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So Many Islands and So Little Time

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We leave our beautiful little spot at Mana Island and head to Qalito Island, to the lovely resort called “Castaway Resort.”  The funny thing is that this resort is not actually located on the island called “Cast Away.”  But it is a super nice place to visit and they serve yachties which is an added bonus.  All of these islands are within 12nm of eachother. 

They are located on the corner of the island and have a beautiful white sandy beach.  They offer all sorts of activities for their guests including, SUP, kayaks, hobbie cats, multiple pools and restaurants, tennis, basketball, volleyball and I am sure a lot more.  We made our way to the restaurant for lunch and some colorful, tasty drinks.

I’m telling you the frothy drink on the left was so tasty, but what a pain in the you know what to drink!  It melted so fast that I had to guzzle it which is never good with an alcoholic drink.

These islands are pretty remote so it can be challenging for guests to get to and from the resorts.  So, what they do is ferry them close to the island and then long boats come out to collect guests and luggage.  It is really a spectacle to watch.

Malolo Island – Musket Cove

Our friend Sharron from Town Basin Marina (Whangarei, NZ) comes to visit us for a few days.  She was participating in the Tonga Blue Water Festival and stopped over in Fiji for a short stay on Sugar Shack.

Unfortunately we did not have the best weather.  It was a little cloudy and rainy a few days and super duper windy the entire time.  But we made the best of it and went snorkeling and hiking.

Our first walk was just around the Musket Cove Resort and the Plantation Resort.  But we saw loads of beautiful flowers. 

Sharron makes best attempts to emulate the local tree climbers.

On our second hike we walked the ridge line to an old bunker. We took the dinghy over to Funky Fish Resort which is on the end of the island.  Can you read their name on the hillside?

Super cute surf / backpacker resort. They have a swimming pool, heli-pad, restaurant, and bar.

And then the hike uphill begins.  They installed new signs which led the way to the mountain top.

After about an hour we arrived to the bunker.

The good news was that it was overcast so it was not terribly hot, but we still managed to work up a sweat.  Gorgeous views from a top.

Seventh Heaven

Not technically an “island” but it is a floating barge.  We visited Seventh Heaven 6/7 times last season because we had so much fun and the food was spectacular.  Last season they charged a $50F ($22 USD) per person to board, but that money went towards your food, bar, or shopping tab.  So, we had no problem paying that since we always spent way more than that!  This is for those who do not come by their ferry.  We came withour personal boat.

However, this season the were charging $50F landing fee per person and it was NOT applied to your tab.  We were oturaged and completely bummed out.  There was no way we would pay that on top of our bar/food tab.  I contacted them via email and facebook and was able to get the landing fee waived for 5 people so we went with an additional 2 guests for a total of 7.

When we arrived, at 12 the staff could not let us board because their ferry had not arrived yet.  For goodness sake!  Seriously?  So, we waited 15-minutes for the ferry to come.  After that initial snafu we had a great time.  

We enjoyed lots and lots of tasty and colorful drinks, amazing food, and super fun staff.

The barge is beautiful, especially around sunset.

Unfortunately this will be our last time at Seventh Heaven as they are pricing themselves out.  Cruisers or private boats just won’t pay a $50F landing fee.  Their competitor Cloud 9 does not charge this fee so we will have to go there.

You may ask what’s the difference?  Well Cloud 9 is a party barge for younger people.  It is loud dance music, no servers or wait staff, and nowhere to sit.  They serve food, but it is not nearly as good as Seventh Heaven but there is nowhere to eat it.  It is just a very different atmosphere.  Not bad, just different.

It was a great day and we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset once we got back to the boat.

Matt is progressing really well on the foil board!

I am on a mission to try every fruity cocktail in Fiji!

 

Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occured in late September and early October.  Did you read about our last blog Mana Island: A Refuge?

