So excited to spend some time with my family in Fiji. We meet Kimberly, Troy, Cameron, and Cole (the Konis family) in Port Denarau on Viti Levu (the mainland) where we secured a mooring.
They arrive before sunrise and enjoy the beauty of nature all around me.
We do the required covid tests and a little shopping in the Port Denarau Marina mall. A quick cocktail stop at the “Sails” restaurant before we leave with a fun photo op.
It is a short 2-hour motor to Musket Cove Marina on Malolo Island. On the way, we stopped off at a little sandy spit with a few other tourist boats. The boys swam to shore while Kimberly and I took the SUPs to shore. There were tons and tons of tiny sea stars (I call them star fish but was corrected by the Konis family). Unfortunately, I did not get any photos so close your eyes and imagine us walking on this white sandy spit that disappears during high tide.
A few hours later, we grabbed a mooring for the night at Musket Cove Marina. Being on a mooring places us closer to the marina, eateries, and activities.
A quick stop in to see Patrick, the Musket Cove Yacht Club manager who gives the Konis family “Lifetime memberships to the Musket Cove Marina” for $10F ($5 US). Matt and I sign up for the Musket Cove Regatta as well so that we can participate in the crazy fun.
We head to shore for dinner at Dick’s Place where we celebrate Kimberly and Troy’s wedding anniversary. Perfect to be together with the Konis’s.
Dick’s Place offers a buffet dinner so there was something for everyone. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset at this exquisite setting.
I was able to capture this crazy beautiful photo with the sun setting over the lit pool.
Day 2: Musket Cove & Seventh Heaven
The next morning, Cole has an appointment with Fiji Surf Co. so we move Sugar Shack out to Namotu Island which is about 2-hours away near the reef and the famous Cloud break surf break. We anchor just as his surf team pulls up in their boat (they came from Port Denarau). Cole jumps in their boat and off they go to enjoy a morning of surf at Wilks Pass and Namotu Lefts. It wasn’t a terribly great surf with 1.5-2m seas, but Cole had a great time meeting new people and surfing in Fiji. The resort is called Namotu Island Resort and caters to the extreme sports enthusiasts. It is all inclusive of surfing, kiting, foiling, and more.
Kimberly, who is not an overly zealous snorkeler decided she would jump in the water first to enjoy some private time with the fishies.
Once Cole returns, we head to Seventh Heaven, our new favorite eatery in Fiji! We run into Glen who is one of four owners of the bar. The last time we were at Seventh Heaven we met Glen the last time we were here with Wayne.
We order delicious cocktails and super tasty food!
And of course, Cameron shows off his mad skills on the Leap of Faith doing back flips and artsy dives.
Exploding Bean Bag
We headed back to the boat to enjoy some R&R. Around 4:30pm we hear “oh no” and all of the sudden we see tons of white floating balls fly by us. We quickly run up to the bow where we find Cameron desperately trying to close the exploded bean bag. The bags are old, have been baking in the sun, and have taken a lot of abuse by young ones. It was bound to happen. One of the seams tore open and a lot of the bean bag filling literally went flying out of the bag. It took all 6 of us over an hour to try to clean them up. I am sure Matt and I will be finding them floating around for years. It was truly funny and not funny at the same time.
The boys decided they’d like to try sleeping outside, but I don’t think it turned out like they expected. The sleeping bags cocooned them and Cole’s bottom was hitting the SUP (so he moved to the trampoline).
Day 3: Waya & Octopus Resort
We started off day 3 early as we had a 45nm motor/sail to Waya island. We could have pushed the motors a little more to compensate for the lack of wind, but we made it in about 5 hours.
Waya island is a new island for Matt and I so we had to rely on feedback from other cruisers. It turned out to be one of our favorite spots. We pulled up next to the Octopus Resort and dropped the hook.
Matt dropped us off ashore to explore the beautiful sandy beach. After asking the resort for permission, we headed over to a more secluded area where we could beach comb, play bocchi and enjoy the cool waters.
Matt made his famous eggplant parmesan which unsurprisingly got devoured in short order!
Events from this blog occurred in the first two week of August. Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual events. In our last blog, we explain why a stick on a hill can be extraordinary for us.