We woke to glorious sunshine, we have had a lot of cloudy days. The weather has definitely changed, the hottest day we have had in ages. We decided to continue around the island, it was tempting to spend another night, but as we have done everything there is to do here we decided to continue on our way. Again it is a passage where you have to be extremely vigilant, avoiding low lying reefs and coral. We were tempted to go into Little Bay but the wind was still howling, 17-19 knots once we were out of the bay. Two boats were already in Little Bay and they were swirling around so we headed right down south to a little village called Susui. Happily it was wonderfully calm at their big open bay with a lovely beach. No other boats here so it was an easy anchor, no other boats to worry about and good sand to anchor in. Plus we were happy to see a turtle when we arrived, we must have disturbed it as it took off at speed.
The first thing we had to do was our Sevusevu with the chief and hand over our Kava roots. It was boiling hot as we got in the dinghy, I had got into my respectable dress and Rowan had his Kikoi on. We were wondering if we were going to find anyone early afternoon on a Sunday in this heat. As we got to the beach there was a guy in a hammock who said he was an administrator, he took us to the chief down the far end of the beach. A very quaint little village with a smart school and very smart school boat! The chief was extremely welcoming and sat us down on hastily swept grass mats while his grandchildren ran around. He said a few words in their local language and thanked us for the Kava and donation. He said we were welcome to explore from tomorrow and to come in to town. What was great to hear was that fishing is banned in all the coral in the bay. We can go in tomorrow and buy some fresh produce. All extremely friendly and the chief was very happy to have his photo taken with all his grandchildren.
We headed straight back to the boat and thought we better not do anything on a Sunday, so got the blinds down and read the Sunday paper in the shade with a welcome cold beer. We were amazed to hear that Trump had been shot at! Evening arrived and dark clouds appeared with some rain which was a very welcome cool down. No electricity in the village, just the odd light in the night.
Our lovely anchorage in Mbavatu bay, the sun certainly makes the colours of the water pop
Amazing cliffs to the side of us
Leaving Mbavatu bay
Passing by our snorkelling beach from yesterday
Water is pretty choppy outside the bay
Passing interesting looking villages
Stunning beaches
Coming into Susui, that is Hidden Bay in the distance which we plan to explore
Finally anchored
Heading into the village, I loved the school boat
The chief and his grandchildren accepting our gift of Kava
Lovely village beach
PolePole all on her own
The coral in front of the village looks good
Looked like Frigate birds diving into the water
Tiny sunset before rain, a welcome relief from the heat
Discover more from sailingpolepole.com
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