Mana Island: a Refuge

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After a crazy, fun filled week of activities, games, racing, and partying during the Musket Cove Regatta we seek out a refuge.  There is a weather system coming so we decide to head to Mana Island in the Mamanuca’s. But, first we stop at the outer reef in search of some crystal clear turqoise waters.

This was such a pretty spot, no other boats and gorgeous waters.  However, the winds started shifting making it pretty uncomfortable and rolly, so after one night we were off to Mana Island

We had really, really light winds for this very short downwind run.  We decided to put up the parasail because we were in no big hurry.  It was lovely, the sun was out, the breeze was cool, and the sail was gentle until we lost all of the wind.

It sure was nice while it lasted.  We arrived mid-day and took the afternoon off relaxing.  The next morning we had a beautiful sunrise.

Mana Island

We stopped at this lovely little island a few times last season (read 2022 blog on Mana Island).   We found a little spot in between a few reefs to anchor.  We let out enough scope to avoid the reef and were not expecting any neighbors.  To our surprise one small monohull anchored near us, but then left the next day because the winds pushed them too close to us.  Then another catamaran anchored between us and the reef and we had to tell them, politely, to move.

We had strong winds at 33kts out of the North, but Sugar Shack weathered the storm.

Hike Around Mana Island. 

There is a really lovely beach right in front of us, just beyond the reef.  It almost disappears at high tide, but during mid and low tide you can enjoy long walks.  Our beautiful walk starts on the beach and then wraps around over some coral/rocks to another beach.

This beautiful bird was catching some lunch and pretending not to see us.

Then it is straight up the hill where we pass the heli pad for Tadrai Island resort and the resort itself.

There are some really gorgeous views.  Can you find Sugar Shack in the top photo?

A view from another hill/mountain.  One looking East over Sugar Shak and one looking West over the village and the famous Mana Island Resort.

We then walk the ridge line down to the village and back to the beach.  I love the colorful houses in the village.  It is still low tide (see lower left photo).  We stop at a backpackers resort to have a drink and witnessed Superman carrying 4 dive tanks!  What a site.  It is a lovely hike. 

Cicumnavigating Mana Island

The next day we actually walk aroudn the entire island, 4.6miles.  We did not realize we could walk in front of the Tadrai Island Resort so we were always cutting up the hill.  But this time, we walked the entire island.

We find a magnificent blow hole and a a little private pool that Matt decides to enjoy.

Not sure if you remember, but the TV series “Survivor” is shot on Mana Island (we mention it in our 2022 post).  When we do the complete around the island hike we find several Survivor sets (big open fields for challengs), the control room (where the director works), and the elimination stage.

Below is one of their cleared fields where they hold challenges.  We are not sure if these rafts are part of Survivor or just local island rafts.  But they were super cool and constructed of natural products: bamboo and vines.

A special preview just for you our trusty readers….the Honeymoon Survivor Australia was preparing to start filming as we were here.  We got a few snapshots of the sets before they even make it on film!

The top left is a special honeymoon suite, bottom left is their shower with lots of fresh water, bottom right is their very special toilet and top right is a pre-made raft.

So many walks and so many views…

And a good, hard walk wouldn’t be worth it without a reward…we have tasty drinks at the Mana Resort.

Super good hike requiring us to walk on beaches and over rocks, with a total trip of 4.7 miles.

Sandbank Day

There is a spit of land aptly called “The Sandbank” where day charter boats go for an afternoon picnic.  We have passed by it a number of times and this day we decide to take the dinghy over.  We packed some snacks and cold drinks and hit the road.

This sandbank disappears at high tide so you can only visit mid-to-low tide.  

Nothing but turquoise waters, a little sand, and some broken coral.  But truly beautiful to sit in the shallow water with a cold drink enjoying the peace.

I could get used to this little spot!  We snorkeled the reef and found some beautiful schools of fish and lots of hard coral.  Not much soft coral but that is to be expected.

