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sailing aboard the Gallivant

YASAWA ISLANDS

The remote Yasawa Island group has often been described as a string of pearls sprinkled on an azure sea. To cruise the Yasawa Islands is to be captivated by one of the most enchanting places in the South Pacific. A place where fantasy is reality and reality is part of the fantasy. Places steeped in mystery and myth where the Fijian people live as they have done for centuries, keeping the spirit of island legend alive with their traditional and simple lifestyle. It is in this fabled corner of the world's most romantic ocean that the south seas' promise is fulfilled with day after day of brilliant sunshine and a thousand clear white beaches fringed by tall palm trees and calm blue lagoons.

Threading your way through the unfolding panorama of the Yasawa Island chains, you'll spot dolphins playing off the bow, the silver sparkle of fish leaping from the waters and colorful coral heads almost breaking the mirror smooth surface. Wherever you look, gentle islands bask in the placid waters.

For centuries the islands of the South Seas have represented paradise on earth. Scattered like gems across the South Pacific, these lush isles warmed year 'round by a tropical sun stand in sharp contrast to our own land. Here, life goes on at an unhurried pace. The islanders welcome visitors with open hearts, generosity and shy friendliness, as they have done for hundreds of years.

The appeal of the South Pacific is legendary, to the point where many believe it is just a dream, far beyond their reach. Happily, this is not the case.

A TRANQUIL WAY OF LIFE

Fiji is a nature lover's delight. Adrift for millennia in splendid isolation in the South Pacific, it has escaped the evils of industrial progress, the incursions of dangerous animals, poisonous snakes, spiders and pestilential diseases such as malaria.

Tranquil villages nestled in out of the way places. Rituals such as the yaqona ceremony are enacted as they have been for centuries visitors are welcomed as honored guests.

YAGONA OR KAVA CEREMONY; LOVO FEAST

Almost everyone is invited to share a Fiji yagona ceremony, where a bowl of kava, the national drink, is passed around. Kava, properly called yagona, is prepared from pulverized pepper plant root and may make your tongue feel a bit numb. The taste is a kin to dirty dishwater. The drink is nonalcoholic, but some say it causes mild euphoria or lethargy. More import, the act of sharing creates a bond of friendship. The etiquette involves clapping your hands before and after sipping the dusky liquid from a communal coconut shell.

Fijians sip kava to celebrate happy events and as a gesture of friendship in welcoming visitors. It is an honor to be offered. Often villagers invite visitors into their home and offer food, even if they are very poor. It is polite to accept, and also a good chance to talk to locals. Try to reciprocate hospitality by leaving some basic groceries such as sugar, tea or tinned meat, which you can buy, at the village shop.

Most indigenous Fijians live in villages in mataqali (or extended family groups) and acknowledge a hereditary chief who is usually male. Each mataqali owns land, and wider groups have a paramount chief. Clans gather for births, deaths, marriages, lovo feasts (where food is cooked in a pit oven), mekes and to exchange gifts. Yaqona drinking is still an important social ceremony. A family is allocated land for farming. Communal obligations also have to be met, including farming for the chief, preparing for special ceremonies and feasts, fishing, building and village maintenance. Village life is now only semisubsistent; cash is needed for school fees, community projects and imported goods.

Village life is based on interdependence and is therefore supportive, providing a strong group identity. It is also conservative; independent thinkers are not encouraged, and being different or too ambitious can threaten the stability of a village.

SAILING

The joy of cruising the sparkling emerald and azure waters, which join Fiji’s 330 islands, is not just the pleasure of experiencing untrammeled beauty, but also in the realization of childhood dreams of faraway places. It is Treasure Islands revisited the essence of Robert Louis Stevenson, Somerset Maugham, Pierre Loti, and James A. Michener. Fiji has something for everyone. From affordable family and budget day trips. Regular two, three and seven night cruises on well appointed luxury motor and sailing yachts to bare boat yacht charters.

DIVING/SNORKELING

Fiji's 330 islands offer an unparalleled range of quality dive sites. The sheer diversity of life on Fijian reefs is overwhelming, "Jean-Miche Cousteau. Known as the "Soft Coral Capital of the World," Fiji is recognized as a world premier dive destination. Year-round sunshine, warm waters and an unbelievable range of dive destinations supported by highly profession dive operators have combined to make Fiji an outstanding diving experience.

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LONELY PLANET GUIDE.

YASAWA ISLAND GROUP

The Yasawa group is a chain of 20 ancient volcanic
islands extending almost in a straight line for 90 km within the Great Sea Reef. The southern islands begin 40-km northwest of Viti Levu. Of the 17 islands in the group there are six main ones. four of which are large and elevated, with summits up to nearly 600 m above sea level. The land is mostly hilly and rugged and the climate is relative dry. The Yasawa’s' sun-drenched white-sand beaches, spectacular crystal clear lagoons and rugged landscapes make them one of Fiji's main tourist destinations. Most people visit the islands on cruises, as there are not many places to stay.

