Tag Archives: malolo island

Malolo Island Passage

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It was difficult to leave Tomba Ni Ndaku (Vunisei village) on Kadavu, but we had to get back to Malolo island to prepare for the Musket Cove regatta.

We left Tomba Ni Ndaku and headed for an anchorage with a long beautiful beach.  However, when we got there, we found that there was no internet so we moved on.  Normally, we are not a slave to the internet, but this particular day we needed to be connected to communicate with family.

So, we motored a few more miles around the corner to the large town of Drue.  Two of our friends were also anchored here, but by the time we dropped the hook we were tired so we did not leave the boat.  It was a super lush hillside and anchorage.

The next morning, we had another beautiful moon rise with a little bit of fog.

The sail from Kadavu to Malolo is a little over 125nm which is near impossible to do during day light hours unless you have great winds.  Unfortunately for us, we were forecasted to have light winds so we decided to stop at a tiny island half way to Malolo. 

Vatulele Island

This little island is not visited often because the pass can be tricky to enter.  We had no tracks and no information from other cruisers.  All we had to go on was our charts.  The sail to Vatulele island is about 40-45nm.  As we set out for the day, we hoisted both sails and motor-sailed the first several hours.  The wind started to pick up so we turned off the engines and enjoyed a lovely day on the water.

By the time we got to Vatulele we had 17-18kts of wind and 1.5meter seas.   In addition, we some how managed to time the pass entry at low tide which was less than ideal.  The decision was made to skip this island as conditions were not conducive for a safe entry through the pass.

The left chart shows the little island just below Viti Levu.  The right photo shows you the narrow and very shallow pass.

So, we continued 33nm to Natadola Bay as we could make this anchorage just before sunset.  It has a wide pass; we have tracks coming and going, and our friends on SeaGlub were anchored here.

Natadola Bay, Viti Levu

We drop the hook and high tailed it over to SeaGlub where our friend Chris graciously offered to BBQ.  It was a lovely evening with good friends, tasty food, and cold beverages.

The next day, we motored 40nm to Malolo island where we claimed our anchor spot for the Musket Cove Regatta.

The events from this blog occurred in early September 2022.  Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events.  We experience the full sevusevu ceremony from pounding of the root to consumption in our last blog post, and neither one of us gagged! 

Celebrating the Konis Family Fijian Style

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As we near the end of the Konis family trip, we visit 4 islands in their last few days onboard Sugar Shack.  We stop in Naviti, Mana, Malolo, and Viti Levu in 3 days!

Day 9: Naviti Island to Mana Island

We were blessed with northerly winds which gave us a super comfortable downwind sail with our medium size spinnaker.  Everyone was a little nervous considering our last “longish” passage was pretty rough.  This time they all enjoyed the calm conditions as we surfed the seas and averaged 7kts to Mana Island.   35nm down in a blink of the eye.

I love exploring all of these islands for the first time with my family!  They get to see how we navigate into new passes and anchorages.  The pass into Mana island is crazy narrow and curvy.  It is certainly a challenge, especially during low tide.  But we manage to enter it and drop the hook with no issues (thank goodness).

We frolic in the water in the afternoon and enjoy a tasty porkchop dinner and chocolate raspberry ice cream for dessert.   Then we get real goofy watching Zoolander 2.

Day 10: Mana Island and Malolo Island

The next morning, we go ashore to explore Mana island.  It is filled with many backpacker resorts on one side of the island and a posh resort on the other.  A huge ugly fence separates the two halves of the island which is rather unfortunate!  The village and backpacker side is super friendly and very welcoming to cruisers.  We enjoyed some cold beverages, a walk through their small market, and chatting with the locals.  We did venture around the fence to the resort side and found it to be a typical posh resort.   Friendly enough to us, but not overly welcoming like we are used to with the Fijian culture.

This was a funny sign using “kava” as a pun…

The anchorage looks so pretty and peaceful from shore.

We ran into some beautiful little children while here.

We tried to do sevusevu here as well but the chief was not on island during our visit.  The local lady suggested we buy from the artisans instead of presenting kava and we happily obliged as they had some lovely wares.

We left early afternoon to visit Cloud 9, a similar over the water bar as Seventh Heaven. We were very surprised by the large number of people that came and went (in 2-hour increments) and the slow service.  Very different atmosphere than Seventh Heaven, but the food was good and the drinks were cold!

Even though it was drizzling a little, we still enjoyed ourselves.

A huge rain cloud was coming our way so we quickly headed back to Sugar Shack to motor to the east side Malolo Island.  We were hoping for protection from the winds, but as it turned out the weather forecast was delayed and we ended having a super bumpy night.

We were blessed with a beautiful double rainbow after the showers stopped.

The Musket Cove anchorage is super crowded – we spotted over 50 boats on AIS alone plus another 20-30 boats not broadcasting. Good thing we did not go there to anchor in that mess!

Day 11:  Malolo, Musket Cove

There is a pass from our anchorage to the Musket Cove anchorage.  We thought we could easily traverse this but we did not take into account the King tide.  Of course, it was low, low tide when we wanted to go ashore.  So, we dinghied to the reef, found some sandy areas and gently walked across to the shore.  Once onshore, we found a beautiful little trail that lead us all the way to the Musket Cove Resort.