We end up spending 2 weeks at Mana.  We walked around the island several times, enjoyed cocktails at both resorts and hung out with some friends.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind live events.  This blog occured in mid-September.  Don’t miss out on the Musket Cove Regatta Festivities posted in our last blog.

Exploring Mana Island

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While waiting for our mail sail t be repaired, we decide to head to Mana Island, a small island about 10nm to the west of the mainland of Viti Levu.   We stopped by this little island while my sister, Kimberly and her family were visiting, but we wanted to come back to explore some more.

Mana Island has a small airport and is home to the 2nd oldest resort in the Mamanucas, Mana Island Resort.  This resort is owned by the Chinese who built a rather ugly fence down the middle of the island to separate its leased property from the backpacker resorts.

Mana is also where Survivor: Game Changers was filmed and we were determined to find its location.  So, it seems an exploratory hike is in order.

Hiking Around Mana Island

The Plan: find the Survivor set (which is on Maps.me), the bunker, and the cross.  It shouldn’t be too hard, just a little adventuring.  We should have brought the garmin to determine how far we truly walked and to show you the entire path, but we forgot it.  I did not think to turn on my maps.me app until we were half way through our hike, so I will walk you through our path.

Sugar Shack is at the blue arrow. We take the dinghy to the beach (left side of island, below “South Beach.”  We walk along the beautiful beach during low tide which gives us access around the entire bottom tip of the island (the yellow on the map indicates the beach area and the green is hillside).  

Once on the windward side (right side of island), we head up hill (start of the light blue dots) and make our way to through a very exclusive, 5-star resort, called Tadrai Dream Resort.  Oops, we weren’t supposed to be here.  However, the staff let us wander through the back of the small 5 villa resort to the top of the hill where the cross is located.  From here we walk the ridge to the bunker, then down to what is supposed to be the Survivor set.  Through the 4-star Mana Resort and back to the beach where we started.

Beach Walk

The start of our walk was super pretty along several long sandy beaches.  The hillsides are dry as we are on the dry side of Fiji, but the beaches are beautiful with untouched sands. 

Once we round the tip of Mana Island, we encounter beautiful purple rocks scattered around the beach.  I just love the beautiful art nature created on these rocks.

We reach the end of the beach where a giant cliff prevents us from continuing on (top left picture) so we turn left up the hill.  We get to a small road.  To the left is heli-pad (lower right corner) and to the right is the very exclusive, 5-star resort Tadrai Dream.  We did not know it was a 5-star resort until we got back to the village.  But it sure did look pretty with a negative edge pool and its 5 villas (yep, only 5 villas).

The trail is a combination of a dirt path and tree limbs lined up to make stairs.

The top of the hill rewarded us with beautiful views.  I did not take any photos of the cross as it was less than pretty.  Sugar Shack is the white dot in the dark blue water to the right.

We can see on either side of the island: the anchorage and the windward side.

Bunker and Survivor Set

We continue on to the bunker which is just along the ridge line.  It appears there was a controlled burn here and a very old antenna.  Can you see the bunker in the top photo (see the burn area and then a white box)?

As we continue along the path we head back down hill to the “Survivor” camp which is what Mana is famous for.  However, we circle, and circle, and circle and come up with the big donut hole.  However, we did find a large rectangle field that was cut out from the shrubbery.  Perhaps the “challenges” were held here.  But the actual spot where it says “Fiji Survivor Set” is nothing but leaves on the ground.

Well that was a bit disappointing – not sure what we expected to find, but nothing was not it.  Not even an immunity charm!

We continued on and ended up at the Mana Resort (another “exclusive” place) and we just walked right in all smelly and dirty from our hike.  They did not seem to mind and let us continue on.

We ended the walk at the village where we saw the most fruitful papaya tree – it had 7 growing branches!

Overall a great exploration of Mana Island.  We managed to walk around half the island which is about 4.2 miles. 

The events from this blog occurred in early September 2022.  Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events.  Our main sail explodes in our last blog, Tired and Work Out.