Aradonna's blog

We decided to go for a dive this morning on the reef at the NW tip of Namena Is. As usual we descended at the same time, but as quite often happens, we lost sight of each other on the way down to the bottom and then had to look around for each other again. Heather reached the bottom and couldn't see Karl. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a dark shape and turned around expecting to see Karl behind her, but it wasn't Karl. Heather was face to face with a shark! Hovering beside her at about shoulder height and only an arms length away. It was a white tipped reef shark and not terribly big, but enough to get the heart racing! Heather looked around to find Karl and show him this sleek, impressive beast - he was up ahead. As Heather swam towards him another shape appeared from behind her. Swimming past her shoulder was shark number two! When Heather finally caught up to Karl she needed a moment to steady her breathing! The sharks were completely uninterested in us and slowly swam by like we didn't exist. Nice to see them and glad to know we didn't look tasty. Further on, slithering around through the coral was a Giant Moray eel. These things are huge! We have seen plenty of moray eels before when diving in NZ, but this was a massive beast, with a lump of a head and a body as big as the sharks. We managed to get fairly close a few times before he started looking aggressive, poking his head along way out towards us with his big teeth showing. At this point we decided to retreat as his jaw looked big enough to take your hand or even your arm off in one bite. We read later in our reference books that these Giant Morays grow to 280cm and actually eat white tipped reef sharks for dinner! We are very glad we departed before he got hungry - or angry. Quite an exciting dive, and the landscape was very different from other dives. Tall branched coral trees and gigantic lumps of brain coral loomed up from the sandy bottom like an alien landscape. Very dramatic to swim thr ough, with these massive structures towering beside you. Almost like an underwater version of "Valley of the Gods". There was also a drop off, a steep wall encrusted with smaller coral and many pretty reef fish. Great dive! Later in the morning we set sail for Makogai, about 20 N miles south of Namena. We enjoyed a brisk 25-30 knot breeze in slightly choppy seas,a fast and pleasant sail in the sunshine. We arrived in Makogai just in time for a snorkel before the light faded. Delicate lacy corals, teeming with brightly coloured fish - orange, yellow, blue, striking patterns of black and white and orange and yellow on the same fish (male slingjaw wrasse), and a very pretty orange fish with yellow fins and blue eyes. Incredible.

Had sunny skies and a perfect sailing day with 20knot SE winds. Averaged over 7 knots in the 6 hours sail to Namena. Snorkeld the gorgeous coral reef here, corals of lime green, deep green with dark blue tips, dusky pinks fringed with deep burgandy, cream stalks with "forget-me-not blue" tips. Thronging with fish, loads of very large parrot fish. Some blue with bright pink markings, others blue with purple and yellow and green. Very striking. A large turtle let us swim very close by. So beautiful. Our anchorage is beside an area inhabited by large sea birds, they look a bit like gannets, but they have blue beaks. They appear to have nests here. As we sipped on gin and tonics and watched the sun dip down over the horizon, the sea birds flew home, circling above us on invisible air currents, back to their nests for the night. Another special day.

We had intended to go for a dive yesterday, but the weather turned windy and the seas lumpy, so instead we decided to explore the southern reef of Vanua Levu, from the western entrance to Viani Bay. From a distance, this lump of land could be mistaken for the Coromandel peninsula. Patches of pasture with folded green hills and bushes nestling in the folds, large areas of dense bush-clad mountain range. But from closer up, you can see a rim of reef running along the shore. For almost 10km of this shore line the reef is about 1km off the edge of the land. This creates a natural sea wall which protects the southern edge of Vanua Levu over this 10km strip. There is an entrance on the western end and one on the eastern end. Both are narrow passes and the western end pass is very narrow, between sold reef structures. Once inside you can navigate your way along the southern shore in the protected lagoon. It is amazing to see large waves crashing on the reef beside you, but be in completely still calm water. The only trick is, the charts showing where the reefs are do not match reality! So with Karl on bow watch and Heather at the helm, we navigated our way around each rock and reef, though this stretch of beautiful water. We stopped half way and snorkeled the reef, which was pretty - the highlight was swimming with turtles! Eventually we made out way into the Viani Bay area for another snorkel. Then the wind turned to the south so it was coming straight in! It was 3pm, so we made a quick decision to move around the other side of the peninsula. As light was fading we dropped anchor in Nasau Bay which is completely protected from the southerly wind. By morning, the wind had turned to the north and the boat was stern in towards the rocks. After a snorkel along the wonderful coral garden we realised just how close the rocks were to the boat. The yacht itself was still in 14m of water, but the dingy on a line off the back was just inches above the top of the reef! Time to move. As we came out of Viani passage the sea was flat calm and the wind had dropped away. As soon as a little bit of wind came up we decided to have a nice sail towards Fawn Harbour. After getting the sails set the wind got stronger and stronger until we had about 35 knots blowing and big waves slapping against the side of the boat. We reduced sail and continued at a fast clip into the sheltered waters of Fawn Harbour. The rest of the day has been grey and blustery - one of the few bad weather days we have had in the last 3 months. A good time to read books and prepare roast chicken for dinner!

After a good nights sleep on the northern tip of Taveuni, we had a refreshing snorkel before setting off again. This time it was just a day trip, about 25 N miles, through the passage between Taveuni and Vanua Levu, and around the bottom of Venua Levu to Fawn Harbour. Not much wind, so motored over half the way. The entrance to this harbour is through a 1 N mile long channel in the reef. Inside it is calm as a millpond, completely surrounded by reef and mangroves, you would never guess there was a raging surf on the outside. Just after dinner we heard a lot of splashing going on around the boat and looked out to find the whole harbour was alive with jumping fish! These fish, the size of herrings, were leaping 1/2 meter into the air, propelling themselves about 1 meter forward and often skipped along the surface several times like a pebble skimming across the water. There were thousands of these fish, leaping, jumping an skipping in all directions - fun to watch. We laughed as some hi t the side of the boat in their frenzy. What a show! It looked like you could walk across the water on these fish, there were so many of them at the surface. This morning as we came out of the harbour into open water again, we were greeted by a school of around 20 dolphins, gracefully bounding along beside us. Magic! Today we had plenty of wind and enjoyed a swift sail for the last 35 N miles into Savusavu. We arrived at 1.30pm and had cleared customs, health and immigration by 3pm - very easy. Went ashore and explored a little. There is a good fresh produce market, 2 supermarkets, several other useful shops, a few restaurants, cafes and bakeries. Everything we need is very close, just a short walk to all amenities. A handy location. Met up with quite a few boaties we have seen in other spots along the way, plus some new ones. So far it feels like a very friendly, welcoming place, with a smile and "Bula!" from everyone we meet.