Islands are visible in the distance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While Berlin and Nana walk in the clear water and look for shells ………

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…… responding to the feeling of isolation out here, Poppy does his own version of “Castaway Island” footsteps in the sand.

Returning to Avante for our snorkel gear, we motor over to the coral off Navadra Island. There are many patches of coral with channels of sand running between them. After over an hour of snorkeling, it’s time to head back to the boat. Knowing that the gals can take care of themselves, The Captain heads off to the dinghy anchored a distance away from the coral. Nana decides to let Berlin lead the way out of the coral, but neither of us factor in the sinking tide. We find ourselves in a maze of coral unable to find a way out. Backtracking, we are stymied again. Finding a spot where we can stand, we wave to The Captain who looks back at us in amazement. How can we be so silly? Finally, we circle way around and get ourselves out of the coral unscathed and unscratched. Neither of us gals think this is anywhere near as funny as The Captain does, but it was a bit funny nevertheless.

 

 

 

 

Monday, July 17th – Another full day in Navadra. Wonderful! We decide to snorkel off the eastern end of Vanua Levu Island this morning and then swim on in to the beach to walk around for a bit. In the afternoon, we set off to hike to the top of the island. Only this time, we are going to follow the pink-ribboned trail. Going up the first steep rise proves much easier with the rope pull than it did hauling ourselves up with roots and tree limbs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This time at the top, the elusive goats can be seen across the ridge. We can also hear them quite close to us, but they scamper off as soon as they feel we are getting too near.

Tuesday, July 18th – Slowly, we have been making our way back toward Port Denarau. Today, we are going to Musket Cove which will be our last anchorage before returning to the marina. The three of us are catching the midnight flight home to the States on Friday.

 

 

 

0935 – Anchor is up, and we are heading out past the big rock that marks the entrance to Navadra Bay. We are not going straight to Musket Cove, however, for our hope is to be able to find a secure spot to anchor off Monuriki Island or Castaway Island as it is often referred to after the 2000 movie starring Tom Hanks. The first time we were here we were unable to find a good holding spot, but also with a ton of tourists on shore from 2 visiting tour boats, we did not try very hard. We contented ourselves with looking from the deck and deciding it would be a good place to visit with Berlin. This time we hope to arrive before the tour boats, and we do! We can see one coming in from far away and know we must hurry. We luck out and do find a spot with good holding on the northern side of the reef. Off in the dinghy, we are onshore before anyone else. We inspect the thatched-roof shelter and the words “HELP ME” in the sand,

 

 

 

 

A narrow trail leads away from the beach and eventually turns toward the center of the island. The view looking out to the coral reefed mound off the end of the island is so very pretty. Not much can top the colors of these waters!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A junction in the trail would lead one up to the top of the mountain. Would we like to climb that? You bet, but we have neither time nor shoes for that effort today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back on the beach, the tour boat has arrived and disembarked its passengers. We also see another sailboat that has just anchored. It’s Moonshadow whose owners, Debby and John, we had met several weeks earlier in Navadra. They are heading ashore. While we catch up on each other’s adventures of recent weeks, Berlin goes off to look for shells. There is Avante in the distance. Looking at all the rocks and the shallow reefed water, one can see why anchoring off this island might be a challenge.

 

We return to Avante to continue on to Musket Cove arriving there by 1545.  As always, there are lots of boats in the bay, but this time we know a few. One of them is a German friend, Claus, off his s/v Julia. We would like to head ashore to meet him for sundowners at the little cruiser’s bar the resort has set up, but Berlin is not all that enthused. One cannot blame her. As fortune would have it, her friends whom she had met and hiked with at Mantaray Passage are here and invite her over to their boat. She eagerly heads off while we go ashore to meet Claus. An hour or so goes a little longer. When we return to pick up Berlin, we find that she has been invited to join them for dinner. In fact, she has already had dinner, and can she stay a little longer? Sure! We’re delighted for her to be meeting other cruisers. We head back to Avante for our dinner, and about an hour later, Berlin is dropped off for the night. She had a grand time and announced that big, expensive catamarans are definitely the way to go! Well, that wasn’t exactly what we wanted to hear, but she quickly adds that she likes Avante, too.

Wednesday, July 19th – We could return to the marina today and begin clean up, but there are things we can do in Musket Cove. We have decided to cut our clean up and storage chores to a minimum this time. We’re only going to be gone two months. The boat is in good shape both physically and mechanically. So we figure that moving to the marina on Thursday will give us plenty of time to get our work done before our Friday evening flight.

There’s a laundry at the resort which The First Mate plans to use. Believe it or not, she only has one load of mandatory stuff to wash. Living mostly in bathing suits out here, nothing much gets dirty. We wash out the bathing suits with ourselves on the aft end of the boat each evening. The towels and sheets we have been using can wait until we return in October. No problem! The Captain drops us gals on land. He has no interest in laundry or shopping, but we do. Now The First Mate could take the dinghy by herself, but with the thing leaking like it is and an outboard that cuts out sporadically and often refuses to start, she is not about to put herself through that embarrassment or frustration. He can and will drive the leaking, ornery thing.

 

Thursday, July 20th – We sail over to Port Denarau in the morning.  Once back in the marina, we all have our list of jobs to do. For The Captain, it’s routine maintenance and clean up plus reviewing his list of parts that need to be ordered and brought back to the boat in October. For The First Mate, it’s a general clean up of the inside of the boat, especially the heads. Plus there is the galley cleaning of stove and refrigerator. For Berlin, it’s a wash down of the top sides of the boat. With hose in hand, she attacks the boat with gusto managing to stay cool in the process, not get the other boats around her wet and maybe not use too much water.

 

 

Friday, July 21st – Discovering that it is best to stay out of the way while we work, Berlin hunkers down to text her friends back home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It has been a joy having Berlin on Avante with us again as we cruise out here in the Pacific. Our hope is that she will look back on this and realize what a special time and place she was in. One cannot help but wonder what this part of the world will be like when she reaches our ages? Will there be pristine beaches with no foot steps where one can sit alone to watch the surf? We certainly hope so for her sake and for all those who follow her.