November 2, 2013
By 6:30 am it was already intensely sunny and warm, a confirmation that our plan to spend the day in the water was a good one. Our friends on Meikyo had invited us along on their outing to a small sand island called Snake Island, about 1.5 miles away. The snorkeling and diving there was rumored to be very good, in fact my Lonely Planet guide called it “some of the best snorkeling in Fiji.” Before going there we planned to snorkel here off Leleuvia’s shore and check out the coral re-seeding program at their marine reserve.
Later, we did just that, starting with the marine reserve. We were impressed by the number and variety of tropical fish, pretty much every species we’d encountered as we crossed the pacific all here in one spot! There was some nice coral, too, and this was a good snorkeling spot overall. We didn’t bring our underwater camera along, but I do have a few above-the-water photos of the area where we snorkeled. As you can see it’s every bit as lovely for swimming as it is for snorkeling. (Click to enlarge and scroll through any of the photo galleries that follow.)
After lunch we headed for Snake Island, the tiny sand island off its larger neighboring island of Caqalai. Caqalai, like Leleuvia, is a small resort island. It’s about the same size as Leleuvia but its resort (Caqalai Island Resort) is more of a backpacker-style place. Leleuvia Island Resort, while also a budget resort, is a bit more upscale. With its white sand beach, Leleuvia is by far the prettier of the two islands.
Yet Caqalai did have one feather in its cap: Snake Island, which had that reputation for being a great snorkeling spot. At low tide a person could actually walk from Caqalai to Snake Island (Note from 2018: the isthmus going from Caqalai to Snake island is currently gone, probably due to cyclone Winston.) Below, photos of Caqalai and Snake Island.
We got in and while I wouldn’t agree with the “best snorkeling in Fiji” comment, it was impressive. I saw so many tropical fish, beautiful hard and soft corals, and even a giant Napoleon wrasse. Liliane was very excited to spot a huge sea snake. I wasn’t nearly as happy about this as she was—sea snakes make me nervous and the idea of a giant one swimming around nearby was less than comforting. One other drawback to this area were fresh water upwellings that were surprisingly cold. Rich and I actually got chilled while snorkeling in this area.
After snorkeling we went on a search for potential dive spots. The first place we checked out was only mildly interesting, but the second place we looked had good potential, a giant bommie surrounded by schools of fish and a rainbow patch of colorful soft corals. We thought maybe we’d come back another time with dive gear. As we dinghied back to Leleuvia I noticed thunderheads building up over the big island of Viti Levu. I predicted we’d get a lightning show later. Back at our boat I could see Viti Levu was getting some rain…
Later that afternoon we all headed into the resort for happy hour. It turned into a very fun night as we ordered a couple of rounds (OK, maybe more than a couple) of Fiji Bitters. Then we found out the resort was having a lovo (Fijian feast) night. We couldn’t resist and stayed on for that, a good choice in that it was the best lovo meals we’d had to date, lots of Fijian specialties plus a kava bowl we could visit after the feast.
Finally we could try Fijian kava! Traditionally it’s part of the sevusevu ceremony one does when visiting a village, but that tradition seems to have died out, at least for the yachties and tourists. We still have to purchase and present the kava to the village chief, but that’s the last we ever see of it. There are a few yachties who later get invited back to share some kava, generally a male who has befriended some key villagers.
After dinner I headed to the big wood bowl and watched as they ladled the kava into a coconut shell for me. (This was not really a kava ceremony in that an authentic one requires a clapping ritual.) I tried the kava. It tasted like muddy water, but not objectionable. I had a pleasant numbness in my mouth but not much of a feeling beyond that. I had a second bowl, high tide (a full cup). I may have had a relaxed feeling but it was hard to tell after all the beer. I did enjoy the numb feeling—it was pleasant. I was definitely anxious to try more kava in the future. Below, a few photos our evening ashore and the lovo.
Meanwhile I was right about the clouds—they had continued to build and and we started to hear thunder and saw lightning in the distance. We also had another unexpected light show when the resort suddenly started setting off fireworks from the beach. It seems today was the start of Diwali, a multi-day Indian holiday celebrated all over Fiji. We’d noticed the markets in Savusavu had been selling fireworks before we left. Like the Americans on 4th of July, lots of people here do their own fireworks at home. Still, there are always big public display fireworks, too. We figured we’d be out cruising and probably wouldn’t get to see any Diwali festivities, but here they were. This was a nice end to a really festive day. –Cyndi
—Below, our light show photos, two of the fireworks and one of the lightning.
Update: We visited Leleuvia in 2018 and while it’s still beautiful, it does have a few issues. If you’d like to read about them; see the bottom of this post: Good-Bye Leleuvia
