Drawaqa (Manta Ray Resort)

Once we’d downloaded the weather and examined it we came up with a plan for the day. The forecast predicted westerly winds with an further outlook of south easterlies. As we are on the far west of Fiji and the jet stream generally pushed the weather systems to the east I figured the turn to the south east would come sooner for us than forecast was stating for Fiji in general. Our plan was to sail the west coast of the island southward and check out Drawaqa where the manta rays are. Helen hadn’t had a good chance to swim with them last time and was keen to try again. With two layers of light reefs to our west and with the possibility of the westerlies being quite light (we didn’t know before we set off as we had good shelter from them at Gunu) anchoring on the windward side of the island was at least worth considering. Plan B, if Drawaqa turned out untenable and/or the winds too strong, was to continue sailing south down to the north end of Waya where we’d get protection from all the predicted wind directions.

We initially motored out of the north side of Naviti and first encountered the westerly winds. They did indeed turn out to be quite light – about 6-8 knots. It was enough for us to sail although when the boat speed dropped below 3 knots we gave extra pushes using battery power. Behind the reefs the water was indeed relatively calm and we had no obstruction from the wind so we were able to sail all the way with the help of our occasional pushes. On the way down we had line of sight to a cell phone tower and were able to access the internet briefly.

Once we reached Drawaqa we turned the boat into wind and sat there to see if we could cope with the light swell. We decided it was acceptable and dropped the hook backing down towards the reefs lining the shore. No other boats were in the previously crowded patch of good sand. We felt pretty ok where we were. If the wind picked up the anchor would have to be dragged up a sandy slope – next to impossible – to bring us closer to the shallows. If/when the wind shifted we’d have the protection of the island to the south. So even though it was a little bumpy and back to having no internet we were happy where we were.

PICS

After lunch and a rest we took the dinghy south to visit the Manta Ray Resort on the island of Nanuya Mbalavu. We wanted to see what it was like and if they would welcome yachties for dinner. They were welcoming but the thursday night dinner was Fiji food which was not enticing enough, for us, to make for a dinner out. We had a walk around the resort including going over to the west side of the island. It seemed quite nice, well looked after and with lots of polite staff.

I chatted with the dive shop and asked them about when the best time to view the manta would be. We already had an idea this would be in the two hours before high tide. They said they would call us on the VHF when they knew they were about which we thought was nice.

We didn’t have long to wait. We got the call soon after returning to Dignity. We had all our gear ready to go and piled into the dinghy. The entire resort also piled into their two boats and were ferried out to the pass where we all ended up drifting around looking for the mantas. One ended up popping up right by us but disappeared by the time we’d put our gear on. The resort had their spotters too in and out of the water. Soon they had one spotted on the west side of the bay. All the resort guests were now in the water beginning a marathon swim session chasing manta ray sightings. We dinghied a little closer before getting into the water. Before long we had an excellent sighting of one of the largest mantas I’ve ever seen. Unlike the last one we saw here, this one had a white underside and some white markings on top. I managed to take a couple of pretty pictures which I’ll upload when I can.

Helen had the dinghy this point so I took it off her and let her chase the manta through the pass. I zipped the dinghy wide around the pack of swimmers chasing Helen and the manta and managed to get back in the water ahead of it and take a few more pictures although there, the water was murkier.

We’d both now had good sightings so we retired to the dinghy. The Jaranas were now here. They’d anchored round the east side of Drawaqa along with a couple of other boats including Safari who’d been up in Gunu with us. They’d been in the water but missed the manta. We decided to hang around and help try and spot the mantas again. While doing so we ran into a couple on a kayak from another nearby resort, Mark and Dee. They were Brits who’d moved to Australia (Manly/Sidney) a few years ago. Dee turned out to have grown up in Islington where Helen had grown up and where I’d first moved when a went to live in London when I was in my teens. We had a lot in common and ended up inviting them over to Dignity for a beer or two.

We really enjoyed their company for the brief time they could stay. We had a beer each and Mark and I took a dent into the G&T supplies (which incidentally put the nail into the coffin of our plans to night snorkel the nearby reef). They had to return for their evening dinner by 6:30 so we parted company. Perhaps we’ll meet up when we get to Sidney next year.

By then the winds had shifted to the south. The slight westerly swell was now broadside to the boat making for a less pleasant motion but this soon died down. Overnight the winds have shifted more to the south east. We hope the boats on the east side of the island are ok.

We learned yesterday that Stuart and Sheila from Imaging are already out of the water and flying out of Fiji on the 15th. There’s a possibility of meeting up with them next Wednesday at Denarau. We’d like to be there to see them even if it means a few more days in Denarau than we first planned. We’re going to have to take a good look at the weather today to see how we might make it in time. It may mean motoring into wind at some point but if we can cut the distance between now and then then that will make it easier. We’ll see.