Having arrived at (M)Bavatu harbour, we tied to a huge mooring with our bowlines and then a sternline (3 long docklines tied together) to shore, to not bounce our plastic boat against the steel of the mooring buoy.
In this bay there is this dinghy landing, as well as a 'yachtclub building a bit further north. Cyclones Winston and Yasa did major damage in this part of the world, and dock as well as building for the 'yachtclub' are still being reconstructed.
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| ex Yachtclub |
The Lau group is not a port of entry, we had to sail past it from Tonga to Savusavu to check into Fiji. There are a couple of $$$ sailing rallies that pay for the officials to come here and do the check in. Special treatment for people who are willing to pay for it, and sal to someone else's schedule.
Ashore, one first has to climb to some height, we call it the "Stairway to Intenet", there is no cellphone signal in the bay.
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| 271 steps |
Up on top of that stairway, a further easy hike, still uphill, brings us to a small village of the plantation workers. Passing without a chat would be rather unfriendly. We were then given directions, as well as permission to hike to a grave with viewpoint, plus to the houses of the owner, who wasn't in residence when we were there. And the promised internet may be up there.
The plantation is tidy, one can still see the bases of many trees that were knocked down by the cyclones. Gates and fences keep/guide cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, to their pastures.
Finding the grave, overlooking the Bay of Islands wasn't too hard with the directions given.
The Bay of Islands in the Lau Group is one of the sought after destinations, a must do, for all the FOMO people. The area is short on beaches, but the tiny islands with the undercut limestones make for good pics. We will get there soon...
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| there are a few more bays hidden to the right |
Still on a mission to find some basic internet connection, we hiked further up to the houses on the cliff overlooking Bavatu Harbor and our boat :-)
After the cyclones, this house was rebuilt with extra strength, in the hopes to keep the roof next time.
We did find some cellphone signal and were able to get weather updates and emails.
