Fiji's Lau Group
After a week or two in the wonderful Nawi Island marina in Savusavu, Scout was back out on the water.
Our first stop was the sleepy little island of Koro. It’s famous for being the island where the US rehearsed their Guadalcanal beach invasion in WWII (poorly) and, more recently and tragically, for its decimation by the giant Cyclone Winston. We had a very friendly welcome though, and we look forward to seeing more as they continue to rebuild!
It was fun being in the underwater world again, with all the blues on show in Koro.
The Lau group of islands off to the eastern side of Fiji is tricky to reach because of the prevailing south easterly winds, but we were lucky enough to get a window to sail there, with an overnight upwind passage from Koro.
Our destination was Qilaqila, the ‘bay of islands’ in Vanua Balavu. After a traditional ‘sevusevu’ welcome ceremony with the iTaukei elders in the local village (who then kindly permitted us to stay), we settled into this turquoise sound, surrounded by imposing tower karst and densely forested cliffs.
It had great protection too, so we stayed for a few weeks of kayaking, caving, snorkeling, and World Cup matches!
Our next stop was a tricky anchoring challenge in the crater of Matagi Island: lots of coral heads, swirly winds coming over the rim and reversing direction, and - just as we arrived - squalls and counter tidal currents too.
Our anchor watch tells the story of a typical day swinging around in this idyllic paradise but, well, it is an idyllic paradise - and totally worth the effort!
We also spent some time up in the more remote Ringgold Islands, and took a day trip to Cobia, a beautiful crater-shaped island. Our guide, Willie, hacked away at the path for us to reach the crest of the incredible blue ring.
Meanwhile his son went ashore with his hunting rooster. It has fishing line attached to its legs, so when it fights a wild cockerel they get tangled up. We came back with two!
Stay tuned for our next blog post, as Scout heads west to the Yasawas!
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