I always thought that Fiji and sea kayaking were 2 words synonymous with relaxing... so when Dave and I embarked on a 9 day sea kayaking circumnavigation of Kadavu Island in Fiji... we thought we were in for a holiday filled with warm weather, lots of swimming and snorkelling, calm seas and fresh fish and tropical fruit aplenty... we were not expecting a level 2 cyclone to violently smash over our heads, 40 km long days, really rough seas and the Kadavu mini mafia! But thats what we got... and what a great adventure it was!
To sum the trip up...
Our spot behind the pilot on our way to Kadavu
Our journey started on this micro plane (6 seater including pilot and co pilot) that transported us to Kadavu Island - a rather large but sparsely populated remote Island south of Veti Levu (Fiji's main land). We were provided with chainsaw airmuffs to protect our ears from the engines directly beside us. And rocked back and forth for an hour in the little shoebox while 2 Fijian kids behind us giggled the whole way at the turbulance and noise.
Ratu's house/palm trees: the start and end of our journey!
We were greeted by a boatman who took us on a rough ride 25km to Ratu's place (the Fijian partner of Tamarillo Kayaks who we were hiring the kayak from). Where we were greeted by the whole family, feed gorgeous fresh seafood and most importantly... taught how to participate in a kava ceremony whilst drinking a lot of it at the same time. (Kava is a slighty narcotic muddy drink that is an important part of Fijian culture. Daily kava ceremony's occur in the villages and it is always used as a gift, and/or peace offering... during our time on Kadavu kava got us food, shelter, drug offers and lots of smiles).
A whole lot of Kava about to be transported to Veti Levu for Christmas Presents
To sum the trip up...
The circumnavigation was 200km long and took 8 days to complete. 2 of those days we were off the water due to the fact that a cyclone bowled over the top of us and therefore we couldn't move.
The aftermath of one resort after the cyclone came through!
We frequently paddled 30-40km days and occasionally stayed in remote villagers, other times camped and other times got put up in 5 star resorts (can actually thank the cyclone for that!)
Happy times paddling!
Two kayaking shots showing the best weather of the trip!
Kadavu Island is framed by the Astrolobe Reef which is the 3rd largest coral reef in the world!
The Kadavu Airport sometimes closes for weeks at a time without notice, leaving tourists and locals alike stranded on the Island (this also happened to us)The local boat we luckily got a ride on since the Kadavu Airport was closed with no reopening time!
We had to portage the Mt Washington section due to crazy winds and huge surf so we offered kava to a local guy with a truck and before we knew it flew down the dusty track by truck (which looking back on that truck ride - was just as dangerous as the seas!)
Another type of portage... on Veti Levu when the bus driver thought he would portage the road!
We stayed with the nicest locals who put us up in their homes, and sometimes there our rooms while they slept in the lounge with the kids, feed us fresh local produce, forcefeed us Kava and even gave us take away lunches for the next day!
Feeling refreshed after 2 days rest in Padageno Resort (after the cyclone subsided!)
The perfectly preserved shell of this little fella had us mesmerized for hours!
Our home... the night before the cyclone rolled in!
Day 1, picture perfect weather and scenary... blissfully unaware of the weather that was to come!
