"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report #31 Dravuni Island, Fiji October 25, 2016 Tuesday Sunny & 82 degrees Part #1 Of 3 85 Pictures

Have you ever heard of the Kadavu Island group of Fiji? Well, up until last year, we sure never did. A very small, and we small, island is part of that group and is called Dravuni Island. From tip to tip, this bit of land is under 2 miles long, and we guess not more than a mile wide. The one volcanic peak on the island offers views to kill for. The center has a village of about 200 people, many of them young children. Their housing is a step above what we found on Fanning Island, however, it is far from luxurious. It seems things have improved since our visit last year, because it appeared most folks have the new heavy duty plastic water catchers, possibly holding near to 1000 gallons of water. There must be a story of their existence here, but we would have to research this when we get home. They have to be subsidized by the mainland, but rely on tourism……specifically serious divers. These islands are situated in the Great Astrolabe Reef, something similar to the Great Barrier Reef off the Australian coast. It's just a guess on our end, but we think the rudimentary facilities on this island provide a landing spot for the serious scuba divers and snorkelers.

The only way to gain access to Dravuni is by tender boat. We figured it would be best to go over as early as possible, like 8am, to take advantage of the cooler morning weather, and also to beat the crowd. Last year, we visited on a Sunday and everything was shut down. No souvenirs being sold, no massages, or no motor boat rides around the island. Today we would have a chance to pick up some authentic Dravuni treasures before they were sold out.

Four of us lucky President Club members met with our leader, Christel, who joined us on the first boat over. We squeezed in with the shore equipment which included not only lemonade and water, but a whole bunch of emergency medical stuff. In addition to that, they were bringing needed donations to the natives. Many times the ship will supply medical supplies and non-perishable food stuff. We are certain that all of it was well received.

We were the first to step on the pontoon onshore. Seldom can we say that, but today it was worth it. The scenery of the deserted beach with that deep white sand was priceless. The island lives up to its reputation of having pristine beaches and fine weather. It is a veritable tropical paradise, although small, it was more than big enough to handle the passengers from our ship.

The first stop was at the one vendor table that had nice t-shirts. Sizes were limited, and we probably bought the only white and black one in the right size. One Fiji pareo found its way into my bag too. This was our final chance to get Fiji treasures, and what a better place to spend your money than here.

Many other things were being set up, but we would come back here later. Our destination was summiting the island's highest peak, well, at least one of us would do that. The trail began beyond the shoreside houses. It led us past their pig pens that were about hidden in the jungle. They are kept far enough away from their homes, so the flies are not pesty. From here, the trail begins to get steeper. We figured if it had been raining, it would be difficult to get a good foothold in the mud. Did we mention there are absolutely no vehicles on this island? No cars, no motorbikes. Kind of nice for a change.

Once we reached the first hilltop, the view of the ship in the bay was stunning. Doesn't get better than this, so due to the difficulty of the hike, this was the best spot for one of us to stay behind. With the killer view and a wonderful breeze blowing over the ridge, the wait was a delight. What most folks don't keep in mind, is that it can be much harder going downhill than it was going up. Bill continued up to the top to get a lot of photos, while I had fun greeting the hikers that eventually started the climb. Didn't realize how many people we have come to know on this trip, as well as some of the regulars that go on this trip every year.

An hour later, we were back down to the water. Here we found several massage tents set up with ladies offering a total body massage for $10 USD, or a neck and shoulder massage for $5 USD. We heard the treatments were for 30 minutes. We are sure that the spa girls from the ship did not know this service was going to be offered on the island. The Greenhouse Spa had advertised a 15 minute massage at $1 a minute on shore. That would have been a direct insult to these natives, since they need the money even more. We never saw it set up, so hopefully, they cancelled it.

Gene, the cruise director, had planned beach games onshore at 1pm, but he had no takers. We heard later that he gave all of the game equipment to the school kids, who must have been thrilled.

Other items being sold were a little bit of island jewelry, flowered shirts for men, and a spice cake. Since we had skipped breakfast, the cake looked good. But we decided to wait until we got back to the ship, and have lunch in the dining room.

A group of Fijian men were sitting cross-legged under a thatched roof, serenading everyone as they exited the tender boat. We could hear the little kids in their shared classroom also singing with the help of their teacher. What a welcome.

We continued past the long length of the sand beach to the opposite end of the island. Recalling that we had seen a small cemetery, we found it buried in the palms and shrubs. Some of the graves sites were fairly new, although there was no way to tell how old these natives were when they died. Now what we found mysterious, were the quilted blankets on the cement stones, with bowls and glasses set on the top. Asking about this last year, we learned that the relatives come to eat a meal on the grave tops. Sharing a meal with a family member, so to speak. We did not linger long.

Following the almost hidden path, we made our way to the far end of the island. The shoreline was very rocky, volcanic in nature. Giant pieces of clam shells were present in the volcanic rocks. A whole shell must have weighed 10 pounds. No, we did not take one. If we had continued around the end of the island, we would have found another stretch of beach. A few people had made it over the rocks to this beach. We heard that the snorkeling here was fabulous, but you had to be careful of the coral beds off the surf.

We decided to go back the way we came, because getting back all the way around the backside might not have been doable. If the opposite beach ended at the bottom of the mountain, then the only way back was up a steep cliff-like trail. No thanks.

We left to go back around 11am in hopes of being able to get lunch in the dining room. We were in luck…not only were they opened, but one of the entrees was spaghetti and meatballs. Yeah, we know that is everyday food, but they sure do a good job with it. One of us was happy with the mozzarella hamburger and French fries. Plenty of ice ea cooled us off, as did the cold desserts of ice cream and a strawberry tart.

The rest of the afternoon was dedicated to photo sorting. By 4:30pm, it was time to attend another sail away. It had been re-located today on the lower promenade deck. Found out this morning that due to the drift of the stack's exhaust at the aft pool, they decided to change to the promenade deck. We took our chances and went to the aft deck anyway. And it was fine. No soot, but no music, or appetizers. Like we really needed more food…..

The Amsterdam left the island by 5pm. Within minutes, the island disappeared as we headed out for a much appreciated day at sea. Our next port will be in Tonga.

Dinner was interesting. We had short ribs and oriental duck with fried noodles. Very different, but very good. Ice cream and frozen yogurt ended the meal nicely.

The entertainer this evening was a lady who is quite familiar to us…..Annie Frances, who is an internationally acclaimed, multi-award winning vocalist from Australia. She has appeared on many of our cruises, and the folks loved her voice.

By the way, the clocks were forward one hour tonight. Really do not like that.

Bill & Mary Ann

Local fishing boats