Vanua Levu

0800 Position 16-47S 179-19E. On a mooring off of Savu Savu, Fiji

Two large islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, dominate the other 331 smaller islands in the country of Fiji. The capital of Suva, the Nadi International Airport, and most of Fiji's population inhabit Viti Levu. Forty miles to the northeast lies Vanua Levu. Savu Savu, where Van Diemen is currently moored, sits on Vanua Levu's southern coast in a deep bay.

With the weekend to kill we decided to rent a car and tour Vanua Levu. Rob heard that "James Car Rental" in town had something available so we wandered up there late in the morning. James was standing outside his office. "I heard you had a car available," said Rob.

"Just that Jimmy over there," James replied, pointing at a beat up micro SUV.

"As long as the air conditioning works," jested Rob.

"Sorry, AC not working," was James' comeback.

"Well, as long as the windows roll down, we'll be OK," Rob countered.

"One window don't roll down," said James with a shrug. "Everything else works OK."

They agreed on a one day rental for $70 Fijian, discounted from the $100 list price because of the defects. We headed east along Vanua Levu's southern shore to sightsee and look for potential anchorage sites.

The shorelines of Fiji's main islands are not particularly attractive. There are very few sandy beaches, and protected areas are overgrown with mangroves. A few interesting offshore motus have been developed into resorts or luxury communities with causeways connecting them to the mainland. On one of the offshore motus we found a huge three masted schooner undergoing a major refit in the mangroves. The surreal scene looked like something you would expect to see in the bayous of Mississippi. The deckhouse of the "Tui Tai" alone was two stories high and the ship had to be at least 150 feet long. Later we came across a fifty foot ketch up a creek, high and dry and abandoned, apparently a victim of Typhoon Winston that devastated Fiji eighteen months ago. We didn't see any anchorages that looked promising. After an hour the paved road turned into a dirt road. We continued until our butts were sore from the bumping and turned around at an empty waterfront "resort" near the eastern end of the island. Sore and tired, we wandered into the Cousteau Resort at the entrance to Savu Savu Bay and had a beer at the bar.

Back aboard Van Diemen we saw an ad offering luxury cruises aboard the "Tui Tai" throughout the Fiji islands. Not this year it seems.

It's not all sunshine and puffy clouds here in paradise. This morning dawned rainy and windy, and it looks like it will continue all day. Rob and Renee will likely take the car and tour inland before it is due back at noon. I toured inland when I was here a year ago so will pass and hang out on the boat.

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