Visa Run to Fiji and a Quick Haulout in Vava’u
Author: Shirlz
27th June 2019
In April I left Speedwell on a safe mooring and caught the weekly plane from Vava’u to Fiji.My 6-month visitor’s visa for Tonga was about to expire and I needed to leave the country so that I could return and make a fresh start. It was strange travelling like a normal tourist, unaccompanied by all my floating home-comforts.
Arriving in Nadi airport on Viti Levu, the main island of the Fiji group I was a little surprised to see how big it was. Not the small island airfield I had half expected.
When I was still in the dreaming stage of longing to go cruising I met a couple who were passing through Cape Town after crossing the Indian Ocean on their circumnavigation. She sold me a rather lovely shell necklace that she had made and told me that the shells had been collected in Fiji. It sounded faraway and very romantic. I imagined an unspoiled tropical island paradise and dreamed of sailing there myself one day. Now here I was. In an international airport. Hoping to find transport into a bustling town. Very different to my imaginings.
The Downtown Hotel offered a free shuttle and soon enough I was booked into a very convenient budget hotel right where I wanted to be. There was hardly any point in me choosing to stay at a waterside resort hotel out of town, as for me, the novelty was to get away from the palm trees and water for a while. And the price was right. Now I just had to amuse myself for a week before catching the next flight back to Tonga.
The next day was a Sunday with nearly all shops closed, but just a few blocks away was the colourful Sri Suva Subramaniya Hindu Temple. It was pouring with rain, but fortunately I had my trusty brolly with me and I went sightseeing. Shoes had to be removed before entering and I was given a colourful wrap to cover myself from waist to ankles. Family groups were burning incense, scattering flowers and offering platters of food at the various shrines. I walked around and then found a place to sit and just enjoyed the peaceful scene.
Nadi is quite a small town and I soon became familiar with the layout. I was looking for some new burners for my old Primus stove and decided to catch a bus to Lautoka, a bigger town about an hour away. The buses are very cheap and easy to catch, although you have to buy a prepaid card as the driver doesn’t take cash. After a bit of confused wandering about the busy streets of Lautoka I was quite thrilled to find a box of assorted bits and pieces for kerosene stoves in a small Indian shop, crammed with every imaginable item, from false eyelashes to miniature Hindu God statues. I only bought two burners as I wasn’t certain that they would be an exact match. Now, back on Speedwell and having tested them out, I really wish I’d bought more as they are perfect.
I did some more exploring, travelling by bus to the pretty town of Sigatoka. I wandered around the very good open market and bought some fruit for a picnic lunch. The town is in a lush, green valley and fresh produce comes in directly from the growers. Hardly a plastic bag in sight.
For the return trip I caught one of the open buses which took an interesting winding route along the coast, stopping at small villages along the way. Everyone seemed to know each other and the bus would stop and wait or back up if someone was late.
It was good to get back to Vava’u and know that I now have the option to stay until I’m ready to leave for New Zealand. Next project was to apply for the necessary visa that South Africans now need to visit that country. I was able to do this online although some of the options were very confusing. My friend Annie Hill in Whangerei, kindly interrupted her busy boat-building schedule to make some inquiries for me and the problems were sorted out. After paying the required fee I had to deliver my passport to the nearest NZ immigration office for processing. It appeared, from the email that was sent to me acknowledging receipt of my application, that the passport would be forwarded to Beijing for consideration before being returned to me, hopefully with visa granted. It seemed a rather dubious procedure and I was very anxious about losing control of my passport. The nearest NZ immigration office is in Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga on the main island of Tongatapu about 150 nm away. There is a new fast ferry that runs twice a week so I opted to deliver the passport personally and hopefully speak to someone about how they were planning to return it to me. Imagine my relief when I was told that the procedure had changed and all they had to do was scan the passport and the rest would be achieved electronically and emailed to me. I spent the rest of the day happily wandering about the streets of Nuku’alofa stocking up on a few things that are not available in Vava’u (basmati rice, hearing aid batteries). I also bought some snacks for the ferry. On the way down I had assumed there would be some sort of cafetaria aboard as the trip takes 12 hours. In fact the only refreshments available were water, nescafe, milo and instant noodles. Not all that exciting.
I relaxed for a few weeks back in my favourite anchorage near Tapana island. The weather much cooler now and the cyclone season just a memory. Lovely walks at low tide and weekly trips to town for coffee and shopping. But the hull still needed a new coat of antifouling, the rudder had developed a rather unnerving wobble and the Navik still had to be re-installed.
So, I sailed around to an anchorage near to the Boatyard slipway and the next day, when the tide was right, Speedwell was hauled ashore. I cleaned and painted the hull myself and Ken, of ‘Friendly Island Fabrication’ did a great job of sorting out the rudder. I also took the opportunity to remount the Navik. It has been practically rebuilt and looks almost as good as new. Ten days after hauling out we were back in the water. A new record for me.
June 27th, 2019 at 16:43
Oh boy: you made Fiji sound so attractive: the happy bus ride, the wonderful Hindu culture, the local food. It’s so tempting to go and see it for myself!
August 18th, 2019 at 20:31
Your adventures continue! 15 years ago we sailed around Tonga on a catamaran of Moorings. Not quite the same adventure as you are having but we loved every minute. We were 3 couples and Peter was the skipper. We then flew to Fiji for a few days on our way back to California. Your descriptions brought all the memories back. Great place. Wishing you continued happy adventures! Helena