Monthly Archives: July 2025

The Mitchells: American & Fijian

Meeting the Locals of Qamea Island

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Oh no! The weather was being shifty making it hard to find a safe anchorage.  So, we, along with our friends on Wainani and Geniet Lewe, decided to find a more protected spot.  We  decided to move to Qamea Island with the hopes of meeting the Mitchell Family.

Meeting the Fijian Mitchell Family

You will find the legendary Mitchell Family nestled in the pristine bay of Namata on the island of Qamea. The Mitchell Family is famously welcoming to visitors and cruisers.  And we just had to meet our Fijian counterparts.

The Mitchell family was gifted land spread out across the entire island of Qamea.  The Mitchells reside on Namata Bay and several bays along the northern and eastern sides of the island.  

There are 4 brothers and 3 sisters.  They live with their families in a range of homes across the island.  We came to meet the brothers who maintain a rich visitors guestbook.

A young 10-year old boy met us on the beach and took us to Thomas’s home.  You walk up a beautiful garden and land to find the house nestled in the trees.

Namata Bay, Qamea Island

Namata Bay, Qamea Island

They welcome us to the island and bay.  We took several photos and agreed to create pieces of art in their guest book.

Naiviivi Bay

After a fun filled experience with the Mitchell Family we decided to move to Naiviivi Bay where it was more protected from increment weather.

This bay is super calm and very protected from every wind direction except north.  Lucky for us we were not expecting any northerlies. You sneak in between two markers indicating reefs on either side of the bay’s entrance.

Once inside it is calm conditions with soft breezes.

We went ashore to perform our sevusevu.  

We had to figure out which chief to see and which village to visit first.

There are 5 or 6 villages in this bay. 

We went ashore, asked around, and found out Chief Sepo was our guy.  With our escort, we walked through a few of the villages.

We came across many children and a group of local men enjoying an afternoon tea.

Sevusevu with Chief Sepo

Passing several different styles of homes we finally come to Chief Sepo’s house.

Chief Sepo is the chief of 3 villages containing between 600-700 residents.

Wendy and Shane on Geniet Lewe provided the village with reading glasses.  Of which, Chief Sepo promptly searched for a pair that would work for him.

He tried them out on the glove I was donating to the school.

The Catholic church was located across from Chief Sepo’s house.  

The only school on the island has 117 children registered. 

Most of these kids are boarding at the school as their homes are far away.

Continuing on to the outer edges of the village we find more homes.

Naiviivi Villiage

Naiviivi Village

Each village has a drum that they use to start school, church, and other important events. 

The grounds are blooming with a variety of flowers, some taro (potato type) and fruit trees.

After our adventure, we enjoyed a lovely dinner on Geniet Lewe. 

Shane and Wendy made lamb shank, potatoes, and grilled vegies. Wainani, Jaqui and Tony made a huge salad and I brought desert.

Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual live events.

We arrived in Qamea Island in the beginning of June 2025.

Find Qamea on No Foreign Land. 

We hike to the top of the ridge of a caldera in the Ringgold Isles in our last blog.

Cobia Caldera, Ringgold Isles, Fiji

The Bewitching Beauty of Cobia

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Nestled in Fiji’s Ringgold Isles is the uncorrupted beauty of Cobia (also known as Thombia) Island is nestled in Fiji’s Ringgold Isles.  It’s captivating crescent moon shape is the result of ancient volcanic eruptions, relentless winds, crashing waves, and vibrant coral growth.

Located on the NE corner of the Ringgold Isles.  It is truly one of the most stunning places we’ve ever seen!  

Cobia is a relatively small island with a land area covering 69.29 hectares.  The highest elevation is located on the western side of the island at 525′.  The stunning geological formations and beach forests of the island contribute to its natural significance.

Cobia Island is one of the main reasons we wanted to visit the Ringgold Isles.  It is a volcanic island with a pristine lagoon exposed on the northeast side.  The sunken volcanic crater has filled with sea water forming a beautiful blue lagoon.

Dinghies (and very small boats) are able to cross over the reef at high tide.  Otherwise the lagoon is inaccessible.

The Navionic image below is upside down to match the photo we took.  Normally, the opening faces north.

The Caldera’s Lagoon

We took our dinghy from Yavu Island to Cobia along with our friends on Wainani (Jaqui and Tony) and Geniet Lewe (Shane and Wendy).  It was a long, bumpy 3.5nm dinghy ride which took us about 35 minutes.

We decided to explore the lagoon first since it was close to high tide.  The water was so clear and beautiful.   Tony (sv Wainani) flew his drone over the lagoon and captured some great photos of us. 

