June – November 2015
This was our third season visiting Fiji, but our first visiting its west side. By now, we’d heard so much about it, we had formed a few preconceptions. Below is a list of some of the misconceptions we had, and what turned out to be true for us.
1. We’d heard Vuda Marina was not a good place, they jam boats in to the extent that their spreaders are in danger of getting tangled when the wind blows. I’d also gotten the idea this was a desolate spot, a small circle blasted out of a coral shelf. We’d heard enough bad stuff that we didn’t think we’d ever take our boat there, and the only reason to visit was by cab because the restaurant was rumored to be pretty good (which somehow I pictured being in a little strip mall next to the desolate marina). The only reason we arrived here was because it’s the best place to check into the country on the west side.
The Reality: For us, Vuda Marina was love at first sight. It’s a beautiful spot, much bigger than I thought. While it’s true the boats are very close together (only separated by fenders in a lot of cases); they have a staff who helps you get in and tie up, and then helps when you leave, and I can’t fathom how there’d be any danger of spreader entanglement. The overall feeling is not so much being in a circle as being in a well-enclosed and secure area, its own little world. And this little world happens to be beautiful, with landscaping and trees that shade the walkway (and if you get a good spot, your boat might get some shade, too). There’s no strip mall. The restaurant is a lovely area, the best part being the thatched-roof, open air bar/eatery that sits above the pass into the marina and has the best sunset views. It turned out to be one of our favorite spots, a reminder that you often just don’t know how you’ll feel about a place until you lay eyes on it for yourself.
2. Western Fiji is the best part of Fiji, much more pleasant to visit than the east side.
The Reality: It’s not better than the east side; it’s different. The east side is much greener, with more jungle and fewer beaches. We tend to prefer areas of the tropics that are green and lush, but we can see how many cruisers would prefer the drier areas which tend to have the best beaches, more consistent sunny weather, better swimming, and easier walks.
Aside from feeling love at first sight with Vuda Marina, we were often slow to warm up to the islands of western Fiji. Of course many places were beautiful right from the start, but with other places, we sometimes felt initial disappointment. I struggled some with how dry some of the smaller islands were, almost looking like they’d been parched to death. It would be a relief to get to a more mountainous island with some green! In the end, we warmed up to nearly every place we went, and some spots we came to love as much as any place we’d found on the east side. What do we like better, eastern or western Fiji? We can’t really say; it’s like comparing apples to oranges. We love them both.
3. Western Fiji is the horrible, the local Fijian spirit ruined by the tourism business. Everyone has their hand out for a buck, the people cold and indifferent. It’s not worth going to at all.
The Reality: We got this view from a certain seminar we attended, and it turned out to be totally untrue. The Fijian spirit is alive and well, shining through whether it’s in a rural village or in a tourist hub like Denerau. The people are remarkably warm and friendly everywhere (well, maybe more challenged with a couple of individuals in Musket Cove). And as far as being asked for money to anchor someplace, nothing remotely like that ever happened. They do want you to present kava and do sevusevu if you anchor off a village, but that’s true throughout Fiji.
4. The Mamanuca islands are easy to get to, in the wind shadow of Viti Levu (thus much less windy) and have sheltered anchorages. The Yasawa Islands are windy and more difficult to visit.
The Reality: It’s true the Mamanuca islands are a few hours away from the marinas while the northernmost Yasawa islands require an overnight stop. That said, a voyage to either island group is much better taken while the trade winds are down. We found that once we were in the sheltered area of the north Yasawas (near the Blue Lagoon area and the Blue Lagoon Resort anchorage), we felt much more sheltered than we did at “easy” Musket Cove. As for other Mamanuca anchorages, there was almost nothing that was very sheltered in windy conditions. You can feel very safe on a mooring at Musket Cove, but it blows so often that it can be hard to go ashore.
5. There aren’t really any villages to contend with on the west side; don’t worry about stocking up on kava.
The Reality: We actually had more villages to deal with here than the east side! We gave out three bundles of kava, and it should have been four, but it became too windy get ashore to visit the one village we really wanted to see. Villages are located in some key areas here, and they need to be taken into account when making a cruising plan.
We did find one “village” that came as a complete surprise, and that was at our own Vuda Marina. In complete contrast to rumors about the west side of Fiji being all business and unfriendly, we were made to feel like part of a family here. Returning there always felt like coming home again, and when it came time to leave, it felt like saying good-bye to our family. As we were ready to cast off our lines, a few people came over to sing us a farewell song. We left with tears in our eyes. –Cyndi
