Tag Archives: port denarau

Port Denarau Marina Preparations

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We head into Port Denarau Marina for provisions, laundry, a shipment, and to meet my cousin Jeff who is visiting for a few days.  Lots to do in a short amount of time but it always seems like it becomes a hurry up and wait situation.

We made a reservation for a mooring ball from 12-16 October with the hopes of completing all of our errands and projects.  Hope being the operative word.  However, when we arrived they had no space for us on the moorings so they put us in a berth.  Wow, ok.  Scramble to get the lines and fenders out and in we go with 20+kts pushing us around the tiny slip.  But, we made it safely with no issues with the marina’s help.

Early morning on the dock at Port Denarau Marina.

The good news is we are on a dock which makes it super easy to do a lot of our projects.  Matt starts off with washing down the boat using the marina’s fresh water (yeah, not our hard earned fresh water from the watermaker).  While he is busy doing that I take 3 loads of laundry in and make good use of their industrial machines.

Bring on the Heat

Yes, it is super hot and humid in Fji, but I am talking about actual heaters for Sugar Shack.  No, I have not lost my mind (well….).  It is darn cold in NZ and our current heaters onboard no longer work.

Matt had been in communication with Espar Michigan/Espar Parts in MI and with Heatso in CA (both in the U.S.).  Heatso responded with information on the wrong part at first so Matt sort of wrote them off.  Espar responded, but then went radio silent for months.  When they finally responded we were in a red hot rush to get the parts shipped to Fiji while we were here.  Why do you ask?  Well it is easier to import parts into Fiji than it is into NZ.

Long story short, Espar didn’t have all the parts and pieces.  They wanted to ship a partial order and then ship the rest to my cousin Jeff who was flying to Fiji to meet us, but even then they couldn’t get the order together to make it work.  Their communication was less than stellar and their stock was horrific.  They just couldn’t get it organized.

As a last stitch effort, Matt contacted Heatso again.  It was a thursday afternoon.  The owner said he had all of the parts and could ship everything out the next day.  He answered all of our questions, called to confirm all the measurements and pieces, and offered us a 10% discount because we were buying 2 kits (without me even asking – which you know I would have done).

Heatso sent the large box overnight to Fiji Freight in California, our freight forwarder who received it on Monday. Fiji Freight then put it on a plane and sent it to Fiji. It arrived Tuesday, cleared Customs Wednesday evening and was delivered to us on Thursday!  The delivery from CA to Fiji within a week of contacting Heatso and Fiji Freight!  Now how about them apples!  Whoop Whoop!  Talk about amazing service from both Heatso and Fiji Freight.

This will have to be a project for another day, but at least we have the parts!

Errands & Projects

We brought in our propane bottle and got it refilled, made several trips to the trash and recylcing and picked up my cousin Jeff. All made easier being at the dock.  But alas, all good things come to an end and we had to move out to our morring.

We had loads of preparation before our passage.  Matt prepared pre-cooked meals and froze them; we stowed a lot of stuff; got out the jacklines, ditch bag, first aid kit, PFDs, foul weather gear, and priority bag (for computers/phones/paperwork); refilled both diesel and gasoline, tested systems (Iridium, PredictWind tracker), re-scheduled our prewritten blog posts, and prepared our Fiji departure paperwork & our NZ entry paperwork.

Help on the Passage

We did not have much time with Jeff so we tried to make the best of it while still preparing for our passage.   

We enjoyed many tasty meals, but this one at Bone Fish stood out as truly delicious.  I had grilled prawns and the boys had Wicked Wahoo.

Overlooking the marina where we are staying…can you spot Sugar Shack on the mooring?

Hiking Mt. Silo

As we wait for a weather window we take Jeff on a few hikes.  The first weas a walk around Malolo island during low tide.  Super easy, flat walk that is about 4.5 miles.  The next hike is shorter but has a lot of elevation (up and down and up and down).  It is the ridge hike or the hike to Mt. Silo.

Many beautiful views on the way to the peak. I just love the variation in colors in the water.