After the famous mutiny on the Bounty in 1789, Captain Bligh passed through the island group on his way to Timor. Fijian canoes chased his longboat.

The people of the Yasawa islands have their own dialect, known as Vuda. The traveler may notice that cola (pronounced 'thola) is sometimes used instead of bula (cheers'), or vina du riki instead of vinaka vakalevu for 'thank you very much'.

The Yasawa’s are sparsely populated, with only about 5000 villagers. There are no banks, postal services or medical services. The up-market resorts have phones and some of the smaller resorts have radiophones for emergencies.

ACTIVITIES
Hiking, islands such as Wayasewa and Waya. Kayaking, Diving: the Yasawa’s have lots of spectacular reefs with brilliant corals, walls, underwater caves and many unexplored areas.

KUATA ISLAND
Is a small island that has interesting caves and volcanic rock formations. There are coral cliffs on the southern end and great snorkeling.

WAYASEWA ISLAND
Also known as Wayalailai (little Waya) is in the Southern Yasawa’s, about 40-km northwest of Lautoka. It has good beaches and coral reefs offshore. After a rockslide from the cliff damaged some of the buildings, the Fijian Government declared Namara village unsafe and had it moved to its present location in 1975. Some of the villagers remained in old Namara village, and this beautiful overhanging cliff is the backdrop for a budget resort at its base. The New Namara (Naboro village) site is also spectacular, with a large flat area between two beaches and high grassy hills to the south, which look theatrical in the afternoon light. Villagers welcome tourist groups and present mekes and host kava ceremonies.

WAYA ISLAND
Have rugged hills and beautiful beaches and lagoons. There are four villages, a nursing station and a boarding school on the island. It is easy to walk around Waya and hike to the top of Yalobi Hills, from where you can see the entire chain of the Yasawa islands.

TAVEWA ISLAND
is a small low island with nice beaches, is easy to walk around. The island is freehold land and there is no village and no chief, just three budget resorts and a dive operation. It can sometimes get overcrowded at the backpacker resorts.

SAWA-I-LAU ISLAND
Is the odd limestone island in the group of high volcanic islands. As limestone forms only underwater, the island is thought to have been uplifted a few hundred meters. It has a great dome-shaped cave that extends to a height of about 15m above the water surface. You can swim through the pool and other caves lead off it. The colorful limestone walls have carvings, painting and inscriptions of unknown meaning. Similar inscriptions also occur on Vanua Levu in the hills near Vuinadi village, Natewa Bay and near Dakuniba village on the Cakaudrove Peninsula, as well as at Nequilai on northwest Taveuni.

YASAWA ISLAND
Is the northernmost of the Yasawa islands. It has four small villages and an up-market resort.

"GALLIVANT: cruise in comfort with skipper and cook. 56' of luxury (built in New Zealand aboard this fantastic yacht. Swim, snorkel, beachcomb, explore remote islands, warm tropical waters, beautiful beaches, palm trees."

SAMPLE ITINERARY

Day 1: set sail for "honeymoon Island" where you can snorkel, then onto LikuLiku Bay in which we anchor for the night and enjoy a cocktail as the sun sets.

Day 2: Early start for Waya Island, a four-hour sail, we break en route at Kuata to snorkel the Coral Cliffs. At Waya we anchor in Yalobi Bay and visit the village and the Chief for the Kava Ceremony. Waya Island has beautiful beaches and lagoons. There are four villages, a nursing station and boarding school there.

Day 3. After breakfast we sail for the Blue Lagoon on Nanuya Levu (Turtle Island- privately owned.) The 1980 and 1949 versions of the movie, "Blue Lagoon" were filmed entirely on Turtle Island. Not to miss is afternoon tea at Auntie Fanny's with homemade Chocolate and Coconut cakes. May snorkel the Cabbage Patch.

Day 4: Relaxed short sail to Sawa-I-Lau to swim and explore limestone caves.

Day 5: Sail 2 hours south to Tavawa Island, explore one of the many bays along the way. Visit a local school.

Day 6: Leisurely sail to Somo Somo Bay on Naviti Island. Visit the Woman Chief Tai Dawali were you can trade shells and carvings from the village people. You may even choose to go ashore to experience a Lovo (traditional Fijian Feast)

Day 7: Explore Navitis West Coast bays to overnight at the uninhabited Island of Drawaga. Relax and enjoy the beautiful surrounding this Island has to offer.

Day 8: Set sail for Nalauwaki Bay on Waya Island to enjoy the fresh water pools on the beach. In the evening we go ashore to see the "Meke"- Fijian Dance.

Day 9: Today a relaxed sail to the Island of Vanua Levu, after placing traditional gifts in the sacred cave. Explore the island, swim, snorkel and body surf at the beach.

Day 10: An early start for the 3-hour sail back to Musket Cove. Here you will depart us, with memories of a truly enjoyable time.