🇫🇯️ Viani Bay and Rainbow reef

The pass out through the reef surrounding Namena Island is without any markers which is a bit nerve wracking however we have our track to follow and we motor out smoothly enough. There are dive boats in the distance as we leave one of the best diving sites ever, so they say.

Stefan says its sails nice because the hull has just been repainted. It’s so fast! We are in reef one sailing close reach and we are bucketing along at 7 knots. We are happy with that. By 5 30 pm we sail with the sun setting behind us and the yam and potatoes boiling to go with super coleslaw. That’s with roasted walnuts. Shall we have a can of sardines too? We maintain the same speed and point of sail arriving at Somosomo Strait much earlier than dawn. Thanks Stefan Aka Captain Neptune.

In the early morning we motor forty minutes to Viani pass which we pass without a hitch on the turn of the high tide. It was cloudy all the way wih the sun eager to show but not quite emerging until we were at the pass. A relief after a week of hard sun. Not sure if it was necessary to motor through on the turn but we did just in case. I stood on look out enjoying the drizzle. We suprised a school of flying fish who flew just above the surface in our path. There was a vee of grey birds, swooping close to the water, everything is grey this morning, ten in formation, hunting perhaps. The calm sea has seed pods floating in smooth areas. They are bigger than slitters as big as big grapefruits and all floating the same way up so you can see the four quarters rising to a point.

Children begin to clamour joyously and we are waved at. Then the happy laughter peters out to one solitary wail of a small child. Normal village life we guess. The washing is out in the sun, a small boat motors to another village in the bay laden with boxes. We can’t see any other yachts. This is not what I expected as our friend warned us that this area is crowded with cruisers. They are further on. Must be.

We spent about five nights at Viani bay, had great snorkling times and shared good moments with wonderful cruising friends

One day in Viani bay we walked up the hill and down into the valley, past the local school

In the valley we plodded delighted along a faint path in forrest emerging quickly to cultivated land, by which we mean evidence of human intervention mainly barbed wire and a water hose pipe. At first we come to empty deserted dwellings.

On closer inspection some of them are inhabited and we meet Inokee, his wife Lisa and his family. Himself is 87 and his sight is going so we gave him reading glasses and sunglasses with the help of other yachties. We enjoy very much meeting him, as he does us. The woman there made it clear, although she could not speak English, that she wanted nail varnish but we are unable to help her. No nail varnish on any nearby yachts either.

It absolutely poured with rain Monday morning so we postponed our snorkling trip on rainbow reef to Tuesday. On Tuesday, Willy, a local who we can recommend (Whatsapp +6798310781) collected five of us to bring the mile out to the reef.

It was blowing quite cheerily from the south at this stage but the chosen dive spot was not choppy and there was no current. We were in a simple wooden longboat that would seat ten including driver Mala and guide Willy. Basically it was spacious and simply made. The ladder broke so we had to do a big heave over the side or get helped which might have been very inconvenient to some but non of us complained we were so excited with the mornings activity. The snorkling was great Stefan instantly becomes one with the fishes diving down and rising up effortlessly. I am just becoming comfortable with it. Drifting on the surface with all sorts of pretty little fishes to watch with an awesome background of bulbous, mushroom like, or flat, spikey, wriggly, rock yet not rock coral with dots of purple and bright blues shimmering or stark orange like you can only experience right here right now in this reef known as Rainbow reef. Breathing and observing what can I say! A whole trip in itself.

On the way back Willy asks us if we would like to walk and see something ‘Of course!’ we all say. We are with Chris from Glazig and Julie and Don from First Light. We have no shots of this place but to begin with we think its a resort all manicured with a long jetty and several large bungalows of distinct and varied designs, very well maintained. Attractive to say the least. We hop into the water ankle deep and driver Mala looks after the boat. This is a private residence Willy tells us. The mature trees are at regular intervals and the lawn is so spongey our feet sink in 20 cm at times. This is where Fantasy Island was filmed we are told. We are brought to concrete stairs guarded by a 3m high mother Mary figure. There is a church at the top and as we start to go up I realise I am gliding effortlessly. I was being lifted by spirit, giggling with joy I will always remember the lightness in my legs and heart gliding upwards! At the top, a small symmetrical well tended white church is nestled in the rich growth of the hillside overlooking Viani Bay. When we motored away accross the bay we spotted it. If you look carefully, you can see it up there, well hidden in the green trees.