I tried to capture the boys as they were on the trail, but they are so small and hard to find 🙂

And more gorgeous views.

We made it to the bunker and the top of the highest peak.

We reward ourselves with some great snorkeling along the outer reef and see some marvelous fish, soft and hard corals.

Departure

We were starting to see some weather activity and decided to head back to Port Denarau.  Jeff was heading to New Zealand by plane and Matt and I in Sugar Shack.  

Super fun time showing Jeff around Musket Cove and Port Denarau.

In our last blog post we share our adventures on several different islands.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind live events.  This blog occured mid-October.  Did you read our last blog “So Many Islands, So Little Time?”

Unwinding on Sugar Shack

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We love having guests on our boat.  However, after 5 weeks of entertaining, it was time for us to unwind. You might think, “Really, you don’t work and you live on a boat in paradise. What do you do differently to relax?”  Well, for starters, we don’t move the boat.

We needed some time to just “be.”  We ended up staying in the Port Denarau Marina for five days, which is really unusual for us.  But they had heavy duty laundry machines, hot showers, easy access to restaurants and a quiet mooring.  We did a massive cleaning on the boat, 6 loads of laundry, re-provisioning, and refueling. We ate out a bit more than usual as we both were tired of baking and cooking.  It was glorious. 

Sandy Spit

We did not move far once we decided to leave the marina.  We motored the 2-hours over to Malolo Island’s sandy spit.  It is far from the island and marina, but super pretty. This sandy spit is only visible during mid to low tide.  We have it all to ourselves from 3:00pm-10:30am.  However, during the peak time (10:30a-3:00p) the sandy spit is covered with tourists and people enjoying and unwinding at this little piece of heaven.  The first photo is our sandy spit waiting for the crowds. The second photo shows the first tourist boats arriving and the last photo is the giant cat that comes daily with a between 20-50 people.

We also get glorious and unencumbered sunsets from here.

Many nights were spent at the Island Bar where Sherry made me tasty frozen mojitos.

Enjoying many walks along the various beaches.

A few fabulous hikes around Malolo gave us super pretty views.

We even got beautiful sunsets from shore over the anchorage.

And just because sunsets help me unwind, here are a few more for you to enjoy

And another of the anchorages.

Sugar Shack happy at sunset

Cloud 9 Celebration

Chris on “Sea Glub” invited us to a party on Cloud 9.  They were celebrating the launch of a new ferry and hired dancers, singers, and a DJ.  So, off we went to the gorgeous waters of Cloud 9. Our friend Lewis on Sailing Q2 took this amazing photo for us.

The singers were fabulous and had such gorgeous voices!

The dancers were so much fun and had lovely spirits! 

Sugar Shack was anchored right in front of this floating bar. Lucky for us the music didn’t bother us because we were there dancing with the crowds.

Another beautiful photo captured by Lewis on Quixotic 2.

We met Barry in Curacao, then again in Columbia, Panama, French Polynesia, and now in Fiji!  We’ve seen him in 5 countries!  

We had a few more happy hours on shore and ended up meeting with Barry on White Shadow (you remember he has a popular YouTube Channel “Adventures of an Old Seadog”)

Happy hour at The Island Bar near Musket Cove on Malolo Island. Complete with coin operated BBQ grills, full restaurant menu and tons of frothy drinks.

We also had many dinners onboard other cruiser boats including Sea Jay, Anima, and Vavea!

Fred, Matt, me, Chris on Sea Jay

Fred, Matt, me, Chris on Sea Jay

Our friend, Jean Marc on Va’vea is a professional baker and he would stop by early in the mornings to drop off fresh baked warm bread!  This is his daughter Axcel.

To help you unwind some more…another sunset

And just because we finally found ourselves unwound, a sunrise photo.

This is our anchorage at the sandy spit near Malolo Island.  You can see why we had a hard time leaving as it is really pretty.  Isolated yet close enough to a small town and activities.

The events from this blog occurred in mid-August 2022.  Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events.  Did you catch our last blot post where we zip the Konis family through 4 islands?

Fiji Welcomes the Konis Family

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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.