| The second week we were there we had our first Sevusevu opportunity. In the traditional Fijian culture, when you come into a new village for the first time you are expected to bring a gift (sevusevu) and present it to the chief of that village. In return, he welcomes you to the village and promises to look after you when you are there. This gift is usually yagona which is a root, better known to westerners as kava, which they crush and infuse with water to make a mild, narcotic drink. Sometimes you are invited to drink it with them, sometimes not. This practice of sevusevu is still widely used in the more remote areas of Fiji. We were invited, along with some other cruisers to a fundraiser for a village that had lost their church in a recent cyclone. We brought our yagona, along with a small cash donation for the building of the new church and presented it to the chief as we all sat cross-legged in a large circle. Once the yagona was placed in the middle of the circle, the chief picked it up and chanted some words in Fijian while fondling the root, then he thanked us all, in English and welcomed us to his village. It was a fun day and a great, first experience with the local Fijian people. We ate delicious food, watched as they chose a new, young beauty queen for their village, sang songs, played music and drank plenty of yagona with them. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Kelly and Chief click photos to enlarge |
| Rich playing music with other cruisers and local villager |
| Pounding Kava |
| Village Beauty Queen |
| After 2 weeks in Savusavu we set sail and headed up to the North end of Vanua Levu to meet Jim and his wife, Kyoko, from the cruiser's radio net, "Rag of the Air". Their story is a unique one. They set sail from California about 4 years ago, much like us, to sail around the world. When they got to Fiji they pulled into a remote bay that even cruisers don't generally go and promptly met the villagers in the area. They took to them instantly and after staying for a while they helped them fix engines on their village boats and gifted many things along with their time and expertise. |
| As a show of gratitude the Chief of the village gave them 7 acres of land on an adjacent island. Jim and Kyoko are still there 3 years later. They have started a small boat building business and have plans to build a home on top of a picturesque hill on their island. We were so fascinated with them that we had to go up and meet them while we were sailing in the area. They have named their island Also Island after their yacht, the "Also II". While we were on Also Island we had many dinners with them on their yacht and Amazing Grace, Richard helped finish the building of, what was then their current project, a fishing boat for Kyoko, "The Lady K" and we met their new family, the people of the village of "Carawo". They are lovely people as are the people of their Village, Carawo, and we cherish the opportunity to have met them all and share in their life for one short week. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Rich,Kyoko,Jim,Kelly on board the Also II |
| Rich helps with the building of "The Lady K" |
| Sunday lunch in "Carawo" |
| Playing music with the children of "Carawo" |
| click photos to enlarge |
| FIJI 2004 CONT... |
 |
| On our way back to Savusavu we stopped and anchored at |
| beautiful Vianni Bay, where we met Jack Fisher, a local man who took us on a fantastic SCUBA dive to a magnificent, colorful, soft coral wall one day, and the next, a vigorous yet relaxing hike, down a beach, up a trail and over a ridge to over-look an adjacent and equally gorgeous bay. |
 |
 |
| We also had a change of luck in our fishing of late and caught two fish before we pulled into Savusavu, a Mahimahi and a giant Trevally. They both put up quite a fight but the taste was well worth it and there was plenty to share with friends when we got back to the anchorage. We spent about 5 more days provisioning, cooking and watching weather for our passage down to New Zealand. We had a good sail down to NZ with the exception of one storm where we experienced 48kt winds with gusts up to 52kts, our worst one yet. With that we discovered we still had some resealing to do on some deck fittings. There's nothing like a storm at sea to show you where you might have the smallest of leaks on deck. When we arrived 8 days later we were greeted by Alan, the Opua customs official that checked us in last year, with a friendly smile and handshake saying, "welcome home". And we are reminded why we love it here in New Zealand... for now... it feels like home. |
 |
 |
| Riding horseback to school near Vianni Bay click photos to enlarge |
| Small house in Carawo |
| Rich & Jack on the beach at Vianni click photos to enlarge |
| Rich shows off his Mahimahi |