Adventures in Viani Bay

An overview of Viani Bay

After several days of waiting for a good weather window, we finally made our way northeast around Vanua Levu to the famed Viani Bay in early June.  This is where you anchor if you have any interest in diving some of the best areas in Fiji – the “White Wall” and “Rainbow Reef”. 

After taking the “Cruisers Seminar” offered in Savusavu by Curly – a seasoned cruiser who gives advice, warnings and waypoints to the newly arrived – we were definitely “scared straight” about all the potential reefs  on which we might run poor Bella Vita aground.  Curly basically spends several hours beating it into your head that about 200 boats each year go aground in Fiji and 4-5 are totally lost.  Serious stuff and not to be taken lightly!  So we approached Viani Bay with all of the caution of a brand new boaters….and we're glad we did!

Just can't resist a sweet pooch!

With myself (Stacey) on the bow, walkie talkie in hand and Brett behind the wheel, we carefully entered the bay trying to find the perfect spot to anchor – really just a spot where we wouldn’t hit one of the many coral heads if we spun on our anchor in shifting winds.  Here’s an excerpt of me on the walkie talkie to Brett, “Okay….hard to see as the water is a bit murky but it looks okay for about 200 feet ahead.  I see a bomie at 2:30 about 40 feet out…..another bomie at 9 o’clock…..but the path ahead looks totally clear….STOP!!!!!  STOP!!!  BACKUP!!  REVERSE!!!  REVERSE!!!”.  With visibility at about 10 feet the coral heads would seemingly loom up out of nowhere.  This scene was repeated about 10 more times.  It was completely nerve-racking. 

Jack Fisher in Viani Bay

After spending over an hour looking for a spot we finally just took one of the mooring balls offered by Jack Fisher.  Normally we avoid mooring balls as you never know how good they are so we don’t like to trust them, but at this point our nerves were shot and we just didn’t care.  Shortly after taking the mooring we were visited by the infamous Jack himself – a local Fijian who has made it his business to meet every cruiser that comes to the area.  Jack is a very friendly guy and often takes cruisers out to the reefs to show them the best dive and snorkel spots (for a small fee) and will take care of your boat (or dinghy) while you are in the water.  Jack has captained many boats and is generally a good guy.  We spent a fair amount of time with Jack (fishing and snorkeling) and since he’s a very talkative guy we learned his life story in pretty short order!  Suffice it to say that Jack has done many things, and has a very, very large family! 

Caz & Jim from Somerset - good times.

When it came to diving Brett choose to dive with a certified company – namely Dolphin Bay Divers.  They were an excellent outfit and we would recommend them to divers of all levels.  If I ever get over my fear of tight places and breathing underwater I would definitely go to them to get dive certified as they were a wonderful group of people.  Brett ended up doing four dives with them and felt they were some of the best of our trip so far. 

The entrance to the school grounds - fancy!

While in Viani Bay we took a stroll through the village and checked out the local school – quite a nice “campus”!  It was really neat seeing the kids from around the bay all loaded into a panga – their version of a school bus – traveling back and forth to school each day.  Each day they would pass us and we’d wave and shout BULA (the local greeting) and they would all get really excited and wave and shout back.  I think it might have been making the driver a little nervous though as the boat was loaded to the hilt and low in the water – better to stay calm and not rock the boat! 

The main schoolhouse

One of the fish I caught!

If you are into fishing, Viani Bay is a definitely a good spot to cast your best lure!  While out with Jack, Brett and our friend Jim from Somerset we caught a good sized Walloo – which made an excellent dinner that night!  Jim and I caught another one a couple days later and between the two fish and Jim’s lessons I’ve now got a pretty good idea of how to fillet a fish.  I can’t believe it’s taken so long, but I’m definitely getting into fishing – big time!

All in all, it was a lovely stay in Viani Bay.  A big thanks to Jack for making our stay so great!

The rest of the view of Viani Bay

Arriving at Savusavu, Fiji

The sunset at Savusavu

The Copra Shed Marina

After spending a few very blustery days at Minerva Reef, the winds finally abated enough to carry on and complete our trip to Savusavu, Fiji, arriving on May 25th (yeah, I know……waaaaaaay behind on my posts!  Bad Stacey!).

