Two At Sea

September 19 – 23, 2013

Just outside the area we named “the Hidden Worlds,” was yet another intriguing area. Along the shoreline a small island, barely separated from the larger land mass, hid two pools just behind it.

As we motored in, the water went from very bright blue to a beautiful green in the pools themselves. In shallow water under the ledges we could see hundreds of bright blue damselfish.

Below, a gallery showing the entry to one of the pools . . .

And then a few photos of the pools themselves . . . (click to enlarge/scroll through any of the galleries in this post.)

The photos above were taken on different days, cloudy days lending it a subtle glow to the water while full sun brought out an almost neon brightness.

After exiting the pools and traveling along the ledges along the shoreline, we had a nice view of our boat behaving herself in the anchorage across the channel. Yet another lovely spot in a lovely place. – Cyndi

September 19 – 23, 2013

Above, a map showing the “Hidden Worlds” area in Vanua Balavu’s Bay of Islands.

We stumbled across this area when we returned to check out an anchorage possibility we’d passed by when we first arrived. Would it be more protected for upcoming winds? Not enough to justify moving (this goes back to when we decided to use our stern anchor and stay put where we were). We did, however, discover a beautiful area behind the anchorage. Below, the intriguing pass that led into this area.

Inside we discovered a large inner pool surrounded by steep-sided cliffs and bushy growth. A tiny rock island sat in the middle, and the surrounding blue-green water had the characteristic brightness of so many of these hidden areas. (Below, a gallery of photos of this pool—you can click to enlarge and scroll though the galleries that follow.)

It was quite beautiful, but even more beautiful was what we found behind a small island that bordered the back end of this pool. There were two passes, one on each side of the island, that led to yet another area. (Below, photos of both passes)

This area’s pool was larger, yet it felt more enclosed and remote, a truly secret hidey-hole. The water glowed green and blue and thick vegetation covered its rock walls. It was an absolutely beautiful spot. –Cyndi

September 19 – 23, 2013

We enjoyed snorkeling at the island by our anchorage, an easy swim from our boat. It didn’t look very exciting from above, but the water below the ledge was filled with interesting fish: many variations of blue damsels and probably hundreds of Picasso triggerfish ranging from inch-long babies to fairly large adults. They actually had burrows that they’d dart into if we got too close. We’re always excited to find even a single Picasso trigger; so seeing so many was pretty exciting, and we’ve never seen the burrow thing.

On one outing, we swam along the island to the small pass and made our way through to the other side. It wasn’t as prolific with the fish over there, but it was still worth a visit, especially when we spotted a trigger fish we’d never seen.

What did turn out to be really special was the large bombie we’d spotted from the dinghy on previous outings. This thing was huge, the size of a living room, and in contrast to the rocky sides of the islands, it was covered with an amazing array of corals. There were hard corals of all kinds, beautiful soft red corals, and sea fans. It had pinnacles and valleys that were right out of something Disney might create. As for fish, there seemed to be thousands of them, and they weren’t bothered by our presence.

We found the best way to enjoy the bombie was to drift over it, then swim back around it and drift over again. We did this a few times, and it was as good as any snorkeling we’d done to that point. We saw many fish we knew and a few we’d never seen before. I was kicking myself for not bringing the underwater camera, and unfortunately we didn’t get back there before we left. Hopefully we’ll go back someday and it will still be the same. (Sadly we’ve found cyclones can dramatically change coral reefs in shallow waters; something we saw firsthand when we returned to Tonga in 2014.)

These areas weren’t far from our boat, but we had some good snorkeling even closer, a bombie right near us. We first visited it to make sure it was deep enough that Legacy could drift over it safely even at low tide. It was, the top of it about 12 feet under water. What a surprise it was to dive down and find what looked like a simple rock from the surface was home to an impressive array of tropical fish, our own underwater aquarium! Up on the surface, it just looked like a rock again. Thus, I had good incentive to practice free diving and was much improved by the time we left.

At a glance, the Bay of Islands doesn’t look like it would be much for snorkeling as it lacks large areas of coral reef, but every snorkeling outing we made turned out to have things of interest. And of course the big bombie was world class! –Cyndi

September 22, 2013

During our time in the tropics, we stay comfortable at night by keeping our hatches open. Rain is surprisingly infrequent because cruising season coincides with the dry season, but when the rain does come, it generally starts lightly, giving us a gentle wake-up and time to close up the boat before anything gets wet. Occasionally though, we get a downpour that gives us a rude awakening and gets us scrambling to close the ports before things gets soaked.

In spite of the drama, I like downpours. They’re pretty exciting when they’re heavy, and then soothing when they lighten into a steadier rain. And it’s always a plus for the boat to get a freshwater rinse.

This night we had a downpour, then woke up the next morning to rain and gusty winds. As long as we’re in a safe anchorage I enjoy this sort of weather: it’s a signal to take some time out, enjoy a second cup of coffee, make something more elaborate than cereal for breakfast (today it was eggs and fried potatoes), read, and just watch the world outside. When the rain stops, we relish that wonderful earthy after-rain smell. (You can click to enlarge/scroll through the galleries that follow.)

The rain didn’t last very long, but clouds passed over the rest of the day. The changing light made a color show on the water, an ongoing kaleidoscope of glowing teal greens and blues with passing breezes creating silvery highlights.

Later, we had a tropical-rain night sky, the moon mostly obscured but so light we could see the cloud pattern in the dappled gray sky. The night insects were singing, and we had a light trade-wind breeze as Legacy gently rocked from side to side. The whole scene felt wonderful. Sunny days are great, but rainy days can be extra-special. –Cyndi (Below, a brief video of our anchorage during the cloudy afternoon.)

September 19 – 23, 2013

Between our anchorage in Fiji’s Bay of Islands and the Deep Blue Lake was a very pretty pass . . .

But we also had the option of cutting through one of our favorite spots in the area: the Jade Pool. (Just a reminder: I’m making these names up, but here’s a map showing where this stuff is.)

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The Jade Pool was only a stone’s throw from our boat, but a group of motus (rock islands) separated it so completely from our anchorage that it seemed like a separate place.

We had to pass between motus to enter, but inside was a large shallow pool with celadon green water. That combined with the vegetation on the islets made it feel like a magical green world. I’d love to have spent more time there just basking in the color green. We did visit a few times and, sunny or cloudy, it was always beautiful.

Below, some photos showing the motus and the jade pool inside of them. (You can click to enlarge and scroll through galleries that follow.)

One time we came here to swim and snorkel. I was happy just swimming, but Rich told me to get my mask and head over towards him. There, he’d found some colorful small fish, exotic and beautiful. We continued on around some of the motus finding baby Picasso triggerfish and lots of damselfish. It seems our Jade Pool was a nursery for a variety of fish species.

Unfortunately I didn’t have the underwater camera, but below are some photos showing the Jade Pool under a cloudy sky and in bright sunlight. –Cyndi