Tag Archives: wayne

Road Trip Across New Zealand

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The best way to see New Zealand is on land.  Sailing around New Zealand can be challenging as they have deep bays, rough seas, high winds, and not many anchor spots (so we have been told).  Plus, we have a lot of work going on Sugar Shack right now so moving her away from the docks is not really an option. So, a road trip is the perfect solution.

I had been planning this road trip for months and months.  Originally, Matt, Wayne, and I were going to take a campervan (or RV) but we decided to take our car instead.  Why do you ask?  Well, first of all the roads in NZ are incredibly windy, small, two lane (one lane each way) roads and driving a giant campervan seemed scary.  Also, the campervan sites are located between 2-10 miles away from the center of the main towns and we would not have had a way to get to and from the campsites.  And third, it was cheaper to take our car and stay in hotels than it was to rent the campervan.

We bought a car

You are probably thinking we are crazy, right? Well, we are a wee bit nutso, but not in this instance.  We were not planning on buying a car, but we did because the deal was just too good.  We bought a 2006 323i BMW with 18k miles for $3,800 USD.  Yep, and she was a beauty.

So, we had the reliable car, we had insurance, we had a jam packed itinerary full of action and adventure and we were set to go!

The Road Trip

Matt and I had already ventured to Coromandel and Whitanga which is on the East side of the North Island.  If you missed this blog, go back and read it! 

I had the opportunity to go to the North tip of the North island with friends and will take Matt back another time.  Check out this road trip to Cape Reigna.

So, our goal was to focus on the South Island. while still hitting a few highlights in the North Island.  We anticipated this being a 4500-5000km trip.  This is a rough idea of where we planned to go.  I anticipated several detours and unplanned stops along the way.

For the next three months, you will be reading all about our fabulous road trip, how long it took us to get to each destination, where we stayed, what we did, and what kind of mischief we got into with our friend Wayne.

So, please stay tuned and enjoy the ride!  It was a fantastic one.

Events from this blog post occurred between 20 February through 18 March 2023.  Our blog posts are running 10-12 weeks behind actual live events, so please be patient with us.

Musket Cove

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We leave the beautiful, and not totally explored island of Kadavu to go to Musket Cove.  It is only 100nm from our current location, but we need to do an overnight to ensure we arrive at daylight (famous last words).  We pick up the hook at 0700 and head around the island to the SW side and drop the hook at Cape Washington / Denham Island for a quick lunch stop. 

Cape Washington

Wow, what a truly beautiful spot with such a diverse landscape!  You look one way and you see long, white sandy beaches, another direction is a towering lime stone hillside, and behind you is a deserted resort begging to be brought back to life.

Cape Washington-Denham Island

Cape Washington-Denham Island

After our lunch, we make way toward Musket Cove which was a super easy and very pleasant passage. 

Trip Details

  • Total Miles:  96nm
  • Max Speed: 10.6kt
  • Average Speed: 6.0kt
  • Waves were following at 1-1.5m
  • Total Moving Time :16 hours

We have a spectacular sunrise.  The white spots are stars and the large dot near the tallest mountain is the moon.

Just because I am so in love with sunsets, here is another one about 30 minutes later.

Remember how I said we left late afternoon to ensure we would arrive at daybreak?  Well that did not work out so well.  We arrived at 0330 and decided to enter the shipping channel which was wide, deep, and well lit.  We had no problems, then headed to the anchorage, dropped the hook and took a nap.

It is super pretty here with gorgeous views, despite the many boats that are here (well over 60!)

We head to shore to explore and have some lunch.  There is a little resort on Malolo island (aka Musket Cove) and loads of cruisers wondering about.  A little supermarket, pharmacy, laundry, showers, and trash are available.  In addition to the multiple bars and restaurants.

Snorkeling the Reef

The next day we head out to the reef and a popular bommie (right in the center of the channel).  Boy these two places were fun.  Not a ton of fish, but super interesting coral, schools of reef fish and more.

These look like they would be hard corals, but they were in fact soft.

The coral had beautiful formations, indents, and caverns.

And I fell in love with all of the brilliantly, bright blue starfish.  These are the obvious ones that were begging to be noticed.

These were the shy ones that made me look for them.  I love the upper left one where he looks like he is hugging the coral.

Seventh Heaven

After our snorkel, we decided to do a drive by a place called Seventh Heaven.  This place has only been open for 4 months and sort of is a copy cat to Cloud 9.  But, we are equal sharers in love so we stopped by.  You pay $50F up front and that amount is applied to your food, drinks, water toy rentals, massage, and items purchased at the store.  We did not have any problems meeting that quota.

The food was amaze balls and the drinks were delicious.

Yep, life is good on Sugar Shack!

The boys even take the “Leap of Faith”

Port Denarau

It was time to take Wayne back to the main island of Viti Levu where he could catch his flight.  So, we motored the 2 hours to Port Denarau.  Well, this is very similar to Tahiti.  It is necessary evil to have to come here.  We need to provision, fuel, dump trash, and deliver Wayne.  But, YUCK the water is green and muddy, there are tons of boats, tourists, cruise ships, and just “so much.”

Wayne’s funny track from this holiday.  We really had a silly sail plan, but this is what the weather allowed us to do so we sailed 6 of his 20 days with a total of almost 700nm!

Stay tuned for more on Port Denarau next week.