Customs officials being brought to a boat.

We were quickly greeted by the very friendly staff of the Copra Shed Marina who showed us to our reserved mooring and soon dispatched the local officials to our boat.  Checking in at Savusavu is an absolute breeze, especially compared to some of the other stories we heard from friends that checked in elsewhere.  Here, it’s all coordinated by the marina and they not only bring the officials to your boat, but also take care of getting your cruising permit for you – fantastic service and well worth the $5 US they charge you for it. 

Some boats get left for good here...

The first officials to visit are from Biosecurity and Health.  Once they have determined you are healthy and that you’ve not brought anything illegal into the country (and you’ve fed them lots of cookies), you take care of a couple easy forms and off they go to be replaced by the next group, Customs and Immigration.  More cookies and a couple more forms and viola!  We are officially good to go.  Not enough Fijian cash on board to pay the fees?  No problem – just drop the money by the office sometime over the next week.  All four officials were extremely courteous and friendly.  I think I’m definitely going to like it here…. 

Downtown Savusavu

By the time we’d finished with the officials and completed all the post passage activities (getting the boat ship-shape) it was time to go and visit the MANY boats we knew in the harbor and catch up over beers at the “yacht club”.  We couldn’t believe how many boats we knew in the anchorage – there must have been 12!  And several were some of our favorite people – just what the doctored ordered.  It was great to catch up with friends and to share our adventures since we had last connected.  Even better was going out to great curry dinner with two rounds of drinks for a mere $10 per person!!!  I am DEFINITELY going to like it here – we can actually afford it!

The bus station - usually a HUB of activity!

Savusavu is a sweet little town, with a main street, lots of little clothing and cheap goods shops, a couple of restaurants and two main grocery stores.  The grocery stores were MUCH better than anything we saw in Tonga, but still not even close to something you’d find in the US.  It’s  like something between a mini-mart and a small local grocery store at home – mostly filled with the basics.  But I’m not complaining!  Just happy to have a place to restock.  Even better was the produce and fruit market since we were completely out of everything fresh!  Turns out in early May you can get many things, including pineapples, bananas (there are ALWAYS bananas), papaya, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant and bokchoy to name a few.  There was even a little lettuce – awesome!  And don’t forget to pick up some kava – the national drug of choice.  We would need that to present to village chiefs along the way – but more on that in another post…

Locals fishing at sunset

Something we particularly enjoyed in Savusavu was watching the Fijians fish as the sun went down.  They have these crazy rafts that look a little like the one Tom Hanks made in the movie Castaway - made of bamboo and mighty rickety looking.  The locals go out right at dusk and fish for hours.  Some of them have little LED lights on board, but most are just fishing in the dark.  Never did find out what they were catching... 

More people fishing...those rafts are crazy!

All in all it was just great to finally be in Fiji – the land that we’d heard so much about and have so looked forward to seeing.  And we were especially thankful to have had a fairly easy trip from New Zealand since the area is known for its harsh weather.  Thanks be to the weather gods and for another successful long passage!

Dogs run wild in downtown Savusavu

Living the Dream

It's 2:10 in the morning as I sit and listen to the persistent banging of a halyard coming from the foredeck and the low moan of something stretching to it's absolute max. That something is the harness on our chain that keeps the pressure off our windlass when we are anchored. I'm trying not to imagine it breaking - a real possibility even though it's 5/8" 3-strand line with chafe protection. It's under incredible load as the wind has been howling in the 30's for over 12 hours and the fetch is causing the boat to hobby horse like a bucking bronco. Something else bangs in the dark and I quickly glance up at the wind meter......36.8 knots. Well, I think.....at least it's not 40 knots.....yet.

I'm on anchor watch and as the wind gusts again what I'm REALLY thinking is how thankful I am to be here. That we are not at sea in these conditions, out there in this storm where some of my friends are right now. I send up a prayer that they have made it far enough to avoid the worst of it. I'm worried sick for them, but trying to keep the faith as they are excellent sailors.

