September 12 & 13, 2015
We made the 5-mile trip to Malakati Bay in 20-plus knot winds. It was a bit of a wet ride in spite of all the land protection we had, but it was worth it.
As we headed into the bay, I could see our friends weren’t exaggerating: this has got to be one of the most beautiful bays in Fiji. The water was a clear bright blue, the white palm-lined beaches postcard-worthy, and the tall hills surrounding this bay providing beauty and good protection. I think most cruisers never come here, and I can’t imagine why. I’d never heard of Malakati before researching our cruise to the Yasawas, and I’m surprised it’s not one of the “destination” bays in Fiji. (Click to enlarge photos.)
Below is a gallery of photos of the amazingly beautiful beach and clear water at Malakati Bay. Click to enlarge and scroll.
There is a village here, and we needed to do a sevusevu. We went in with our friends and made our kava presentation with the interim chief (the main chief was away) who was very low key, just doing it right where he sat while we stood and watched. The village was lovely, but wanting to avoid getting strong-armed into going to church, we left fairly quickly. Bright Angel stayed behind to look around the village; so church the next day was inevitable for them.
The next afternoon was one of those glorious sunny, clear days and would have been perfect for going back up to the cave, but we assumed it was closed on Sunday. With that, we enjoyed snorkeling (which was excellent), swimming, and beach combing while everyone else was in church.
The next day, we planned to head back up to Sawa-i-Lau to do the cave tour, then head back to our Blue Lagoon Resort anchorage with plans to do some diving. –Cyndi
