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After visiting the top of the Yasawas and enjoying stunning white beaches, we headed back south again, doing a couple of big day-hops. On Sunday during our voyage south, Pieter landed two Barracuda. The first one was 70 cm and the second one was about twice that size! We got to Manta ray channel in time for another drift snorkel and all enjoyed the spectacular seam of purple coral and colourful reef fish. We agreed it had to be the prettiest snorkel of any place we had been (apart from Wallis). We anchored nest to a rather large cat - in fact the largest sailing cat in the world, called "Hemisphere". She is 44.2m long and very impressive - her tender was lying on the other side of us in the bay and looked to be almost the same size as our boat. If you want to find out more about here have a look at www.sy-hemisphere.com she is quite a vessel. In the second big day-hop on Monday, Karl landed two Tuna, which gave us all a superb meal of tuna steaks on Monday night and another fine feas t of Kokoda on Tuesday night! The wind steadily increased as the day wore on and we gave Pieter and Sarah a taste of 'wet-n-wild sailing' with plenty of spray to keep us cool. We had intended to stop at Musket Cove for the night on Monday but the wind was howling in and the bay was chocka-block full of boats. After a hair-raising passage between dozens of anchored boats with strong winds pushing us around, we escaped and anchored in Liku Liku Bay which was tranquil and surprisingly quiet with only two other boats in the bay. We had a lazy day on Tuesday, swimming reading and content to stay put while the wind blew outside the bay. The resort in the bay is an exclusive 5 1/2 star one - guests pay $2800 per night to stay there! We watched several helicopters and sea planes landing and taking off to deliver and pick up their guests who obviously have cash to splash. We all felt rather lucky to be anchored in this bay as it didn't cost us any more than any other bay (nothing) and we had the same view and the same water! Yesterday we arrived at Denarau and had a lovely farewell meal with Pieter and Sarah at Amalfi's restaurant. On the same pier there is a vessel called DragonFly. She is a 230ft motor boat, owned by a Doctor. They sometimes have a team of doctors and nurses on board and visit some of the remote islands - sort of like a floating health clinic, but not in any official capacity. We had some bags of reading glasses left so we gave them to DragonFly to distribute to those who need them most. Today we waved goodbye to our friends as they flew back to NZ and then took the bus to Nadi to stock up on fresh produce again from the market. A $1 bus ride gets us into town and the local produce is very good value (as opposed to the tourist trap of Denarau where everything is so expensive). So now we have filled up with water again, got the laundry up to date and we are ready to explore some more of Fiji. If the wind cooperates we will begin our way south in the m orning, en route to Kadavu Is, which is below Suva on the southern coast of Viti Levu.

Currently anchored up at Nananu-I-Ra (NE end of Viti Levu). It's reputation as a choice spot for windsurfers and kite boarders is well deserved - it is very windy here!

The island is well developed but the resorts are very quiet. There are good walking tracks on the island and some nice beaches,  but it's really too windy to enjoy them. 

Our neighbors are Knot Tide Down and True Blue.

We plan to visit Raki Raki on Friday for provisions then head out to Sawa-I- Lau in the Yasawas on Sunday. 

We really enjoyed visiting Blue Lagoon again on Thursday and Friday. It is a fabulous spot! On Thursday night after cocktails at the resort we were all in the dinghy heading back to Aradonna in the dark when there was a strange clattering noise in the dinghy. Karl thought something had dropped out of the motor, Sarah got a fright and just about jumped overboard. Heather shone the torch around to reveal a Garfish that had jumped into the dinghy and was flapping all about! Pieter was sure it would be good eating, but we decided to return the fish to the bay, happy with the entertainment value of the surprise visit. On Friday we went for a half hour walk to the eastern side of Nanuya-Sewa Island. Coming over the top of the island was spectacular, with views over water and reefs to the north, south and east. About 50 shades of blue! On the eastern shore we visited Lo's tea house and enjoyed some of the banana cake she is famous for. After hiking back to the Blue Lagoon we were ready for a swim. We snorkeled at Savuti Point, where the fish are used to being fed by cruise boat loads of tourists. While it wasn't exactly natural behaviour, it was amazing to see all the colourful reef fish thronging around and being so friendly. One even gave Heather a kiss! It was like swimming in an aquarium, a very special swim. That night we joined our friends from Vegas at the resort for dinner and treated ourselves to Banofi (banana toffee cake) and coconut ice cream for dessert. Delicious! Yesterday we made the trip north to the top of the Yasawas. Long white sandy beaches and crystal clear water over the white sand in the bay, creating a "swimming pool blue" bay. So pretty! We did Sevusevu in the village, we presented some gifts for the kindergarten children and the Chief gave us Papaya and bananas. The chief also gave us his phone number and asked us to call if we come back because he would like to come out fishing on our boat - he will take us to all the right spots! Walking b ack along the beach we had to pinch ourselves again - the bay is so beautiful. We had a swim in the clear water, 27.9 degrees in the water and 32 degrees outside - just perfect. Heather and Karl swam back to the boat and left Sarah and Pieter with the dinghy ride. Sarah made us yummy ginger chicken for dinner, a real treat! Every day seems to have its own magic - we are so very very lucky.

Our friends Pieter and Sarah arrived safely on Monday and we have had fun catching up with them. Tuesday was a special day, flat calm sea for our trip to Waya Is. Stopped at Vomo for a snorkel on the way and soon after we had a pod of dolphins come to play. A great way to welcome our guests to Fiji! We had a guided tour through Yalobi village and met some very friendly locals. We especially liked the school which is extremely well organised and tidy. About 100 children go to the school from year 1 to year 8. School starts at 8.30am and finishes at 3.30pm. Classes end at 3pm and for the last half hour the children do duties, such as beach clean up, picking up rubbish around the school and the village etc. A great idea! Children from two other villages on the island also go to the school - they arrive on Sunday night and board until Friday afternoon to go home to their own village for the weekend. College age children go to the mainland and stay with relatives or attend boarding school . Yesterday we motor sailed in light winds up to Naviti Is, hoping to swim with the Manta rays, but could not see any. Still, the snorkeling was nice in the channel. We took turns at snorkeling while drifting along in the current and getting picked up at the other end in the dinghy. Today on our way to Blue Lagoon we stopped at Spitfire Lagoon. We managed to wiggle our way through the reefs into the lagoon. What a beautiful spot! We snorkeled over the wreck of a small plane which has now become home to puffer fish, anemone fish, blue green chromis and neon blue's. Legend has it that this plane crash landed on the reef many years ago and was then swept into the lagoon by a cyclone. The pilot was missing, presumed dead, until he was discovered a few years later living happily amongst the locals! No one is sure how much of this story is true - but the plane is still in the lagoon for all to see. We are now in the famous Blue lagoon area again and will treat ourselves to a cocktail or t wo at the resort bar tonight. All is well on board - our guests have not stopped smiling since they arrived!