Savusavu, Entry into Fiji

We had a comfortable passage across from Tonga, albeit with strong winds, leaving 1:30pm Friday 6 July and arriving in Savusavu  mid morning Monday.  To avoid arriving on the weekend and paying overtime rates for officials to clear us in we had a leisurely down wind sail just using our head sail.  The bonus was that we had wind all the way so no motoring. A pleasant change from recent passages.

In preparation for coming into port we were taking down sails and getting in fishing lines when a dive boat came roaring up behind us.  There to welcome us into Fiji were Steve & Kate off Blue Summit returning from an early morning dive.

We had heard a lot of different stories about the experiences of yachts checking into Savusavu, some good and some difficult, so we weren't sure what to expect.  Our checking in experience was very professional.  We called up Waitui Marina who sent out Bill in a dinghy to help us try up to a mooring buoy, then they called the officials to advise we had arrived.  Bill brought the 4 officials to our boat, Customs, Immigration, Bio Security and Health.  They were all very friendly, efficient, and helpful.  The whole process was completed in about 40 minutes, the slowest thing was us filling out all the paperwork.

Once clearance was completed it was into our dinghy and off to town to get some fresh produce and local SIM cards.  But first we had to negotiate the Waitui Marina dock, not what we are used to in Oz or NZ.   The floating part is in 2 sections on drums of different sizes so when you get out of your dinghy it feel like walking on a water bed.  Strange as first but you get use to it.  The marina is conveniently located and the staff are friendly and helpful, what more could you want.  But by the end of the day we were restocked and online.

Blue Summit was anchored just out of Savusavu off the Cousteau dive resort and would come into town the next day but Distant Sun was also in Savusavu so it was sundowners with Rob & Nicola. It was great to catch up again.  The next day Blue Summit arrived and all 6 of us hit one of the cheap curry places for dinner.

As well as having fresh produce the markets also are a central place for kava trade.  Kava is root that is ground into a powder and made into a drink used in ceremonies and for social occasions.  Kava in Latin means intoxicating pepper. Speaking from experience it tastes peppery and is intoxicating.  It is a tradition for visitors to a village to take a gift of kava and for yachties it is expected that we will visit any village we anchor off and present a gift of kava.  To cater for this bundles of kava in the appropriate sizes are available for us to purchase from the market.

Bulk kava

Yachty gift packs, wrapped in newspaper and ribbon

Savusavu is called the "Hidden Paradise" and it has a charm all of its own.  No wonder boats arrive and end up staying.  The town has a mix of Fijian, Indian and Chinese cultures.

Inter island ferry

The town also has thermal hot springs and in the morning you can see the steam coming out of the ground along the fore shore.