We had lunch at Dick’s Place and enjoyed some pool time at the resort.  A calm, chill day.

Day 12: Malolo Island to Port Denarau

Around mid-day we leave Malolo Island for Port Denarau.  It is a short 2-hour motor directly into the wind.  We grab a mooring and decide to head to shore for a late lunch and then well-deserved hot showers (love marina life sometimes).

Back to the boat to pack and enjoy bhan mi for dinner.  We were meeting our taxi driver across from the “Sails Restaurant” who happened to be hosting a special event.  Outside Sails were some beautiful local Fijian dancers who gave the Konis family a proper send off!

It was so much fun having Troy, Kimberly, Cole and Cameron onboard as we explored the Mamanuca and Yasawa islands.  We are so grateful they chose to spend their holidays with us onboard Sugar Shack!

Events from this blog occurred in the first two week of August.  Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual events.   In our last blog, we adventure through a series of underwater caves in the island of Sawa-I-Lau.

Fiji Welcomes the Konis Family

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So excited to spend some time with my family in Fiji. We meet Kimberly, Troy, Cameron, and Cole (the Konis family) in Port Denarau on Viti Levu (the mainland) where we secured a mooring.

They arrive before sunrise and enjoy the beauty of nature all around me. 

We do the required covid tests and a little shopping in the Port Denarau Marina mall.  A quick cocktail stop at the “Sails” restaurant before we leave with a fun photo op.

It is a short 2-hour motor to Musket Cove Marina on Malolo Island.  On the way, we stopped off at a little sandy spit with a few other tourist boats.  The boys swam to shore while Kimberly and I took the SUPs to shore.  There were tons and tons of tiny sea stars (I call them star fish but was corrected by the Konis family).  Unfortunately, I did not get any photos so close your eyes and imagine us walking on this white sandy spit that disappears during high tide.

A few hours later, we grabbed a mooring for the night at Musket Cove Marina.  Being on a mooring places us closer to the marina, eateries, and activities. 

A quick stop in to see Patrick, the Musket Cove Yacht Club manager who gives the Konis family “Lifetime memberships to the Musket Cove Marina” for $10F ($5 US).  Matt and I sign up for the Musket Cove Regatta as well so that we can participate in the crazy fun.

We head to shore for dinner at Dick’s Place where we celebrate Kimberly and Troy’s wedding anniversary.  Perfect to be together with the Konis’s.

Dick’s Place offers a buffet dinner so there was something for everyone.  We enjoyed a beautiful sunset at this exquisite setting.

I was able to capture this crazy beautiful photo with the sun setting over the lit pool. 

Day 2: Musket Cove & Seventh Heaven

The next morning, Cole has an appointment with Fiji Surf Co. so we move Sugar Shack out to Namotu Island which is about 2-hours away near the reef and the famous Cloud break surf break.  We anchor just as his surf team pulls up in their boat (they came from Port Denarau).  Cole jumps in their boat and off they go to enjoy a morning of surf at Wilks Pass and Namotu Lefts.  It wasn’t a terribly great surf with 1.5-2m seas, but Cole had a great time meeting new people and surfing in Fiji.   The resort is called Namotu Island Resort and caters to the extreme sports enthusiasts.  It is all inclusive of surfing, kiting, foiling, and more.

Kimberly, who is not an overly zealous snorkeler decided she would jump in the water first to enjoy some private time with the fishies.

Once Cole returns, we head to Seventh Heaven, our new favorite eatery in Fiji!  We run into Glen who is one of four owners of the bar.  The last time we were at Seventh Heaven we met Glen the last time we were here with Wayne.

We order delicious cocktails and super tasty food!

And of course, Cameron shows off his mad skills on the Leap of Faith doing back flips and artsy dives.

Exploding Bean Bag

We headed back to the boat to enjoy some R&R.  Around 4:30pm we hear “oh no” and all of the sudden we see tons of white floating balls fly by us.  We quickly run up to the bow where we find Cameron desperately trying to close the exploded bean bag.  The bags are old, have been baking in the sun, and have taken a lot of abuse by young ones.  It was bound to happen.  One of the seams tore open and a lot of the bean bag filling literally went flying out of the bag.  It took all 6 of us over an hour to try to clean them up. I am sure Matt and I will be finding them floating around for years.  It was truly funny and not funny at the same time.

The boys decided they’d like to try sleeping outside, but I don’t think it turned out like they expected.  The sleeping bags cocooned them and Cole’s bottom was hitting the SUP (so he moved to the trampoline).

Day 3: Waya & Octopus Resort

We started off day 3 early as we had a 45nm motor/sail to Waya island.  We could have pushed the motors a little more to compensate for the lack of wind, but we made it in about 5 hours.

Waya island is a new island for Matt and I so we had to rely on feedback from other cruisers.  It turned out to be one of our favorite spots.  We pulled up next to the Octopus Resort and dropped the hook.

Matt dropped us off ashore to explore the beautiful sandy beach.  After asking the resort for permission, we headed over to a more secluded area where we could beach comb, play bocchi and enjoy the cool waters.

Matt made his famous eggplant parmesan which unsurprisingly got devoured in short order!

Events from this blog occurred in the first two week of August.  Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual events.   In our last blog, we explain why a stick on a hill can be extraordinary for us.