Voyage from Funafuti, Tuvalu

to Savu Savu, Fiji (S 16° 46.7’ E 179° 19.4’)

29th March - 11th April 2005

The sea between Tuvalu and Fiji is studded with seamounts. We passed near several and actually over one of them - an incredible sensation to be in the middle of the Pacific blue, no land in sight, and to see reef just beneath us. We lowered the zodiac to investigate the possibility of diving but neither were conditions favourable, nor the sight of sharks swarming around the small boat encouraging! We sailed on.

RVH crew on watch at sea

We used our time at sea to harvest our experiences from a year's journey through Polynesia. Arrival into Fiji means a return to Melanesia and a cultural shift. We performed our vivid moments to the ocean - the births of cyclones, the sightings of humpback whales, the songs engraved in our hearts, the dance movements of French Polynesia and the Cook Islands and the sumptuous sensory feasts throughout. It has been a remarkable time on the Heraclitus.

Savu Savu

11th - 22nd April 2005

We received a warm welcome to Fiji in Savu Savu and an exciting return to this land of fertile soil and hands that know how to grow in it. Since departing Samoa we have been anchored at coral atolls, almost soil-less islands where only coconut trees grow with occasional bananas and papayas. To arrive at the fresh food market in Savu Savu and choose from avocados, passion fruit, guava, pineapples, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers sent our heads and taste buds spinning!

choices, choices, choices

We watched the ferries come and go from Suva, met with Fijians and Indo-Fijians working side by side in the main street of the town, and encountered long-time sailors at the Copra Shed Marina.

the main drag in Savu Savu

The weather was the only unfriendly aspect to our time here – lows passing close by and bringing wind and plenty rain. We brought the ship to the western side of the bay to experience again the feeling of anchoring close to an island peak. The atolls of the last six months have been low and unrelentingly flat. These green hills and quiet bays felt foreign to us.
We dived into the reefs at the entrance to Savu Savu bay, finding colours and soft coral formations that we have not seen for a very long time. Fiji is famous for its vivid reefs, and on the recommendations of many locals, we headed for Namena.

after all the low pressures had passed

Namenalala Island

(S 17° 06.5’ E 179° 05.8’)

22nd - 29th April 2005

Namena is a small island surrounded by a barrier reef system, just to the southwest of Savu Savu. It has been a marine protected area for several years and the lack of fishing pressure is obvious as soon as you enter its waters. There are two passes into the lagoon – the North Save-a-Tack and the South Save-a-Tack passages. They offer very different scenes, both spectacular in their own way. We were slightly deprived of diving by some rough days but hoped we might return here while in Fiji. For full details of our dives in Namena, see our dive log.

Fiji's colourful reefs do not disappoint us at Namena