We are anchored in a tiny little outpost called Minerva Reef. It's a popular stopover for cruisers making the long passage between New Zealand and Fiji and a good spot to duck into during a storm. Not that you can actually hide, since there is no real land to speak of. It's simply a low-lying ring of reef that is almost completely awash at high tide, but just high enough to keep the huge rolling waves temporarily at bay. It's about as close as you can get to anchoring in the middle of the Pacific ocean and I'm incredibly thankful to be here.

As the fetch from the waves hits our cockpit enclosure because the tide is high and the waves are growing, I try not to let the noise overwhelm me. I try to distract myself from thoughts of the other boats breaking free and hitting us or of our boat coming loose and crashing onto the reef....of losing everything. So far we are all staying put and the holding is very good - I just need to get through this night. I'm not safe at home, the boat is not tied to the dock and I can't walk away no matter how scary it gets. This is the life I have chosen and there is no other place to be tonight other than out here in the middle of the ocean. And so I write this post to help the time pass and to give you a chance to see another side of our life at sea.

Just another day living the dream. Living the dream.

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Birthdays and Leaving New Zealand

The birthday boy with Cape Brett in the background.

On the 26th of April we officially rounded "Cape Brett", which is basically the front door to one of New Zealand's most prized cruising grounds - the Bay of Islands.  What's the big deal about the 26th you might ask?  Well my friends, it just so happens to be Brett's birthday!  And we couldn't help but take a photo of Cape Brett with Birthday Brett!

How many candles on that cake Brett???

After firmly setting the hook at the highly recommended Urupukapuka Bay (how fun is that name to say?) with our buddies on Mystic Moon nearby, we gathered to celebrate the auspicious occasion.  There was a lot of toasting, a bit of candle blowing (damn those trick candles anyway, right Brett?) and generally a lot of merriment.  Especially since Mystic had brought along some very nice whiskey!  A big thanks to Kathy and John for joining us and for being a part of a really fun night.

Having fun with John and Kathy from Mystic Moon.

We've spent the last week ticking last minute items off the pre-departure list, we've had plenty of time to prepare and consider our upcoming passage.  Countless hours have been spent looking at and analyzing the grib (weather) files, considering our options and talking to other cruisers.  It's hard not to be a little worried as this is a tough piece of water to get across, but we are as ready as we can be and it looks like our window is finally here.

As I sit in Opua trying to get our blog up to date before we leave tomorrow for Fiji, I've spent a lot of time reflecting and reliving our time here in New Zealand.  While it's been a little tough to swallow how ridiculously expensive it is here (imagine spending an entire years budget in just 6 months), we've also had some amazing esperiences and cruised in some beautiful areas.  I have been truly impressed with the locals we've met here - they are funny and kind, but also will tell you EXACTLY what they think about pretty much anything.  No political correctness here - and that's really refreshing!  They will not hesitate to invite you into their home and their lives, even when you've just barely met.  Again - refreshing!

So while we are now significantly poorer financially for having come to New Zealand, the friends we've made, the places we've seen and the time spent cruising this beautiful north island were worth every penny to me.  And while I am very ready to go, I will still miss it here after I'm gone. 

Goodbye New Zealand!

Cruising Great Barrier Island

How could something so cute be endangered?

We arrived at Great Barrier Island in early April – fairly far along in the fall season.  For those of you who don’t know, New Zealand has opposing seasons to the United States – so their summer runs from December through February.  Wouldn't it be weird to have Christmas in the middle of summer?  In Seattle we all know how wonderful it is when we get a true “Indian Summer” – especially if it lasts into October!  I’m happy to report that is exactly what we experienced at Great Barrier Island.  While the days were getting shorter and it would definitely cool off the minute the sun went down, the days were mostly sunny, warm and wonderful.

Early morning fog lifts at Wairahi Bay

Our stay at Great Barrier focused completely on the area around Port Fitzroy.  From Waiheke it’s about a 7 hour sail and thankfully ours was uneventful.  Our first stop was Oneura Bay, located on the western side of the island.  When we first arrived the bay was perfectly flat and completely deserted.

