We thought you couldn’t visit Yadua. We had heard that there are protected iguanas there and that people are not allowed to go there, and boats aren’t allowed to anchor there. Curly in Savusavu, among other people, had told us that.
But thankfully, our friends on Lumbaz had gotten to the bottom of it. It turns out that Yadua isn’t off limits at all, rather it’s the small sister island of Yadua Tabu. And since Yadua Tabu is a totally separate island, it’s OK to go to Yadua, as long as you stay off of Yadua Tabu. So, when we met with people in the village of Yadua, they confirmed the situation, and that coming to Yadua, the bigger island, is OK, and that we should tell all our friends that too.
When we got back to Savusavu Max (Fluenta) went to talk to Curly and tell him the situation, but Curly was adamant about his position. The Fijian government had told him Yadua was off limits, so that’s what he was going to tell the cruisers. And when I reviewed our cruising permit that listed the islands we were allowed to go to, Yadua *was* conspicuously *not* mentioned. But then I took a careful look again and the Fiji 2015 cruising guide and it very clearly says that it’s Yadua Tabu, not Yadua, that’s off limits.
So, at this point I have no idea what the real deal is. But I’m glad we made the stop at Yadua, because it was pretty great.
Gresham Family Exodus 