Stunning

0800 position 17-27S 177-03E. At anchor off of Navandra Island, Fiji

One of the three Fijian cruising guides we are using stated that the anchorage at Navandra Island was their favorite in all of Fiji, so I figured it would be pretty good. I was stunned by what we found though. The northernmost of the Mamanuca group, the half mile long islands of Navandra and Vanua Levu (not to be confused with the main Fijian island of the same name) and the smaller Vanua Lailai, lie next to each other creating a "V" shaped anchorage between them open to the northwest.

We arrived late in the morning yesterday after a nine mile jump from Waya to find four other boats already at anchor off Navandra. The crowd didn't bother us like it normally does; It was too beautiful to care. We immediately noticed the clearest water we've seen since departing California. The quality of the bottom (coral or sand) could easily be determined from deck with the naked eye in water seventy five feet deep. We found an empty sandy spot next to Vanua Levu's reef and anchored. White sand beach extended most of the way around Vanua Levu and there was a sand isthmus between Vanua Levu and the smaller Vanua Lailai. All three islands are of volcanic origin and close to 300 feet high. They are heavily wooded with large trees. Directly ashore from Van Diemen we could see a deep cave in the lava rock behind the beach. This place begged to be explored.

I jumped overboard with my mask and fins. The snorkling was excellent. I swam ashore on Vanua Levu and stumbled up the steep beach to immediately find a perfect two inch long tiger cowrie shell waiting for me at the high water line. Score. The first thing I did was check out the cave. It was at the high point of the beach, well above the high water line, and shaded by trees on either side. The opening was twenty feet across and twelve feet high. The cave with its sand floor and high ceiling extended back fifteen feet or so into the lava and would have provided perfect shelter from the elements. My first thought was that the makers of "Castaway", which was filmed on another of the Mamanuca islands a couple of miles from here, screwed up on their site selection. This place was perfect. Then I realized it was too perfect. If Tom Hanks had come ashore here he never would have wanted to leave.

I spent two hours beach combing Vanua Levu and the sand isthmus between it and Vanua Lailai and exploring the ten acre forest behind the cave. It was interesting that the dense forest, lying on flat sand below the island's high hills, contained no low shrubs, just trees as large as four feet in diameter. It looked like there were paths all through the forest, but it didn't look like human traffic. This was the most spectacular island I had ever been on. Disneyland could not have created a more beautiful scene. There were no human inhabitants, which is puzzling. By far the most magnificent island we've seen, why are there resorts on the others and not here?

After a mid-day nap aboard Van Diemen to hide from the heat of the day, Rob, Eric, and I dinghied ashore to do some serious exploring. This time I brought shoes and my cameras. I immediately bumped into a wild goat. That explained the paths and lack of low shrubs. I hiked up to the top of the island and got some great shots of the scenery, and explored places my bare feet previously prevented me from going. Two hours later we were spent and went back to Van Diemen.

We are going to stay here another day and check out the places we missed yesterday. If you have some spare time today, try Googling "Navandra Mamanuca" (it is sometimes spelled "Navadra"), "Vanua Levu Mamanuka", or "Vanua Lailai Mamanuka". There may be some pictures of this place online.

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