{"id":4021,"date":"2016-06-29T04:41:16","date_gmt":"2016-06-29T04:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/?p=4021"},"modified":"2016-06-29T04:41:16","modified_gmt":"2016-06-29T04:41:16","slug":"bula-savusavu-fiji","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/?p=4021","title":{"rendered":"Bula! – Savusavu, Fiji"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG_0942\"\u201cBuulaa!\u201d is the first word we heard here, a happy Fijian \u201chello\u201d that just about everyone greets you with. It started with the customs, immigration, health and biosecurity officials who boarded the boat to clear us in, and what a pleasant experience it was. Right then and there we knew we\u2019d like it here.<\/p>\n

And what a difference a day makes. The day of our arrival was overcast and raining, but the next day it looked like the paradise we were hoping for. Sunshine and warmth at last. It was with a great deal of satisfaction that I washed and packed away all our winter clothes and blankets. And finally we got to test out the new sun awnings I made in Whangarei. They work a treat!<\/p>\n

\"Our
Our first day in the anchorage wasn’t very appealing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"But
But the next day…gorgeous!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Savusavu
Savusavu from the anchorage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"early
early morning in the anchorage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The cockpit is now a nice shady place to enjoy a sundowner or two<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"And
And talking of sundown – we have some great sunsets here<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Savusavu is a one-street town. There are two so-called marinas (in reality just docks) Copra Shed Marina and Waitui Marina. Jolene at Waitui was extremely helpful and friendly, and she organized a mooring ball for us conveniently close to the dinghy dock. The town itself is an eclectic mix of higgledy-piggledy stores (mostly Indian-run) with some particularly interesting combinations of goods on offer\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Savusavu
Savusavu main street<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"What
What the..?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The local market<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"With
With Kava doing a brisk trade<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"IMG_0977\"Marce and Jack on \u201cEscape Velocity\u201d arrived a couple of days after us, equally relieved to be here after the relentless winds on passage, and we enjoyed a \u2018welcome\u2019 drink with them at the Savusavu Yacht Club, which also served as a \u2018farewell\u2019 drink for Geoff, who was leaving us on Friday for a few days of well-deserved R & R in Nadi before flying home. What a trooper he\u2019s been, hanging in there all that time while we waited for a so-called weather window out of New Zealand. It was great to have his help on passage – a third person aboard makes all the difference in getting enough \u2018off-watch\u2019 time. Many thanks once again, Sherm, we\u2019re indebted to you (and Mia, of course!).<\/p>\n

\"sundowners
sundowners with our buddies at Savusavu Yacht Club<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last week was also carnival week in Savusavu \u2013 no-one seemed to have much information beyond the fact that there would be a police band parade and some food stalls and a ferris-wheel. In fact, that was pretty much the extent of it, but us cruisers are always up for a parade so we went along to watch, enjoying the somewhat unorthodox dance moves and their own version of the ubiquitous \u201cMacarena\u201d. In fact we got two separate parades on two days, both police bands, just different uniforms! We discovered it was a police initiative as a campaign against domestic violence and drug abuse, involving the local school communities. It\u2019s sad to think that even in these beautiful islands, these issues need addressing.\"IMG_0967\"<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0972\"<\/p>\n

\"Another
Another day, another band. Or is it the same one?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"IMG_1002\"<\/p>\n

\"Ah,
Ah, the Macarena. On every self-respecting marching bands playlist!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"IMG_1007\"
And every parade has to have a float.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Monday we did a taxi-tour of the island in company with Jack & Marce, and Cindy and David from \u201cFull Circle\u201d. Vanua Levu is the second largest island of Fiji, and has a vast, largely untouched interior of rugged mountain ranges and lush forests.<\/p>\n

\"The
The view of Savusavu bay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"our
our wheels for the day – travelling in comfort!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the north side of the island we visited the capital, Labasa, which had little appeal except for the markets.<\/p>\n

\"spices
spices abound in Labasa market<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"And
And lots of hot chillies of course.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This side of the island is drier and dustier, with a large sugar-cane industry, and a greater Indian population than Savusavu. We’d packed a picnic lunch, but there was a distinct lack of suitable picnic spots. About to expire from hunger, we settled for a practical option – a roadside bus shelter, alongside the sugar cane train track!<\/p>\n

\"Our
Our salubrious roadside lunch venue<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The locals working the train thought we were a little strange!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the afternoon, Mehendra, our taxi-driver, took us to the Hindu \u201cSnake God\u201d temple, where we watched local families present offerings of fruit and milk, in exchange for good fortune. Apparently the temple was built around the rock (which vaguely resembles a cobra-head) and the roof has had to be raised three times as the rock inexplicably grows. Must be all that fruit and milk\u2026.\"IMG_1025\"<\/p>\n

\"the
the snake god shrine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our final stop was to a local village, Vuadomo, where we had our first experience of \u201cSevusevu\u201d \u2013 the ceremony of presenting kava root to the chief in return for being allowed access to the village and it\u2019s surrounds. Our ceremony was a little perfunctory, and we were also asked to cough up $10 per person to visit the nearby waterfall. But we didn\u2019t begrudge it \u2013 they live a very simple life, and I\u2019m sure they could do with the extra income. Everyone in the village was very friendly and welcoming, and the waterfall was a delight, nestled in a little amphitheatre of greenery.<\/p>\n

\"The
The chief of Vuadoma with his gift of kava<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"the
the village of Vuadomo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"the
the village water supply<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Gorgeous
Gorgeous smiles!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The waterfall at the end of the valley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"IMG_1064\"In a couple of days we\u2019ll head out to Taveuni, a neighbouring island. When we arrived here we helped distribute goods donated to the Sea Mercy organization to various other boats who were travelling to the easternmost Lau group of islands, as part of the cyclone relief operation. We now have several bags of tinned foods (as one wag commented, we\u2019re now known as 101cans), a 25kg bag of rice and a bilge pump to deliver to Taveuni, so that will be our first stop. On the way we hope to call into the southernmost part of the island, Paradise Resort, for a quiet little birthday celebration for the first mate. What a top-rate skipper I have!\"IMG_1068\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cBuulaa!\u201d is the first word we heard here, a happy Fijian \u201chello\u201d that just about everyone greets you with. It started with the customs, immigration, health and biosecurity officials who boarded the boat to clear us in, and what a pleasant experience it was. Right then and there we knew we\u2019d like it here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-svtoucan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6B46t-12R","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4021"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4024,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4021\/revisions\/4024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}