Steve enjoys his Kava              The ladies selling their wares                 The band strikes up

The dancers smiled and giggled throughout their performance, despite the intermittent heavy rain. 

The whole family joined in the singing and clapping and it was a very joyous affair

The feast laid out                     The band played on into the night

We spent another couple of days in the bay as the weather remained wet and very windy.  Time wasn't wasted as we serviced the alternator on the generator and serviced the winches.  There are always jobs to be done to keep the boat in order.  In the bay is the Ark Gallery - a floating craft shop selling art, cards hand-painted t-shirts and other local crafts; they also maintain the mooring buoys we were using.  On our last night in the bay, the square rigged ship, the 'Soreen Larsen' (the ship used in the '70s TV program 'The Onedin Line') anchored behind us for the night and left the next morning with some sail up.  She is looking a bit worn and could do with a bit of loving, but impressive all the same.  We moved again on the 4th of September back around to Port Maurelle as it offered such excellent shelter in the still very strong winds.  We stayed there for the night before sailing back into Neiafu to shop and get ready to depart for Fiji.  However, before we left we had a fine day and went out to look for Whales and what a treat we had.  We had only returned to the back of the anchorage of Port Maurelle when we came across our first mother and calf Humpbacks.  They were gently cruising along the reef where we had snorkelled and gone out to Swallows Cave.  We stayed with them for about 4 hours watching the calf come up to breath every 15 minutes or so, when it would stay on the surface for 4 or 5 minutes, look around and play.  The mother surfaced about every 30 minutes.  She was enormous but very gentle with the calf.  They both came straight to the boat on one occasion and we got some great pictures and video footage, neither of which do justice to the excitement we felt at their closeness and shear size.  They became very used to the boat being near them and they seemed quite content with our presence, so much so that we got in the water with them.  The calf was very inquisitive and came to take a closer look at us on several occasions and it really was very special to see them underwater.  We remained very aware of the power of the giant tails though and kept our distance, despite it being difficult when the calf came to us!  We left this pair alone and moved out towards the island of Ovalau where we found another mother and calf.  The calf was more active and a little older and kept putting his head above the water to look at us, he also surfaced very close to the boat.  We spent another magical 2 hours with them and swam again to watch them underwater.  It was one of the most wonderful experiences we have ever had and one we will never forget. 

Below are some of the amazing whale pictures taken - if you want to see more just click here.

An inquisitive calf leaves its mother to come and have a look

8 - 12 September 2007  On the 7th of September it was regrettably time to leave The Kingdom of Tonga for Fiji, a journey of some 450 nm.  We cleared customs and immigration and set sail out of Vava'u via Ava Pulepulekai and we were again treated to the sight of Humpbacks as we left.  The wind was a steady 15 kts, but the seas were lumpy and uncomfortable.  Unfortunately they stayed that way for the first 2 days and nights and our progress downwind was an exhausting one, constantly braced against the roll of the boat as we sailed down the large seas.  We planned to sail around the southern end of the Lau Islands, the easterly group that make up Fiji, as the islands are unlit and the extensive volcanic activity in the area made entry via any of the narrow reef passes anything but safe in all but the most favourable conditions.  The weather began to ease as we rounded Fulanga Island on the 10th and by midday we had a nice steady breeze and flattening seas, but still 200nm to go to Viti Levu where we were required to complete the arrival procedure and customs clearance before stopping at any of the outer islands.  The light winds continued and by nightfall we were motoring through a flat calm mirror sea. The sea was so calm that as the planets rose above the horizon they shone a beam of light across the sea that looked like a search light.  It felt as if we were moving through space as the stars reflected in the mirror water and it was impossible to differentiate between sea and sky.  We began to wonder if it signified a flat earth and that we were about to sail over the edge as we ran out of westerly longitude as we approached 180 degrees west.  However, it passed without incident and we can confirm that the earth  indeed  round as we are once again east of Greenwich. These conditions lasted until the afternoon of the 11th when a steady NE breeze began to fill in.  It increased steadily towards evening and by night fall we had a good 18kts and a building sea.  We had decided to enter Fiji in Levuka on Ovalau, an island on the east of Viti Levu and one of the designated ports of entry.  The chart looked good and the reef pass open so we were happy to attempt a night entry.