Unfortunately we found out that was likely because it gets a little rolly at night.  I felt like I was back in the La Cruz area with all the rocking and rolling we did!   In the morning we both looked at each other and said enough of that!  So off we went, motoring the short distance to Wairahi Bay where we suspected our friends on Mazu were anchored.  We were happy to find not only them, but our friends on Exit Strategy too and happy hour was quickly organized for that evening.  Thanks to Mazu for hosting - it was great to catch up with both boats since we hadn’t seen them since Tonga.

Unfortunately the next day I came down with a minor cold, so Brett had to go hiking without me.  While I was definitely sorry to miss his trip up the Wairahi River (which sounded pretty great) I will admit to enjoying a lazy day of reading and napping all by myself.  Thankfully I was fully recovered in just a few days and was soon investigating the area on my inflatable paddleboard.  Even though the water was pretty murky I spotted three different manta rays within about 20 minutes.  Cool!

Hiking up the Wairahi River

We spent four nights in Wairaahi bay, but eventually decided we should probably see something else in the area, so we started up the motor and reset the hook in nearby Stony Bay.  This spot is exactly the kind of place Brett and I love – a tiny little nook that you can tuck away in that is small enough that no one else can anchor right next to you.  Absolute bliss!  It’s amazing how much this area reminded us of cruising in the northwest – especially up north in the Broughtons.  We felt right at home….except……there are penguins here!  Yes - actual penguins!  How cool is that?  They are called Blue Penguins (Korora) and are very small – maybe 8-12 inches long – but boy do they make a racket as the sun goes down!  It’s pretty funny to listen to them and you can almost imagine they are bellied up to the bar boasting to all of their buddies about the adventures they had that day.  They are that loud!

Who knew this little guy could be so loud!

While in Stony Bay we reunited with some new AND old friends.  After our first night we were joined by both Katie M II and Mystic Moon.  Martin and Angela (Katie M) were nice enough to come over and tell the rest of us all about Fiji, including loaning us some charts that we photographed and put on our iPads (don’t you just LOVE technology!).  It was great information and got all of us very excited to get there.  In fact, we were so excited that that we’ve decided NOT go back to Tonga and just go straight to Fiji.

How cute is this Brown Teal Duck???

Since the wind was forecast to turn around we had to move again, so all three boats moved over to Kaiaraara Bay before the first big blow was supposed to come through.  Since Exit Strategy was also there we hosted everyone on Bella Vita for drinks.  Yes – it’s true – we CAN actually fit 8 in our cockpit and a good time was had by all.

We ended up meeting a fascinating local – a Brown Teal Duck (Pateke), which is actually endangered.  This little guy was so cute we were immediately taken in by him.  They are amazingly friendly – especially when you…..ummmm….feed them.  Our little buddy popped by to see us every day and he definitely had our number.  This was clearly not his first rodeo and he was highly skilled at working the anchorage.  But damn he was adorable!

The amazing Kaiaraara Dam

There are some fantastic hikes to do in this area – the island is just covered with an amazing trail system.  I continue to be  astounded at how much time and effort the Kiwi’s put into maintaining hiking (trekking) trails all over the country.  We took a great hike up to the Kaiaraara Dam – an old dam used in the early 1900s to push logs down the river to the bay below.  While we didn’t make it all the way up to the top of the mountain (ran out of daylight) we did make it to the dam and were VERY impressed with the feat of engineering it proved to be. 

Brett crossing a huge suspension
bridge while hiking up to the dam.

Sadly, our days at Great Barrier had to come to a close.  They were forecasting a big storm (40-45 knots) and we decided we didn’t want to get caught at GBI for it.  The time had come to head back to Whangarei for final provisioning before sailing north to Opua, so off we went two days before the bad weather was forecast to hit. 


Unfortunately the 15-20 knots of wind showing for our trip across ended up being more like 25-35 with extremely lumpy seas (imagine being inside a washing machine and you’ll know what it was like).  Since it was only an 8 hour trip I had decided I would be fine without seasickness pills.  BIG MISTAKE!  I was fine for the first couple of hours, but suffice it to say the next five hours were pure misery.  I have NEVER been that seasick in my life!

