Originally posted on June 13, 2015, by cruisingrunner
We beat to weather for a day and a half to get here, but it was worth it for so many reasons. Fulaga is in The Southern Lau Island group in Fiji, and on a rhum line from where we were in Taveuni, it is about 150 nmi at a heading of 145 deg true, which is SSE. Since the trade winds blow from the E to the SE, you can see why trying to go SSE might be a bit difficult. We basically picked a weather window where we could sail close hauled at a good speed and then the winds died, and we motored east. It was bumpy and bouncy pretty much the whole way, but like I said it was worth it. And here’s why:
1) Fulaga is somewhat off the beaten path. Within the big picture of tourism, it is actually TOTALLY off the beaten path. There is no tourism here. There is no airport and no cruise ships come here. A total of about 400 people live on the island spread across 3 villages, and here is largely subsistence living. A supply ship comes once a month with petrol and other items like flour and sugar. To pay for their shipments they export hand carvings to Suva to sell to tourists.
The reason I first said “somewhat” off the beaten path is that cruisers do come here, but it’s not on the main circuit. Mainly, because it is a pain to get here since, as I mentioned above, you have to beat against the trade winds to get here from any of the official ports of entry. Our track from Minerva Reef to Savusavu passes very close to here, but we couldn’t stop on the way, because you have to officially clear in to an official port of entry before you can visit any of the other islands. In the village here, they told us that last year they had a total of 60 yachts visit, and they are very proud of this growing number and the fact that people seem to always stay longer than they originally intend and that some yachts even return the following year. We were the fourth boat to sign the guest book this year.
2) It is absolutely beautiful. This is something I simply cannot describe with words. When we have internet, I will have to include some photos.
3) The people are hospitable and courteous. After completing our sevusevu with The Chief and being accepted into the village, we were assigned to a “host family” and it turns out our family’s clan is the chief’s clan. Our hosts are Simon and Senna, and Simon is the chief’s son. He explained to us that in the village there are many clans and each clan has a responsibility. For example, one clan has the responsibility for fishing, and another has the responsibility for managing water and food supplies.
We have heard from other people about islanders always asking for things and wanting the cruisers to fix their stuff (outboard engines, etc.) and we have had a few experiences along those lines ourselves. We are always happy to trade, donate, and help out, but it always feels a bit hollow when it’s continually asked for and expected. Here, it’s like there must be some sort of rule that the villagers not harass the yachties. At the sevusevu they request a $50 (Fijian) payment for anchorage in the lagoon. While some people have a problem with them charging an anchorage fee here, I don’t at all, especially if it’s part of what’s influencing their behavior towards us. I am suspecting that the fee they collect from us puts us on equal footing, from their perspective. They don’t need to try and get stuff from us, because we are paying them to be there. I think it’s a much more respectable position for them to be in. Yesterday, they also had a small market and fund raiser (for the school I think?) where they sold food and crafts to the yachties. I wasn’t able to go, but in theory, I really like the idea. Again, they aren’t just asking for stuff, they are providing goods and services in return for payment. When we were having lunch with Simon and Senna, Tim kept asking about community projects and if they needed or wanted any help for anything. He basically offered to help them fix anything that might need fixing and while Simon never said, “no,” he also never jumped at the chance like we were expecting based on stories we’ve heard from friends about other islands. They mostly just seem to be interested in sitting down and talking with us and serving us loads of food.
We joined them for church on Sunday, in fact, all of the cruisers here in the atoll went in for church. It is a Methodist church, and the entire service was in Fijian, but the singing was amazing. However, between the singing and the sermon, one of the men stood up and addressed us in English and welcomed us and asked us to bear with them as they have the service in their own language. It was a nice gesture.
Sort of a cute side story… our first evening here, Senna served us these little muffins with tea, and Brenden was hungry and seemed to really like the muffins so he had a couple. Senna was so pleased she kept offering him more and smiling and laughing, and in the end he ate something like 8 of them. The next time we went for lunch, after enjoying fish and rice and taro root there was some speaking and laughing in Fijian and the only word I recognized was “Brenden.” Then Senna brought out a huge plate of the muffins and set them right in front of Brenden. She was so tickled by how much he liked them, and she let him bring all the leftovers back to the boat.
Today, some of the people from the village are coming over to the beach where we are anchored to fish and catch crabs, and they said any of us can join them if we like. Then we will have a big picnic on the beach for lunch. The weather is pretty crappy; gray skies and 20 knot winds, so I hope it isn’t canceled, but we’ll see.