The lagoon has rich coral reefs and abundant marine life. It is regarded as the clearest ocean waters in the world; the visibility often exceeds 120 feet (36 meters).

We explored the nooks and crannies in between the mangroves.  Finding little pools of untouched waters and lush vegetation.

The Caldera’s Ridge

During low tide, there are four beautiful white sand beaches. The path to the highest point is off one of these beaches.

We were all itching to hike to the top of the ridge on Cobia Island.  No Foreign Land states that trail was about 15-20 minutes to the top.  However, the starting point of that hike was off a  beach that was not accessible by dinghy.  So, we started from a different beach with the hopes of finding a new trail to the ridge top.

Like most adventures, the boys made their own path.  It was through thick bushes, trees, and up a steep slope.  But we eventually found the trail.  

We continued heading North along the ridge and found 3 lookout points.  The first lookout had a gorgeous view of the caldera and lagoon.  Matt almost slipped off the rock…..kidding he posed for the lower photo.

The Top of the Cobia Caldera

We made it after 50 minutes ascending to the top. 

The vegetation was so tall that you couldn’t see through it or over it. Thus, making the view not as good as the 1st and 3rd lookout.

However, Tony got the drone out again and captured some more amazing photos.

These photos just take my breath away. 

I can’t believe we got to see this in person and feel the enormity of this place.

On the way back, Matt wandered down a random route and found a third lookout.  

This was a once in a lifetime experience.  To experience it with our friends was a true blessing. This was a once in a lifetime experience.  

We headed over to Geniet Lewe for some cold beverages before making the 3.5 mile trek back in the dinghy.

Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual live events.  We visited Cobia at the end of May 2025.

Find Cobia on No Foreign Land: https://www.noforeignland.com/place/6755338971799499

Cobia lagoon in the Ringgold Isle, FIji

The Alluring Ringgold Isles

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Matt and I have dreamed of visiting the flawless Ringgold Isles for years.  However, we could not make it do to poor weather conditions during our last two visits to Fiji.  Our luck was about to change as we had super light winds and calm conditions, which were perfect for the trip to the Ringgold Isles.

The Ringgold Isle is located on the North Eastern fringe of the Fiji Islands.  Civilization and developments have yet to touch this area. 

The orange dots are possible anchorages for us based on different wind directions.  

There is only one village in the Ringgold Isle and it is located on the east side of Yanuca Island.

The Ringgold Isle

The Ringgold Isle

The Ringgold Isles

7 islands, several islets, and 3 reefs (Budd Reef, Nukusemanu Reef, and Heemskercq Reef) make up the Ringgold Isle.

This group of islands lie to the North of the main Fijian islands and are largely uninhabited.  They are known for their beautiful coral reefs, rich marine biodiversity, and pristine natural beauty.

Most of the islands are volcanic in origin and are generally small, with lush vegetation.  The islands are surrounded by crystal-clear, turquoise waters.

There is not much information about the Ringgold islands. 

Several sources list the names of the 7 islands as Naqelelevu, Vetau’ua, Nukubasaga, Nukupureti, Nukusemanu, Tainibeka and Tauraria

However, those names do not match the names on Navionics, No Foreign Land, Noonsite, or even google maps.

Our sailing resources and charts list the Ringgold Islands as:

Yavu, Yanuca, Cobia, Maqewa, Beka, Tovuka, Raranitqa.  For ease of understanding, we will use the names listed on our charts.

Photo courtesy of www.tropicalislands.net

Photo courtesy of www.tropicalislands.net

Yanuca serves as the main island and is the only one that is inhabited.  Roughly 60-100 people call this island home.

There is one village located on the east side of the island.  Yet, the school is located on the north side of the island. 

The kids either walk 30-minutes to school or take a 5 minute boat bus ride over the reef.

Conservation

Fiji includes the Ringgold Isles in its efforts to protect marine and island ecosystems. Thus, hoping to preserve their unique biodiversity and natural beauty.

A 218-hectare (540-acre) area covering the archipelago is the Ringgold Islands Important Bird Area.

This area supports globally and regionally significant populations of marine turtles, humpback whales, seabirds and semi-nomadic reef fish. The Ringgold Isle may even hold concentrations of cold-water corals

Fiji Tourism has a great shot of Cobia – click here.

Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual live events. 

We visited the Ringgold Isle toward the end of May 2025.

We show off the beauty of the Paradise Resort in our last blog post.
 
Find the Ringgolds on No Foreign Land: https://www.noforeignland.com/place/6755338971799310