Feeling GREAT while hiking!

For those of you who have never been really seasick (I’m not just talking a little queasy here), let me describe what it feels like – at least for me.  First my head starts to feel a little funny – almost like a sinus headache.  Then my stomach starts to feel off with added pressure in the head.  All I want to do is sleep.  Then the nausea gets much worse and I head for the rail, hoping it’s short lived.  After a couple bouts of this I realize I am freezing cold and no matter how many blankets or coats I wrap up in, I just can’t get warm.  It’s shocking how quickly you can go from fine to feeling really, really weak.  It can be completely debilitating.

I don't like being completely useless as a first mate and Brett hated watching me feeling so miserable.  Suffice it to say that I've learned my lesson about assuming I’ll be fine just because it’s a "short" trip.  From now on I WILL take the drugs, no matter how short the trip – thank you very much!  But the thing that really gets me fuming?  I’ve been getting worse instead of better!  WTF???  But it’s true!  I never used to get sea sick and have done countless trips with no problems.  And yet the longer I’ve been out cruising the more issues I’ve had – even in conditions I used to scoff at!  How bizarre (and frustrating!) is that?

This is how they build some bridges,
one piece at a time.  Impressive!

I’m happy to report that we did eventually make it into Marsden Cove without me going overboard or anything breaking on Bella Vita.  And the predicted big storm did come and it was just as bad (if not worse) than predicted, so even though we had a terrible, nasty trip, we were glad we went when we did as it could have been much worse.

Regardless of how it ended, we LOVED cruising Great Barrier Island and only wished we had more time to spend there exploring all the nooks and crannies it had to offer.  Maybe some day we’ll be back to do just that. 

Finally Cruising New Zealand!

The view from Cable Bay Vineyard

A classic example of a one-way bridge in New Zealand
seen while hiking.  These are found everywhere!

After many, many weeks spent working on the boat and getting it back into ship shape condition after almost two years of cruising, it was time to leave Whangarei and FINALLY get out and do some exploration of the great Hauraki Gulf.  So we waited for high tide and off we went down the long Hatea River and back out into the Pacific Ocean once again.  It had been just over 4 months since Bella Vita had passed through Bream Bay after traveling all the way from Tonga and she felt like she was chomping at the bit to get back out there.  We were happy to oblige.

A view of Sandy Bay

Our first stop was little Kawau Island, about 40 miles south of Whangarei Head and about 20 miles north of Auckland.  Kawau Island is slightly famous among cruisers as this is where Lin and Larry Pardey have a home where they spend the majority of their time when not traveling.  For those who don’t know them, they are probably two of the most well known American cruisers of all time – having traveled over 200,000 miles by boat – all under 30 feet with no engine!  Not exactly my choice of how to cruise, but you have to respect people that have seen that much water under their keel.  We happened to anchor in the bay in front of their house (North Cove) and through a series of coincidences, ended up actually meeting them.  While we didn’t spend a lot of time together, they seemed nice and were certainly kind and very interesting to talk to.

Islington Bay on Motutapu Island before the hordes
from Auckland descended - people outside Auckland
call them JAFA's (just another #$%^ Aucklander).

After a few lovely days at Kawau, we made our way down to Gulf Harbor Marina to take care of a few last projects that we couldn’t finish in Whangarei – namely a problem with our genset and another issue with our radar.  Thankfully, we were able to take care of both issues quickly and also got to enjoy some time visiting with some friends that left the year before we did.  Next stop – Motutapu Island!

The back side of the gun battery on Motutapu Island

Where the gun sat, looking out towards the Pacific Ocean.

Motutapu is just a short 5 miles or so from Auckland, so you can imagine how many boats pop over for the weekend.  That said, we were lucky enough to spend some time there during the week when it wasn’t as crowded.  We actually stayed at three different spots – Sandy Bay, Waikalabubu Bay and Islington Bay – all of which were pretty great in their own ways.  But the best thing about Motutapu Island are the hikes you can do from almost anywhere you decide to anchor!  Once again, New Zealand displayed the amazing array of hiking trails that are kept up almost anywhere you find yourself and we definitely took advantage.  The coolest thing to do (IMHO) is to visit the Motutapu "counter-bombardment” Battery – an old gun station that was build in 1937/38.    There were two huge gun sites, long since abandoned, but still interesting to see.  Unfortunately (or fortunately!) the site never saw any action and was deconstructed after the end of World War II.  The best part was exploring the pitch black ammunition magazines that had been build underground – pretty neat how them made that all work.

