While Aedgard was busy with Lariekoek on Mago Island, we anchored in Malaka Bay at Vanua Balavu in the Eastern Lau Group, 3 hours away. Normally it is difficult to get permission to visit this group as the villages want to maintain their traditional lifestyle. However, we needed a safe place for the coming high winds and couldn't proceed further until there was clarity as to what the state of Lariekoek was.
One of the staff from Mago Island helped guide us through the pass and then we moored at Malaka. Semiti Saini, the brother of the village chief, was very welcoming and hospitable. On our second night his wife cooked us a delicious curry. Ewout installed LED lights in his house, repaired his television and his washing machine. The latter was self interest of course, because then we could do laundry....
Hein helps to prepare "roti" a.k.a. Fijian Pizza.
Ewout trying to repair a portable DVD player.
The repaired laundry machine. No more hand washing needed!
Semiti's home: Satellite dish, generator power, and TV. (One of 2 homes in the village with these luxuries).
After two days Ewout went back to Mago Island to help Aedgard for five days and Judith was by herself with the children. The villagers remained lovely to us. Semiti visited us every day to see how we were doing. He brought fresh mangos and bananas We also took a truck, which serves as a bus, to the biggest village on the island: Loma Loma. There we saw the house of the prime minister who was in charge before the recent coup d'etat. The chief's wife baked the most enormous pecan pie for us, which was delicious and from which we ate for five days. Jet, Hein and Eltjo took a rope from the boat to the village and all the children would join them in jump roping together.
Jumping rope with the village children.
Bay of Islands
When Ewout came back we went to the Bay of Islands (also at Vanua Balavu), which is one of the most beautiful places we have seen. Really stunning. You anchor in very shallow, crystal clear water. You are totally protected from the Ocean swells first by the reef surrounding Vanua Mbalavu, then by rings of small limestone islands. The water has erroded the limestone at water line level, hence many of them look like mushrooms.
View on the Bay of Islands from a hike we did.
Bay of Islands anchorage.
Mushroom style islets. At water level the limestone has been removed by wave action.
Crystal clear waters give view on underwater life.
How often do you see your boat's shadow on a sandy bottom?
A Beach landing in the Bay of Islands.
Hiking up to a coconut plantation and view point.
Coconut plantation. (Jungle is cleared and coconuts are given light to grow and chance to bear fruit).
One of many Fruit Bats that come out at nightfall.
hello there. good to know about your travels. i remember the nite i was called by the search and rescue team that they have recieved a distress signal.i called steve to come down to the jet
ReplyDeletety and take a look.i was then told then to send the message back to message centre and tell them you were safe. i had thot that the keal to be removed ,then to push the yatcht back to the water. lariekoek is a beauty just slightly bigger then ours.
Anyway hope you enjoyed your trip on mago.
Im the Pilots wife,emily.
Bon_Voyage....