May 2008
Hit the flowers below to go to those pages
We were excited about getting a special cruising permit to visit islands with traditional cultures
We got to visit several island locations in 3 1/2 weeks.
Take a look at our photos and comments about these special islands and folks with very few modern conveniences.
These pages are written to guide future Cruisers to the Lau Group
since so little is availabe as a guide.
We arrived in Fiji the 22nd of May after a tedious voyage from NZ and anchored in Suva, the capitol,
to check in. We spent 2 weeks provisioning, repairing and relaxing before sailing off to the Lau Group
for 26 days. Returning from Lau we continued on a counterclockwise journey around the islands
stopping to dive and party in Viani Bay first. Then we sailed on to Savusavu a popular harbor
for cruisers to meet. We were ready to socialize after sailing alone and not seeing another cruising
boat the whole time we were exploring the Lau. The weather in Fiji was strong this season and it seems
like we just flew over the steep waves, often in 30 knots of wind.
We continued on westwards fishing, snorkeling, hiking, shopping and diving until we got to the
westernmost islands, the Yasawas. These were not as rainy as the eastern islands but not as lush with
tropical greenery either. The Yasawas looked like the typical desert island. Then we sailed south to
Musket Cove mooring field. Here we got to socialize with old friends in a resort atmosphere but it was
expensive. Next, we headed to Lautoka to check out of Fiji but was delayed because the freezer quit working.
We got it fixed, hopefully, at Vuda Point Marina along and also completed a few more boat jobs so now
we can get back to playing....that's our main purpose, not boat maintenance.