Looking down into one
of the magazine areas.

After thoroughly exploring Motutapu, we made our way over for a week or so at Waiheke Island – located just a little to the southeast.  What a great island to explore – so many different things to see!  Being a short ferry ride from Auckland and absolutely chock full of great wineries it is a VERY popular spot for city dwellers to get away for a day or two.  We stayed in three different bays on Waiheke – Oneroa, Rocky and Man O’War Bay.  We loved all three for very different reasons.  Oneroa was our first stop and this is located right off the main “town” on the island (aptly named Oneroa!).  Think quaint but upscale seaside village and you will have the picture in your head.  Very sweet with lots of little shops, cafés and expensive restaurants, not to mention a bus service that will take you to one of the dozen or so wineries on the west half of the island - how great is that?  The all day bus pass is only $14 NZD.

Reading to start tasting!

We did decide we should check out a few of those wineries, so with our friends from Mersoleil we set out for the Cable Bay vineyard – about a 15-20 minute walk out of town.  What a spectacular setting and some beautiful architecture showcasing some fairly decent wine.  As everything in New Zealand that has to do with food or alcohol is fairly expensive, we did not make any purchases – but we DID decide to give some of their small plates a try while we sampled a full glass of wine before returning to the town.  I can honestly say that the food we had at Cable Bay was some of the best we had in all of NZ – almost as good as the food back in Seattle!  Of course, being of a British lean, the food here tends to be a little on the bland side (sorry to our our English friends, but it’s true!).  But I digress!  Cable Bay Winery was a great spot and I highly recommend a stop if you are in the area.

A great sunset at Rocky Bay - note Auckland to the left!

Rocky Bay was a sweet little secluded spot with nary another cruising boat in site.  We basically had the place completely to ourselves for the few days we were there and we reveled in the time alone.  It’s amazing that we could be just an hour away from the biggest city in New Zealand and feel so far away from everything.  We did have a little excitement though when I discovered that our visa’s (as in immigration) were going to expire in just 4 days and we hadn’t sent in our renewal request yet!  Thank goodness there was a bus stop right next to the anchorage and I was able to take our paperwork into town to be overnighted to the immigration office.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute, eh?

Mussels galore!

The great mussel gatherers.

Our last stop on Waiheke was to re-join our friends on Mersoleil in Man O’War Bay on the very eastern side of the island.  We were blessed with more fantastic sunny days and so organized a trip out to the local mussel farm to harvest about a gazillion mussels for a big feast.  Joined by friends on Anniara, Mersoleil and Allegria we all took our dinghy’s to do a little harvesting.  Apparently the mussel farms are fine with you taking anything on the outer barrels, away from their main growth area.  Sweet!!!  In about 15 minutes we had enough mussels to feed about 15-20 people – which meant the 11 of us definitely would not go hungry.  Only down side was that we had to clean and de-beard them all, but they were well worth it.  It was a great night and we were thankful to spent the time with new and old friends before taking off for our next stop – Great Barrier Island!

All done cleaning - do we get to eat them yet???

Stay tuned for more on
cruising in New Zealand…..

  

Hiking on Motutapu Island - incredible views!

New Zealand Road Kill

Okay, we'll start with one that's fairly easy...

This on is a little tougher...

Okay, I know, I know.....this is a totally sick topic to do a post on.  But I have to say that Brett and I have developed this weird habit of taking pictures of the road kills we come across during our forays out into the countryside while hiking.  And while I hate to admit it - some of the photos are kind of cool - even while they are totally gross.   Yes, yes, we'll seek medical help soon....

So take a look if you think you can handle it and lets see if you can figure out what they are!  All guesses are welcome.  And if you.....ummmm......don't like it, than simply skip this post! 

And finally the real challenge!