Bavatu Harbour

As planned we started the day with a trip in the kayak. We ended up paddling all the way around Qilaqila Island to the west of our last stop. The swell was coming in from the North East and we timed it perfectly so that high tide was when we were paddling into the swell coming over the distant reef. We got a good work out. We made one stop for a rest on a tiny beach set into a dark tree filled gap in the rocks.

We rested the remainder of the morning before going for a snorkel just before midday. It wasn’t that good. Although we saw some reasonably sized fish, the coral was sparse and the stinging jelly fish larvae were not. So we cut this one short and headed back to the boat for lunch.

After lunch we up anchored and headed round the corner to Bavatu Harbour. We had received a formal invitation to this island from the plantation owners and we wanted to meet/greet them. The harbour itself is calm and delightful. There are some interesting sandstone cliffs near us giving us clues to the geology of the place. Enormous fruit bats circle our corner of the bay and the deep whooping sounds of barking pigeons echo around us.

The plantation owners house (when they’re there) is set into the NW corner of the bay. Right now there is a splendid ketch stern moored to their jetty. A few of their relatives from Tasmania are over here to visit briefly. We met them when we went ashore to find the owners and/or their representative, Biu. They let us know one owner, David, was up in the plantation in the saddle of the hill which could be reached by climbing the nearby path.

So up we went and it certainly was a climb and a half. In the afternoon heat we were dripping with sweat by the time we reached the top. The plantation itself was a fenced off area that had been more or less cleared of undergrowth and left with palm trees which were the crop. In the field were horses and a small pony. At the far end was a dry stone wall enclosed area with a few small buildings. It really felt like we’d stepped back in time.

After asking one local where David was we crossed the field and entered the smaller enclosed area. There we met David and Biu and signed their guest book. We chatted for a while. They invited back to their home in the bay in the evening and had one of their workers show us the way to the path that took us to a lookout on the west side of the island. We walked this further trail and after another steep climb reached the lookout over the area they call the ‘Bay of Islands’. The view was awesome but being mid afternoon the sun was low down and created a lot of reflection. We decided we must go back one morning. There is an easier trail up to the plantation. We can take that.

Back at the boat we were desperately thirsty as we hadn’t planned on climbing anywhere. We gulped down some refrigerated soda water and then a slow beer. We sat back in the cockpit taking in the surroundings as the bats came out in force.

At 5:30 we headed over to the house and met David and his relatives. We took some wine and beer as gifts and shared some with them. David spent some time with me sharing information about some of the other islands in the Lau group. We have plenty of options. We were invited to dinner on the boat which was a delicious salad and spaghetti bolognaise. When we were tired we headed back to the boat across the bay. With a clear sky and no light pollution the night sky was as clear as it could be.