Blogs from Denarau, Fiji, Oceania
April 29th 2012
Fiji : The Islands Fiji is around 1331 miles from Auckland travelling North along the same timeline. The total number of islands constituting the Fiji Islands is 332 of which only 110 are inhabited. The two main islands of the Fiji Islands are Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. We arrived in Nadi (pronounced Nandi) 3 hours from Auckland. Fiji has just gone into it's winter period with temperatures a cool, low 30s. With the heat comes a slowing of pace, it's called 'Fiji time'! On the 3rd of April the military government declared a state of emergency due to severe flooding throughout Nadi and loca areas, 5 people died and hundreds were evacuated from their houses flooded to the rooftops. When you look at the area you can understand why. The flat plains around Nadi and ... read more
April 8th 2012
Not the greatest idea to get the tube to Heathrow on a Friday night at 5pm, pretty much standing the entire way there. However our fortunes changed when our upgrade to Hong Kong came through, sweeeeet! The flight was rather painless, well apart from the shock of moving back into economy from Hong Kong to Auckland. On arrival we went straight to Nic & Quentin’s new place in Onehanga to meet our new niece Tui and catch-up with Hugo – whom we had not seen since he was around Tui’s age. It was great to hang with the whole Reade clan. While in Auckland we had a lot of park, cafe and zoo time with the kids and Nic which was excellent fun. The trip back to NZ really was focused on catching up with family ... read more
September 28th 2011
Captains Log: Distance Run: 219 nautical miles in 23 days 06.09.2011 Southern End Waya Island 07.09.2011 Kuvu B ay 08.09.2011 Natovalo Bay 10.09.2011 Port Denarau 14.09.2011 Wayasewa Island 15.09.2011 Kuvu Bay 17.09.2011 Narewa Bay 19.09.2011 Blue Lagoon 21.09.2011 Narewa Bay 22.09.2011 Off Drawaqa Island 26.09.2011 Port Denarau The Bigger Picture Our time with John and Sharon, as always, was very special. They only had a limited amount of time left of their holiday before they were due to fly back to NZ so we spent the time retracing steps they had taken last year when sailing with the Captain. I mentioned Navadra Island in my previous blog – this would have been one of Sharon’s favorites I think and where we headed after picking them up from Mana Island. In fact Navadra and Vanua Levu islands ... read more
September 13th 2011
Captains Log: Distance run 223 n miles. Total distance to date 1480 n miles (2740km). Date: 20.08.2011 Suva to Tradewinds 21.08.2011 Tradewinds to Lawaki Beach, Beqa Lagoon 28.08.2011 Lawaki to Yanuca Island 28-29.08.2011 Yanuca Island to Western Fiji via Navula Passage to Saweni Bay 30.08.2011 Saweni Bayto Port Denarau 03.09.2011 Denarau to Navadra Island 05.09.2011 Navandra to Mana Island and return The Bigger Picture: Leaving Suva and heading over to the Beqa Lagoon in brisk south easterly trade winds we were all pretty keen to start experiencing the Island lifestyle. Anchored off Lawaki Beach Resort was an awesome start to doing this. The Resort itself is not flash, a backpackers haven. You can have a room or pitch a tent. Meals are taken in the communal area and usually in the company of Sam, the brains ... read more
September 9th 2010
We stayed anchored off the Royal Suva Yacht Club till Saturday arvo on 28th. After a last visit to a supermarket, the fresh veggie market and a petrol station for more engine oil for Hakura, we were ready to head out of Suva Harbour. One slight problem, it was going to take 6 hours motoring to get to Beqa Island and we had less than 6 hours day light left, so we headed to the Bay of Islands (the site of the former “Tradewinds” Hotel) for the night and then an early start on Sunday for Beqa. We arrived in the Bay of Islands about 1500 and were able to pick up a mooring for night. Motored out of Suva Harbour heading south to Beqa Island, leaving at 0750, 29 August. Arrived off Lawaki Beach House ... read more
August 2nd 2010
It's my second day in Fiji aboard Bold Spirit and oh boy, I'm exhausted! Boat life is tough! Today we worked on getting the boat ready to sail. As in I scrubbed and rinsed the deck, getting all the mold off the 'teak' while Kathi cleaned the 'head' and Jeff worked on mechanical things. Quite a change up from yesterday which involved hanging out on the boat while my room was cleaned out and all the items were stuffed into other cubby holes. It really is nice to have my own 'cabin.' I can tell already this trip will be fantastic! This morning Kathi and I caught a taxi into town ($2 FJ) then walked to the market and bulked up on fruit and vegetables: carrots, lettuce, ginger, tomato's, lime, banana, papaya all for only $20 ... read more
Feck all in Fiji - the shortest blog you’ll ever read
Published: July 21st 2009Oceania » Fiji » Denarau
July 21st 2009
OK, we were in Fiji for 2 weeks, however, it was not quite what we thought (read in to that “not impressed“). So I’m not going to regurgitate the day to day stuff that we did but instead, just put a few photo’s up for your perusal (however, if you're on facebook, you'd have already seen these). ... read more
Honeymoon Floats... 180 Degrees Meridien Between The Equator And The Tropic Of Capricorn
Published: November 11th 2008Oceania » Fiji » Denarau
November 2nd 2008
Pacific Airways FJ 930 to Nadi from Melbourne. FINALLY we take off. The overlyloud aircraft music was all harmonised lilting voices and plucked polynesian ukuleles, flight attendants had cream frangipanis tucked behind their ears, drinks were plentiful and multicoloured - it was South Pacific HolidayVibe overkill. Wasn't Halloween a couple of days ago already?? This was just scary! - in a charming twilight zone sort of way ... It's past midnight, I smell of airport, am jetlagged and sleep deprived, still tightly wound from arranging hectic schedules in my absence back home... Ok - deep breaths - 4 counts in, hold for 6, 7 counts out... Fiji Beach Resort & Spa on Denarau Island just off Viti Levu is operated by the Hilton Group. It reminds me a lot of the old Hilton Beach Club in ... read more
November 1st 2008
We arrived on the mainland Fiji on October 31. It was so sad to leave the place. For my birthday, Jeff got us a couples massage on the beach. It was such a nice way to end our stay there. We took an hour long boat ride from the island to Port Denarau. What a difference! The pace here is much more like the city life. As we boarded the bus to take us to our hotel, we couldn't help but notice there were more people on the bus than we had seen on Matamanoa all week! We were definitely spoiled in our little paradise. We took a taxi from our hotel to the downtown area, which is just 1 main street so it's hard to get lost. There are many shops there and the taxi ... read more
October 28th 2008
‘Bula’ everyone. This saying is used frequently throughout the Fiji isles to say ‘hello’. The people have been extremely friendly and seem genuinely pleased to meet us. Fiji has been wonderful. It really is quite an idyllic island (despite having hosted ‘Celebrity Love Island’ on one its 350+ islands). Needless to say we did very little here - just relaxed and enjoyed the sunshine on ‘Fiji time’ (another local saying). We thought the words of the Morecambe and Wise song ‘Bring Me Sunshine’ summed up Fiji for us (for those youngsters among us, I suggest you ask your parents to sing the song to you - they’ll definitely know it!). Bring me Sunshine, in your smile, Bring me Laughter, all the while, In this world where we live, there should be more happiness, So much joy ... read more
