Yasawa Islands- Return to the Blue Lagoon

Jungle interior of the islands
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After having spent two nights on the beautiful island of Nananu-i-Ra we continued our journey along Viti Levu's north coast and passed the towns Rakiraki, Ba, Lautoka until we had reached our port of call: Nadi. The following five days should take us onboard the M.V.Reef Escape on a cruise along the Mamanuca Group and the Yasawas Islands in the north-western part of Fiji.

After checking in at the Denarau Marina we realized one thing right away. Other than it was published in the brochures, the M.V.Reef Escape is anything else but a luxury cruise ship. It rather reminded us on a car-ferry that would transport us from A to B, than on a place we would love to call home for the next couple of days. The overall condition of the ship can only be characterized as being poor. Other than us there were only 30 more passengers on board, mainly out of the category 70+ and ready to share their life-story whenever possible. Soon after boarding had finished the ship casted off and arrived at the first stop for the afternoon: Tivua Island, a small coral island and turtle sanctuary. We stayed there a couple of hours and got to meet the other passengers. After a warmed up instant meal in the evening, which accidentaly was called Captain's Dinner, and a collective group dance we had survived the first day onboard and were excited about what would come next.

...the one thing which can be executed to perfection in the Yasawa Islands: Relaxation

One of the many deserted beaches in the Yasawas Islands
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The following days were fully packed with a tightly organized schedule, that included at least two shore leaves a day. We visited deserted beaches, had the opportunity to snorkel and were invited to local villages. Unfortunately it was raining most parts of the day and there was no real hanging out at the beach. One night local villagers performed the Meke dance for our group and we had the opportunity to participate. We had a traditional Lovo meal, where meat, fish and vegetables were cooked in a soil oven. To finish up this fun night we could take part in a Kava ceremony, where we learned about the procedure on how to pulverize Kava. We have also been introduced to the special customs during a ceremony. Kava does not look quite inviting and tastes even worse but has a numbing effect on the face if it is consumed heavily.

Beach at local village
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Sawa-I-Lau Island offers a spectacular contrast of colours and scenery with azure blue waters, dark limestones and green jungle. There is a cave with a deep pool inside which can be visited and which has been used as a location for shootings of The Blue Lagoon movie. As this area is private land make sure you ask for permission before entering the cave and sometimes a local Fijian collects a small entry fee of visitors.  Snorkelling around the island is excellent.

Local women selling their crafts
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The famous Blue Lagoon (original name Tobu Karakarawa) is actually not a single spot but a whole area between the Nanuya Lailai and Nanuya Levu islands and is all that is left of an ancient limestone cave system. Nanuya Levu is well known for being the site for one of the Pacific's most exclusive Resorts: Turtle Island. Unfortunately it is not possible to visit the Resort, which has been the actual location for most of the shootings of the 80's classic movie The Blue Lagoon starring Brooke Shields, unless you pretend to work for a tour operator or travel agent which could lead to a free site visit. There are some really nice beaches around and snorkelling is just amazing.

Another beautiful beach
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There is a divemaster onboard the M.V.Reef Escape and diving is possible almost everyday on different locations. I dived once at a spot close to the Blue Lagoon, which Yolanda, the divemaster had just discovered. The dive site included several bommies, swim throughs and a large variety of soft corals. The visibility was not that great as the sea conditions were pretty rough on that day. There was a lot of marine life, mainly small fish though.

The last stop was Drawaqua Island, which is the location for Captain Cook Cruise's own budget resort called Barefoot Lodge. The traditional bure style accomodation perfectly blends in with the environment. There is no energy or running water, but the people we talked to were happy with this place. There are a bunch of hammocks on the main beach, which leave you to the one thing which can be executed to perfection in the Yasawa Islands: Relaxation.