Day 80, Year 2: Snorkeling and Fishing on Friday the 13th
Date: Friday, July 13, 2007
Weather: Cloudy Morning, Sunny Afternoon
Location: Cukuvou Harbor, Yadua Island, West of Vanua Levu
We couldn’t think of a better way to spend Friday the 13th, so we just snorkeled and fished the day away. Even though it was cloudy this morning, we decided to snorkel the inside of the reef. We knew visibility would be better if the sun were shining, but we were anxious to see what’s here. We took the dinghy out to a shallow area where we could tie it to a rock and then off we went exploring the coral. The entire shoreline seems to be a shallow shelf that drops off to about 30 feet. This drop
off is a wall of coral with a huge variety of both coral and small to medium-sized reef fish. There are also lots of huge coral heads next to the wall. There are tunnels and crevices and all sorts of places for neat fish to hide. Once again, it made us all feel like we were in some sort of wonderland. I found three different anemone fish families today–delicate pink anemone fish, big orange-fin anemone fish with their beautiful turquoise vertical bars, and the dusky or tomato anemone fish.
I am always so excited to find these little guys. I could literally watch them all day long. The snorkeling in Fiji just gets better and better.
When we returned from snorkeling, we ate lunch and then Mark and Steve decided to go out trolling for dinner in the dinghy. They fashioned a “fishing pole” from a long-handled paint roller to which they attached our reel. They chose a green squid lure with yellow feathers and headed out beyond the reef. Evidently they got just around the corner and caught their fish. It was a Spanish mackerel or walu. It took us a bit to determine the type of fish, and I am very glad I took pictures of Fiji
Fish Food chart at Matava Resort in Kadavu. It was the pictures of that chart that helped us with the identification. Mark and Steve were quite proud of their fish, and since they are the only ones that caught a fish in this bay today, I’d say they had a right to be proud. I guess walu like green squid with yellow feathers!
About the time that Mark and Steve arrived back with the fish, Scot Free II was entering the harbor. I talked with them on the radio and a little later we ran over in the dinghy to say hello. Unfortunately, I think they both caught our colds, but otherwise they are doing great. They caught a three-foot long fish on the way in, but it looked like a barracuda to us. A lot of people don’t eat barracuda since they eat so many smaller fish that feed on the reef. Yet, most of the locals eat it. We
have decided to give large barracuda a pass. After visiting with Scot Free II, we returned to Windbird and Mark and Steve cleaned the fish. We put him in the refrigerator and then went snorkeling for the second time today. This time we went outside the reef to the point. It was almost high tide when we got there, so the coral was much further below us. The views were still fantastic, but I think I’d like to return there when the tide is lower.
We all made a decision not to have the potluck on the beach, but we did all meet there after dinner to sit around the fire and chat. George and Uta on Miami really know how to do beach parties. They had their beach chairs and a kerosene lantern. They had also gathered fire wood and had a great fire going by the time we arrived. It was a fantastic little place to gather and we will be a little smarter tomorrow night and bring our one chair and a bucket to sit on!
We are going to walk to the village tomorrow morning to present sevusevu. Kathy on La Vie is going with us. As soon as we return, we will head out in the dinghy to find the beach here that is supposed to have lots of nautilus shells, and of course, we will find yet another great place to snorkel.
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| 070713 Day 80 Yadua Island, Fiji–The Fisherman Catch a Walu |
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| 070713 Day 80b Yadua Island, Fiji–Yadua Underwater |
