Day three of Te Kaihōpara’s Yasawa Island cruise took us the phenomenal distance from Kuata Island to Waya Island’s Yalobi Bay, about 2 nautical miles! Having explored Kuata the day before, we shifted early in the morning to make the most of a day exploring and having fun in the picturesque setting.

First task on our list was to present the village chief with a kava root. Graciously handed over, the crew recieved fresh drinking coconuts in return (with some help of the Fijian dollar). The villager dubbed Tarzan by his friends shimmied up a coconut tree to pick them and then smartly hacked off the tops with a machete handed to him by a toddler. Yes, the machete was as big as the wee child. All hydrated, we waddled down the beach to find a possie. Lisa and Patti explored the village and spoke to some of the local kids on lunchbreak from school. Simon, Kingsley, Sally, Callum and John 9 started snorkeling while John 11, Jo and I sunbathed with some of the local dogs who thought our muesli bars looked pretty tasty. There are three reefs in front of Yalobi village and we were told the easternmost one had the best things to see underwater. Brain coral 4 meters round, fan corals with many colours the size of a hula hoop, staghorn coral with multicoloured tips and many more I cannot name. If you dove down you could see anemones and sea slugs too. Among these all were hundreds of reef fish big and small which you could also see swimming around the boat. Occasionally we would feel a quick pinch on our skin - John 9 said they were sea lice!

Along came 1pm when we went up into the Yalobi Village for a welcoming Kava ceremony and entertainment. We proudly declared our chief as Jo and she sat in the front of the group during the proceedings. Welcoming songs, fishing songs and many dancing songs with full participation kept us in big smiles, until the farewell song brought dampness to our eyes. Isa Lei is a traditional Fijian farewell song that dates back to the early 20th century. What wonderful singing and hospitality from the village. It’s an amazing thing to experience, going to a Fijian village, and I’m grateful to be able to do these things with this crew on board Te Kaihōpara.

The afternoon brought a stillness to the bay and we enjoyed hanging out on board tasting some of the local rum brought by John 11. A subtle sunset concluded the day and we retired inside to a meal cooked by Lisa and Sally. Unfortunately the Fijian beef is a bit hit and miss, so the stir fry turned into a chewing competition. Sally produced a marvellous fresh fruit salad with pawpaw, watermelon, star fruit and pear finished with a slosh of rum.

Hannah - Chief Mate - Te Kaihōpara