May 16, 2015 Viani Bay and Taveuni with the Szabos

We just had a nice visit with Stacey, George and Elizabeth Szabo. It took Elizabeth a little while to adjust to the boat, unfortunately she got an ear infection on the flight over, then she was teething, but once she got medicine in her she was a happier baby.

The Szabos got onboard and we anchored a few miles away from Savusavu off the Cousteau Resort. This enabled us to get up early the next morning for our 50 mile passage to Viani Bay. Fortunately it was an extremely calm passage which made Stacey happy, but unfortunately the wind was too light for us to sail. We anchored next to Viani Bay behind Naborogo Island, nestled amongst the coral reefs.

Axel went up the mast and took some cool photos.

The diving and snorkeling in this area is world famous, and it blew all of us away. Gary and I went with a dive operation for 2 fantastic dives, one called the white wall where there were thousands of white soft corals swaying in the current on this endlessly deep wall. We took in the wall from 100 feet underwater, but it extended as far as you could see down. After that we swam through a cave filled with coral and fish. The abundance of different corals and colorful fish was mind blowing, and we have been to some amazing places.

Axel and Julie snorkeling

 Photos never do a good job capturing how beautiful the coral really is.

After 2 nights beside Naborogo Island, George was ready for a change of pace, so we motored around the corner and anchored off the Dolphin Bay dive resort. We kicked off our shoes and relaxed on the chairs at the beach, until Elizabeth put her feet on the sand and freaked out. She definitely does not like sand. We all thought after being on a boat for a few days she would want to run, but she wanted nothing to do with the sand and let us all know that. Later that evening we dined by candlelight on the beach.

Monkey boy Axel in the coconut tree.

Elizabeth posing for photos.

A couple days later we headed to Taveuni. We hired a local man to guide us across the reef and show us a good spot to anchor at Taveuni. He also arranged a taxi that took us to the triple waterfall on the other side of the island. It was a long and bumpy ride in a uniquely upholstered van, but the hike and the waterfalls were worth it.

The next day we met the Szabos neighbor, Lance Hendricks, who was volunteering at the local hospital. He gave us a tour of the facility, even showed us the operating room while a surgery was underway. He and a crew of American doctors and nurses come in and provide needed surgeries and help train Fijian doctors. Different specialist teams come for 1 week intensive period and this week the specialty was obstetrics. Lance oversees the whole program, so he is in Fiji for 8 weeks.

After the hospital tour we hiked to a waterfall that is a natural water slide. I was a bit scary looking until 2 local guys showed us the good spot to slide down. The kids and Gary had so much fun, they went back again the next day.

Here is a link to a video of Gigi going down the water slide.
http://youtu.be/eFlKnYXcWHA 

Today we bought more fruit, veggies and meat, and did laundry, so we are ready to head off to the Lau Group of Islands. These islands are extremely remote and we have been warned that there will be hardly any food available for purchase, and definitely no internet, so we will not be linked to the outside world. I am looking forward to going to visit people who live a simpler life style and getting away from internet. We plan to leave early tomorrow morning.

Fair winds and calm seas,

Julie