Events from this blog occurred in the first two weeks of July.  Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual events.   In our last blog, we continue our Lao Group Island Tour.

Bay of Islands, Vanua Balavu

Lao Group Island Tour: Part II

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In our last blog post, we take you and our friend Wayne on a tour of the Lao group.  The Lao group are the outer islands of Fiji that are pristine in nature, basic in lifestyle, and full of loving, generous, small tribes.

We started the tour in Savusavu, then headed to Taveuni, and then off to Ogea.  From here we started to head North to Yagasa, then Lakeba.

In an ideal situation, we would make our way to the Northern Lao Group, then slowly make our way south, then head west toward the mainland Viti Levu.  However, the tradewinds run southeast so we end up making a figure 8 and putting a lot of miles under the boat!

Continuing on with Lao Island Tour Part II

Matt caught a Mahi but he didn’t make it into our freezer.  Matt grabbed the line to take a photo and the clever fish wiggled off the hook, bounced down the sugar scoops and into the water.  It was his lucky day!

After we left Lakeba, we head to our favorite place (so far) in Vanua Balavu called Bay of Islands.  Before we head to the anchorage, we stop at Dalconi to do our sevusevu with the village chief Josese.  We also meet Tuta, the headman who we scheduled a cave snorkel tour for the next day.

After our sevusevu ceremony, we asked some kids to walk us around the village.  They were so delightful!  Can you see Sugar Shack in the top photo?

Dalconi Village

Dalconi Village

Bay of Islands

The next morning, we head straight over to the Bay of Islands.  We find the same spot from the last time we were here and we enjoy this beautiful place all to ourselves.  This is certainly my favorite place in the Lao group.

Tuta picks us up in a long boat for our tour of several caves that we can snorkel through.

There are 4 caves, but I only went inside .  Two. The first one, which happened to be the furthest away from the anchorage is called the “meeting room.”  Evidently, elders used to meet here during low tide.  You don’t need a mask to get inside, but you do need to swim in.

On the outside, it is a little upside-down thermometer (at least that is what it looks like to me).  We jump in the water, and head inside and are instantly in awe of the beautiful interior of the cave.  With its peek-a-boo holes throughout the cave walls allowing light and small bats to come and go as they please.

Matt has a flash light and illuminates the ceiling which casts an eerie glow.

I really enjoyed this cave and its many caverns and light holes.  So much beauty hidden in darkness.

The 2nd cave is a no-go for me.  The boys take on the adventure and I stay outside admiring the beautiful coral and large clams.

The boys had to swim below the surface about 2 meters and then swim 3 meters inside the cave.  Be careful to pop up away from the hanging stalactites.  It was a deep cave that went further back than the first cave, but wasn’t as tall or impressive.  There were no openings to let in the light.  The opening is a tiny peep hole just barely visible at the water line.

2nd Cave Snorkel

2nd Cave Snorkel

The 3rd cave we had visited on our own so we told him we did not need to go again.  The 4th cave was completely under water and we were told to come back at true low tide (as it was, we were 2 hours before low tide). 

Here is a photo of all 3 entrances:

Added Tour Bonus Stops

After our tour, Tuta took us to the Flying Fox tree (bats).  Boy were they unhappy about us being there!  Such funny looking animals with their see-through winds and spiny bodies.

Next we went to a private island owned by the owner of Oakley sunglasses.  The caretaker welcomed us and offered tasty coconuts to cool us off.

Vanua Balavu always has beautiful sunsets.

A New Island: Kadavu

We had another 200nm overnight passage from Vanua Balavu to Kadavu).  We sail past one of Mel Gibson’s islands here in Fiji (it is private so we can’t stop).

Kadavu is no longer part of the Lao group, but it is reported to be stunning.  On the passage, Wayne brought in a beautiful bull Mahi Mahi.

Vanua Balavu to Kadavu

Trip Details

  • Total Miles: 206
  • Moving Time: 27 hours
  • Max Speed: 12.6
  • Average Speed: 7.6

Our first anchorage in Kadavu is called North Bay.  The winds are howling so we tuck into a quiet little spot all to ourselves.   The mangroves line the bottom of the mountainside as the tall trees jet up behind them.  Super pretty contrast in greens.

Since we arrived on a Sunday, we decided to stay on the boat and do our sevusevu the following day.  A friend of ours told us that there is no “chief” per se, but that we did not stop in to the police station and show them our paperwork.

So, early the next day, we loaded up into Sweetie and headed to town.  We were greeted by a group of fishermen who were free diving for sea cucumbers to sell to China.  They were so friendly and nice, they welcomed us to the village of Vunisea and told us to enjoy ourselves.

Up and over two small hills, we finally arrived to the village that was surprisingly big.  They had 5 small markets, 1 hardware store, and a fresh veggie market. This side of the village had beautiful white sandy beaches, where we have mangroves and tree lined hills.  We found the airport (top right, and the “terminal” middle right, along with street signs!

We take a dinghy ride around the lagoon and enjoy the beauty of the island.  Lots of cascading green trees that drape down to the next tree creating a waterfall effect.

Sugar Shack sitting alone in her bay.

Next we head to Musket Cove and the metropolis of Denaru on Viti Levu Fiji’s main island.

Events from this blog occurred in the first two weeks of July.  Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual events.   In our last blog, we take Wayne on a Lao Group Island Tour.