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Before leaving Denaru we popped ashore one final time to pick up fresh bread and rolls from the bakery. Soon we were heading out of the harbour, not far behind Leu Cat and Sea Mist. I contemplated calling them on the radio for a final, final, final, final goodbye but it had all been said. Once out of the shallows they turned right for Lautoka and their outbound clearance. We pushed on towards our destination. So marked the end of our journey together. The winds started light and slightly the wrong direction for a broad reach to Naqara. We went wing on wing for a couple of miles to allow us a straight run, avoiding reefs. The wind picked up and soon we were having a fantastic sail. The winds had been recently lighter so the seas were fairly calm. We were flying along at 8 knots even with a knot of current against us. Despite all this I felt a little of the blues as a result of our recent parting of ways. We had the fishing lines out and at one point we had a catch. Helen pulled in the headsail while I pulled in the fish. It had a lot of fight and turned out to be the largest skipjack tuna we’d ever caught. It’s not our favourite fish but we decided we’d keep it if we couldn’t find a local to give it to. We left it tied to the back step while we continued to our destination. Once we reached Naqara we spent a while hunting around for a good spot to anchor. We ended up on a patch of sand near to the one other boat here. By now, perhaps because we were away from the mainland, the skies were blue and the day warm. It feels like, bar just a few exceptions, we’ve been overcast for the last month. Things are looking up. We noticed a fishing boat near to the shore of the island to our east so we soon had the dinghy in the water and the fish in a bag ready to take. We first visited the boat next to us to say hello. It was an extended Australian family, brothers and sons, who’d bought an ex-charter boat in Tahiti and were sailing it to Australia. We then took the dinghy to the fisherman who were ashore eating coconuts. They had not had any luck so were very pleased with the fish. They asked us if we planned to go ashore because if we did, we should really do sevusevu in the main village in the islands to our south. Unable to do this they suggested they could take our grog on our behalf. I’m not sure if we were being scammed but it seemed consistent with expectations elsewhere. As they were leaving soon I suggested they come by the boat to pick up our grog which they agreed to and subsequently did. Later in the afternoon Helen and I went snorkeling. We picked a patch of reef we’d passed by on the way back from the fisherman as it looked interesting with some drop offs. We took the dinghy over and dropped the anchor in a patch of sand. The reef was vibrantly alive and the water reasonably clear. Unfortunately I saw a crown of thorns almost immediately. These can be bad for the reefs if the fish that predate them are overfished. Perhaps all is ok because the reef looked good. Sticking together we explored the reef. No big fish but plenty of little ones. Then it happened. The moment I’ve been waiting for who knows how long. I spotted a decent sized and definitely alive lobster. My melancholy was forgotten. Right now I had a lobster. I could taste it already. Unfortunately the spear gun was back on the boat so I asked Helen to hang around the area so we wouldn’t lose it while I retreived the dinghy, went back to the boat, dug out the gun, returned and reanchored. With great excitement I was back in the water. I armed the speargun and swum back to Helen. The lobster had buggered off, however, not sharing the same anticipation, at least in the same way, of an evening meal that I was. I searched and searched the area for the lobster or one of it’s mates to no avail. No lobster for me that night. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading and relaxing. My mind kept returning to the lobster. I decided a night swim was in order. I fixed the broken retaining line on the speargun and forwent my 5pm beer. We had our evening meal and watched an episode of Dexter on the TV. It was now dark and I was ready. With the evening air cool the water felt warm. With the heavens full of stars and no moon, I swum back to the reef and to my own surprise found the area we’d found the lobster earlier. In the torchlight the water was alive with tiny moving critters and really small fish would swim in and out of the torch beam. Night snorkeling is really an alien environment and quite unlike the daytime experience. The colours are completely different. Different fish are about. The daytime fish can be found dozing or asleep in nooks and crannies. I explored the area of the reef drop off for a while but found no prey. I headed out further onto the reef shallows. Here I could explore the undersides of the coral for a lot longer as I only had 6-10 feet to swim down to reach the bottom. At one point a reef shark swam close by. I was startled for a moment but not phased. Knowledge is a powerful thing. My mind almost had be wondering about what was outside the narrow beam of my torch but I knew I would be ok and stopped those scary thoughts. On one descent, after about 30 seconds down, I spotted a decent sized lobster under a shelf. Deciding not to surface and risk the lobster swimming away I took my time, settled myself on the bottom took aim and fired. Got him. The spear was lodged in the back of the lobsters cave having impaled the lobster. I couldn’t remove it using the breath I had left but I knew it wasn’t going anywhere. I surfaced, gathered oxygen and returned to remove the spear. It took yet another attempt to finally dislodge the spear but soon I was heading back to the boat with my prize. As there is nothing better than fresh food the lobster was soon in the pot for a tasty desert. I showered and cleaned myself off before settling down to a delicious second course. Helen is