We arrived off of the entrance at 10 pm in a choppy sea that was now steep and short; however, what we saw did not quiet look like the chart!  We had good leading lights to mark the pass, but no other lights or buoys.  We stuck our nose in as far as we dared, but only saw an unlit derek and no channel marks.  We turned seaward again and lay hove too until dawn; a long, uncomfortable, but safe night.  A grey dawn under a leaden sky revealed what was the entrance, but we remained glad that we had held off until it was light as once inside the reef it was not at all obvious where to anchor.  We chose a spot to windward of the fish processing factory for obvious reasons, but were later asked to move to complete customs, this time downwind!  The wind continued to blow at 20 kts and the reef, while offering a good deal of protection let a swell into the anchorage.  The Health Officer, Customs Officer and Immigration Officer all therefore got a wet ride in the dinghy out to the boat.  The procedure was painless and the officials very helpful and friendly.  Levuka has a wild west frontier feel to it and it was the original capital and centre for the 'blackbirding' trade of the last century.  Over the next few days we will explore the town and dive the reef - if and when the weather settles down!

First view of Levuka and its wild west main street

13 - 16 September 2007  Well, the weather didn't change!  We had 4 days in Levuka, but it rained every day.  We had planned to take a trip up into the hills and to dive; however, we couldn't see the hills and the sea was too rough to dive. We contented ourselves with walking around the town, along the sea front and planning our trip from Fiji to New Zealand.  We also spent a considerable time tracking the weather systems and trying to establish a pattern as the high pressure systems came off Australia between the stream of depressions that were racing across the South Island driven by the Roaring Forties.  It was all a bit daunting really.  Anyhow, we checked out with Customs late on Friday afternoon and left Levuka very early on a sunny Sunday morning for Suva.  The seas had calmed down and we passed the reef with no problems and settled down for the 60nm run around to Suva.  The weather held all day as we hugged the coast with the mountains as a dramatic backdrop.  It took us 9 hours to reach the entrance to Suva Harbour, which is a major shipping channel and presented no problems in entering.  We made our way over to the yacht moorings by the Royal Suva Yacht Club and anchored ready to check in again with Customs in the main port on Monday morning.
 

Views around Levuka

16 September - 27 September 2007  Suva proved to be as wet as Levuka!  It rained everyday that we were there, which restricted what we were able to do; however, it didn't stop us getting out and about.  We also wanted to get the boat as ready as we could in preparation for the trip South to New Zealand, which was ever present in our minds as we have to arrive by the end of October and don't want to box ourselves into a corner and be forced to make the passage when the weather was not optimal.  Conversely, we don't want to leave too early as it is still very early spring and cold further South!  The Royal Suva Yacht Club was friendly and although a little tired, provided a warm welcome, as did the rest of Fiji.  They had an excellent bar and restaurant and were able to provide fuel.  We changed the oil in both the engine and generator and serviced both, and we went over the storm gear, rigging and lines to make sure that everything was in order.

The Police and Army in ceremonial dress

Suva is a large commercial port and a little scruffy, but safe and friendly.  There seemed to be more Hindi, Indo-Fijian and Chinese residents than Fijians in Suva.  At times we could have been in Bangalore.  We both like Indian and Chinese food so were spoilt for choice and we were able to eat out very cheaply indeed in the market and at the roadside stalls.  The food was excellent, although some of the hygiene standards left a bit to be desired.  We survived anyway.  The local buses provided a cheap and easy way to travel and we made the most of them, never paying more that $1 for a journey.  We caught the bus up to Colo-I-Suva Forestry Park and we had an excellent day walking the trails through the lush rain forest along the dramatic waterfalls.  Needless to say, there was plenty of water in them!  Fortunately, the rain was warm and although we frequently got soaked we stayed warm and soon dried.  The Forestry Park has some 6.5km of well maintained trails, complete with Indiana Jones rope swings and stone steps across streams.  Although we heard lots of birds they were exceptionally well hidden and we had hoped to see some of the indigenous birds like the scarlet robin, spotted fantail, golden dove and the barking pigeon.   The Forestry Park was the film location for 'The Anaconda' - luckily, they didn't leave any of the wriggling cast behind!  We also walked extensively around the coast of the peninsula on which Suva sits and visited the Museum, which gave an excellent insight into cannibalism and Fiji's past. 

Colo-I-Suva Forestry Park

We are told that it rains less on the western coast as the water all falls on the eastern hills; however, time was ticking for us and we had a good weather window opening for us to leave Fiji on or around the 28th.  The trade winds were forecast to enhance and get stronger south of Fiji, but a very large High Pressure was over Australia and headed across the Tasman Sea to give us nice stable conditions for about 6 days of our planned 10 day passage.  We decided that we would take the first few days of discomfort in the stronger trade winds so that we could make the most of the High, so we checked out from Fiji on the 27th and made ready for sea.  The weather on the night of the 27th was appalling, with very strong winds and torrential rain, but having checked out we were committed to leaving within 24 hours or face a huge amount of paperwork.  Fortunately the rain cleared by mid morning of the 28th and the wind dropped to about 15kts.  We went for it - New Zealand here we come!