3 weeks of pure bliss
Advertisement
Published: September 1st 2019
">
Sorry for the jerky footage on the youtube video...the pilot is still learning to fly. Anyway, hopefully it does not detract from the beauty and tranquility we found in Vanua Balavu in the Northern Lau area in Fiji.
The Lau area was only opened up to visitors about 10 years ago. Today, it is still rather remote and hard to get to, given the normal southeast tradewinds. The island group encompasses a few hundred miles and is mostly serviced by a monthly supply ship, which often can not stop at all of the islands due to extreme sea conditions. There are two airstrips that service the vast area, but again, flights often are cancelled due to the conditions. There is no tourism in the area, no stores, hotels, etc. The local villagers all live a subsistence lifestyle not much different to their ancestors. Internet is very scare; there was one relatively new cell phone tower in Vanua Balavu which was solar powered, so in inclement weather, there was no signal. On good days, we had to kayak offshore to get a weak signal. Oh well, it was nice to be able to disconnect from the world
and enjoy the beauty that surrounded us. A few of the other islands are able to get basic internet reception at the local schools, thanks to a submarine cable. In Falaga, in the Southern Lau, an area which is very popular with cruising sailboats now, the villagers and teachers all share one internet connection (think back to dial-up speeds of the past) and are allocated a mere 25gb per month. Being gracious people, they allow cruisers to check weather on their internet when needed.
The local village where we stopped in Vanua Balavu, with a population of about 120 people, was in a bay a number of miles away, so aside from us going in to check-in with the chief of the village and request permission to anchor in the village’s waters, we did not encounter any interaction with the locals during our stay. In addition to the customary gift of kava, we were asked for a donation to help the village fund a project to pave a road between the village at sea level and the school at the top of a hill.
Inside the lagoon, scattered amongst all of the gorgeous “mushroom islets” we found a
number of sea caves to explore as well as many different reef areas to snorkel. Some of the caves were large enough to kayak into while others could only be accessed by swimming under a portion of the land. Entering for the first time was nerve wracking as we weren’t quite sure if there was an air pocket once clear of the land and inside the cave at high tide.
Fruit bats were seen flying around the area at all times, day and night. The cave that was large enough to kayak into was filled with a smaller variety of insect eating bat which you could hear “clicking” as they used their echo location. What sounded like a dog barking near our anchorage was actually a bird, which some of the locals told other cruisers was a type of dove. These cruisers were wondering why dogs would be living in an area that is not habited by any people due to it’s difficult terrain.
The snorkeling around the lagoon was different than we experienced in the Rainbow Reef area. In addition to the soft corals that we previously saw, we saw lots of brightly
colored fan coral. The lagoon was also full of shy beige colored turtles.
After 3-weeks in Vanua Balavu, our supply of fresh fruits and vegetables was dwindling. There was a small farm on the opposite side of the lagoon to get some supplies, but we didn’t make it over there. Having guests arriving in a few weeks, it was time for us to pull up the anchor and move on. We did an overnight sail to the capital of Fiji, Suva. It was amazing how sensitive we had become to noise, or lack thereof. Once we were back in the city, we had to readjust to hearing cars and people ashore.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.077s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 7; qc: 49; dbt: 0.0412s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Joan
non-member comment
Amazing once again
Thank you so much for this blog and gorgeous photos. Now I can start to live vicariously again through you guys. Looking forward to sharing your adventures. Love you both. Joan???