Savu Savu - Taveuni
Savu Savu - Taveuni in Google Maps (webbrowser) and in Google Earth (separate application)
Fawn Harbor
The southerly winds after a passing trough would be ideal to sail to Taveuni. But the accompanying rain keeps me moored in Savu Savu. By the time the rain ends, the south-easterlies return and I have to tack 30 miles upwind. Fortunately, the Spindrift guide proves accurate and a wind shift after 5 miles allows me to lay Fawn Harbor on the other tack surprisingly comfortable. I stay only over night before sailing and motoring to Viani Bay.
Viani Bay
Entering the quite large Viani Bay, I’m looking for the right anchoring spot. Not paying enough attention, I rumble over a coral head. As soon as the anchor is down, I’m checking the damage: Luckily I only scraped some paint from a daggerboard… Outside Viani Bay lies the Rainbow Reef, one of the top 10 dive sites in the world. Most people dive from Taveuni, but Jack Fischer takes cruisers out from Viani Bay. I’m all by myself and he guides me to anchor Blue Bie no hundred meters from the thundering reef. After he drops me with the dinghy at the start of the Purple Wall, I dive 20-30m down and let the currents drift me peacefully along the wall. I’ve never seen so much purple in my life with hard and soft corals abounding and purple fishes zagging around.
Sevu Sevu @ Jack's
Fellow cruisers fill my tank and we present Sevu Sevu to Jack, even if he is strictly speaking no village chief. We drink Kava and his wife cooks a delicious meal with local ingredients as Tarot, Cassava and the omnipresent chicken. Neighbors sell us some freshly caught octopus, which the children tenderize by beating with sticks before Sophie pre-cooks them. It’s a jolly evening and they are ‘presenting’ their single niece once they learned that I’m a single-hander…
Fresh octopus
Jack takes me out on the White Wall the next day. It’s an even more dramatic dive through a 20m high chimney full of fish and coral. The chimney is so beautiful that I dive it twice and spend the majority of the dive in it. The white wall, while not as colorful as the Purple Wall, amazes with a sheer drop-off in the deep blue.
Jack's house
Nasasobu Bay
I’m meeting my friends on Kalida and Migration a few miles back in Nasasobu Bay. They introduce me to the local family and we spend happy afternoons on their porch, flattening pandanus leaves, playing volley ball and Swiss mountain horn. It’s incredible how many steps are required to make pandanus mats and it’s better not calculate the hourly wages. But it’s a perfect occupation to chat over all the important and unimportant things in life.
Pandanus mat weaving
It’s a magnificent place without traffic or any other noise. All I hear are the distant waves breaking on the reef and hundreds of flying foxes screaming and soaring from the trees in late afternoon. We go to the village in the adjacent bay to present Sevu Sevu to the chief and to visit a small waterfall with to date undeciphered petro glyphs. We get plenty of fresh fruit from the family and our diet is beautifully varied: Indian dishes on Kalida, Thai dishes on Migration and Italian pasta on Blue Bie.
Nasasobu volleyball
Taveuni
The garden island Taveuni is no ten miles, but worlds apart from Nasasobu Bay. A small tourist industry has developed with a few boutique resorts and restaurants. In addition to diving on the Rainbow Reef, Taveuni offers some local attractions, such as a coastal walk or small waterfalls. While not spectacular, I enjoy swimming in fresh water and gliding down a waterfall.
Taveuni waterslide
The very best of Taveuni is right next to the dinghy landing: Audrey’s Café. The elderly Audrey serves every day three different divine, home-made cakes and iced coffees on the terrace of her house. A beautiful garden with a view of park-like palms and the yachts in the background completes the settin. Feeling entirely at home, I idle a few afternoons away on her terrace, reading a book and chatting with fellow guests and her.
Audrey's Café
Viani Bay - Savu Savu - Viani Bay - Taveuni
I slowly get on my way towards Nananu-I-Ra to go kitesurfing, stopping on the way in Viani Bay to do some more dives on the Rainbow Reef. While I had a great time the first time, it feels a bit like a mad-house with 10 yachts and more than 15 divers queuing to get in the water. A fast downwind passage brings me to Savu Savu, where I get rid of litter, get the laundry done and do some shopping.
Stimmte gestern, doch innert 36 Stunden vereinbare ich für die nächsten drei Monate Besuch an Bord. So muss ich mich auch entscheiden, wo der Besuch hinfliegen soll. Ich entschliesse mich, für den Rest der Saison in Fidschi zu segeln, da es mir hier ausnehmend gut gefällt, das einfache Cruisen für Gäste angenehm ist und die Rückfahrt nach Neuseeland hoffentlich einfacher ist als von Vanuatu.
Modern times
My plans are changing rapidly, too. Rather than going to Nananu-I-Ra, I return to Taveuni to meet Kathrin, who has sailed with me in New Zealand a few months ago. She will be sailing with me for a few days before going on dive holidays. I even more anticipate the visit of my dad: he will be coming in September and we will be sailing together from Suva to the remote Kadavu Islands. Blue Bie knows the way to Taveuni by now and it’s a beautiful upwind passage back to Taveuni, with the sun reflecting like molten silver on the deep blue ocean.
And so it comes that I sit once more on Audrey’s terrace, eating delicious coconut cake, drinking iced coffee and writing my diary. Life could be worse:)
Stingray
So sitze ich jetzt wieder bei Audrey auf der Terrasse, geniesse eine Kokosnuss-Schnitten mit Eiskaffee und warte auf das Kleinflugzeug, welches Kathrin bringt.
View from Audrey's Café
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