not overly fond of lobster so only had a nibble leaving the rest of the lobster to me. Delicious. Today we’re going to explore the island to our south. The locals said there was a cave there so we’ll try and find that. It’s possible we’ll have the place to ourselves this evening so we may also prepare a fire on the beach for sunset ashore this evening. We’ll be spending a few days here. No internet. No crowds of tourists. Escape. A week in Denaru is about 4-5 days too long. We will be leaving today. No doubt about it. During the day, yesterday, we made a final trip into Nadi to pick up fresh food and eat lunch. In the evening we met up ashore with the Leu Cats, Sea Misters and True Companions for drinks followed by dinner at Cardod. We bumped into the Jaranas again and the Passageses joined us at the table. For the Leu Cats and Sea Misters it was a final, final farewell as we are off today and so are they, to Vanuatu. They are on sailing plans which will be impossible for us to catch so again this was a little emotional. While cruising one makes some terrific friends but at some point there is a last goodbye. Sometimes you know when it is. Sometimes paths simply never meet again. This morning I’ve been out and about in the Dinghy. This did involve going over to Leu Cat to drop off some butter and to pick up some hot peppers. This was a chance for a final, final, final farewell. Sea Mist was nearby so final^3 farewells there too. Next stop …. Not here. The morning stayed wet and drizzly confirming our choice to stay put. I did go out to mail some passport photos to the village of Naqara where I’d promised to make some up for one of the guys we’d met there. I also located the machine shop to make a plate to fit under the stair our sliding privacy door runs across. It has been awkwardly propped up with books for the last few weeks following my slip down the stairs which weakened the step. The cost of the metal was a bit of a shock but I needed the work done so I gave the go ahead as long as they could get the work done that day. In the afternoon I filled the dinghy fuel tank and went to pick up the plate. My design was deliberately overkill as the cost and pain of fixing the wooden step, should it break, would be far greater than this fix. I needed to screw 30 screws in from under the step. Each screw would need a hole to be drilled from underneath. Without being able to remove the step this was looking to be a pain to do. I’d bumped into John from Sea Mist at the fuel counter. He didn’t have a tool that would help. On the way back with my new plate and screws I stopped by Leu Cat to see if they had any tools to help. They did were happy to lend the tool. I hadn’t held out much hope but it sure pays to ask. Back on the boat I fixed the plate. Now the step feels firm and we can remove the books to protect it. After returning the tool to Leu Cat we made arrangements with them and with the Sea Misters for a another last meal out together tonight. We’d agreed to meet up with our taxi driver at 8am and were at the meeting point on time. Around 8:05am another taxi driver came by and offered us the trip for less. We’d heard of others whose drivers didn’t show so rather than take a risk we took the new taxi driver. I kept an eye open for ours along the way out of Denaru and didn’t see him so I didn’t feel too bad. Apart from a brief stop to replace a flat tire we made it to Lautoka in good time. We’d asked to be dropped off at the customs office and be picked up in town later on. It turned out we needed to be in the customs office at the wharf (obvious really) rather than the one in town so we walked the approx mile between the two. We’d been advised by many to tell them our boat was nearby when asked where it was. I find it difficult to tell a bold lie so when it came down to it I said we were in Denaru. No problem. Soon we were out with coastal clearance for just about everywhere around here so we’re sorted on that front. Next stop was immigration to extend our visas. It turned out it was in the unmarked building next to the first customs office we’d been to. So we walked back. It took a while and few Fiji dollars to get our extension. They required proof of our ability to sustain ourselves while here. In the end they were satisfied by taking copies of our credit cards and conceding on the need for copies of statements. So now, unless we decide to go back to Suva or something like that, we have no more paperwork to do until we leave Fiji. Next we walked around town. I bought a couple of shirts. The experience was a lot more pleasant than in Nadi where the shop keepers campaign heavily for your custom as you walk down the street. In Lautoka there was none of that. On the downside, the supermarkets with international produce were fewer and less well stocked than Nadi. By the time we’d eaten lunch we were already a little late for our rendezvous. We didn’t lose our taxi as we’d bumped into him a couple of times already. We picked up a few more provisions before heading back to Denaru and the boat. We didn’t do a great deal more in the afternoon. John from Sea Mist popped by having just arrived in the anchorage. He’d been invited to the evening out with the Leu Cats. That was great as this may be our last opportunity to see them for a while at best, if ever at worst. The evening went well. We met up at Lulu’s having a round of cocktails together followed by dinner at Indigo’s – an Indian Restaurant – where we briefly bumped into the Jaranas who were just leaving. The evening was excellent and somehow we managed to stay out quite late, at least for us. At the dinghy dock we said our emotional Au Revoirs. It’s never goodbye as one never knows how or when we’ll meet up again. The answer to that is probably here and today as the weather has turned out crap and looks to stay that way today and tomorrow. We’re not moving on and when we do it looks like it’s out west. |
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