It wasn't too bad. We had plenty of wind to drive Begonia fast, even with double-reefed everything, but the extensive reefs between Vanua Levu and Vitu Levu kept the swell from getting high enough to be annoying. After just losing sight of Yadua to our stern, we had about twenty minutes with just us and the sea before the mountains of Vitu Levu started rising out of the ocean ahead. A couple of hours later, we entered the pass at the Nananu Passage. The seas flattened and we zigzagged our way to the resort anchorage along the channels between the extensive reef patches.
Volivoli Resort owns most of the land on the peninsula adjacent to the anchorage, which pretty much makes going into the resort the only thing to do around here. We decided our first day would start with whatever respectably long walk we could cobble together on the adjacent roads, followed by returning to the resort for a meal out.
The resort was pleasant, and we explored the surrounding roads (mostly sugar cane farming once we left the resort property)
Since we were out of all alcohol aboard, we certainly enjoyed a few cold beers ashore!
The meal turned out to be completely mediocre, particularly considering the resort pricing. I mean, it was calories and salt, but not much else. The setting was nice, though, and we were at least given a day off from cooking and washing up, but we both agreed we weren't going to be returning for another.
It struck me as a different version of the same sensation we increasingly get after going for a 'night out' at a cinema. Why did I just pay a fortune to sit in a tiny theater with sticky seats, watching a movie that the theater has set the volume for to 'two', while the movie next door is clearly at 'nine-and-a-half', and the teenager behind me is talking into his phone at 'eleven'? Café Maryanne has (almost) all of my favorite foods, deliciously prepared, with generous servings, and delivered right to my salon table…
The next day, we decided to limit ourselves to a quick Happy Hour visit to their beach bar. Again, it was nice to have a change of venue, but the triple-pricing and the hassle of the dinghy ride made us decide that would be a one-off as well. Oh, if there was only something else we could do to pass the time…
There wasn't, but there was plenty for Maryanne to do.
After not getting too warm a feeling from the resort's dive operator, she contacted another local company. They agreed to pick her up at Begonia and take her to a nearby (thirty miles) Marine Reserve for two tanks worth of SCUBA diving, and for less than the cost of a local dive with the resort operator. I would get the opportunity to have some unstructured time at home to dispense with jobs I have been putting off.
The time flew. Just as I was hurriedly tidying up in anticipation of her return, a fast boat came around the headland and sped right at Begonia. Maryanne was back aboard before I knew what had even happened.
She reported that her two dives were just wonderful, with plenty of interesting stuff to see. Our underwater cameras are unfortunately not rated for the pressures of the depths of her dives, so we are just going to have to take her word for it.
[Maryanne]The weather was considered calm enough for us to get out to the Vatu-i-ra passage (a more exposed/open part of the Bligh Waters region, in the Somosomo Strait - the waters between Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. It's known as the "Soft Coral Capital of the World"). Along with the guide and an Italian guest (so a nice small group), I dived two sites with the trip: Mellow Yellow, and Pot Luck. Both were spectacularly colourful and full of marine life, and I dived. I don't have a camera that can take pictures beyond snorkelling depths - so no pictures, but WOW!
Anchorage location >> On google maps
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