4) The geography is stunningly unique. We have been to many volcanic islands before, and we thought we had seen pretty much every stage in the life cycle, from the tall peaks of The Marquesas to the low lying atolls of The Tuamotus, but this one is unique to us. It is an atoll, with a pass and a lagoon, but it’s younger than the ones in the Tuamotus, so there is still a lot more land and there is even some elevation to the land. In fact, we have to walk over a hill to get from the anchorage to the village. It is older than the islands in The Societies, like Bora Bora, that have a large island in the middle of the lagoon, but unlike The Tuamotus, there are still small islands within the lagoon not just coral heads, and one of them is even inhabited. One of the most striking features has to be the small, mushroom shaped islets scattered around the lagoon. They give the geography some depth as you visually survey your surroundings, rather than just the uniform sea of turquoise of an older atoll.
5) The anchorages are numerous and flat calm. Between the fringing coral reef and the remaining fringing islands with their hills and numerous palm trees there is ample protection from the wind and sea of the Pacific Ocean. As I type this we are having 25 knot winds and, at least according to the forecast, something like 3 meter seas outside, but we are sitting on dead calm water as comfortable as ever. And if the wind direction changes, there’s another anchorage to go to in order to avoid a lee shore fetch within the lagoon. And when winds are light, you can pretty much anchor anywhere. We spent a couple days anchored near that pass when the weather was calm in order to enjoy easy access to pass snorkeling.
6) The underwater life is breathtaking. In this case I’m speaking from limited exposure and hearsay, since I don’t actually get in the water too often. The one pass snorkel that I did was during non-optimal conditions: on a dropping tide so the current in the pass was outgoing meaning poor visibility. If you go during a rising tide with the water rushing into the pass from the ocean, the water is much clearer and the visibility obviously much better. However, even with that “poor” visibility, it was very nice. All of the coral was alive and thriving and there were so many fishes of all sizes. In the area of the pass where the current flows the strongest there was a bunch of soft coral, not brightly colored, but still stunning as it flowed and swayed with the rushing water. We also snorkeled on a coral head in between the fringing reef and one of the islands, and it was every bit as good as the snorkeling on coral heads we did in Raroia (The Tuamotus), which at the time I described as snorkeling bliss!
7) There are white sand beaches, good for camping and running. For many days we anchored near a sandspit adjacent to a long white sand beach, the only thing was that it almost completely disappeared at high tide. That did not discourage the kids, though. Our first afternoon there, construction of the kid beach village began. They cleared a small patch of land that would stay dry as the tide rose, and they built huts of branches and palm fronds, pitched a total of 5 tents (4 for sleeping, one for “storage”), and kept a fire burning pretty much 24/7 (only having to call for help with the fire once.) They climbed the palm trees for coconuts and made things like woven mats (girls) and bow and arrows (boys). They slept there for three nights and even cooked some of their meals there. They loved the the freedom and adventure of it all.
The kids are not the only ones who have enjoyed the beach. At the right tide level, it was nice for long walks, sunset yoga, and of course, running. Our first morning I had to hit the beach at about 6:30am in order to run at low tide, but each day I was able to go a little bit later. It’s not too warm here, so running well after the sun rises isn’t a problem.
8) We have good friends here with us to share this experience. A place like this can only be made more special if you have special people to share it with. Out here, when you say good-bye to people you can never be quite sure you will see each other again, because we all have our own paths to take, and even if you make tentative plans, plans can easily change. Here in Fulaga we have had the good fortune to reunite not with just one, but four other buddy boats that we have previously spent time with. Two of them, Nirvana and Nautilus, left New Zealand about 3 weeks before we did, and we never knew if we would catch up. One of them Fluenta, left New Zealand after us bound for Tonga, so we certainly never thought we’d see them again at least in the near term. But they changed their plans mid-voyage and here they are in Fiji with us. The last one, Lumbaz, left New Zealand at the same time we did, and we had a lot of fun with them in Minerva Reef, but once getting to Fiji, who knew if our paths would lead the same way. But here we all are, in one of the most remote places in Fiji, together. The kids are having a great time, but don’t think it’s just the kids who are enjoying each other. It’s a great group of parents as well, and we are developing quite the little community. Thinking back, it’s pretty much the same group of kid boats who were “stuck” at Big Mama’s together in Tongatapu at the end of last year, waiting for a weather window to head to New Zealand. We know this little community is quite temporary, but we are enjoying it while it lasts, and it definitely has a positive impact on my overall impression of our experience in Fulaga.
I cannot stress enough that if you ever cruise the south pacific, this place is an absolutely DO NOT MISS. And I don’t toss those words around lightly. We currently have no plans for leaving, so I have no idea when we will have internet again. However, when we do, I will be sure to post some photos, which will almost certainly not do the beauty of this place justice.
Gresham Family Exodus 