Captains Log

Bula,

Whilst anchored at Yadua passage for the night a huge manta ray kept circling the ship for hours. She did put on a show for the passengers. Photos taken by passenger Jonathan Dass(one attached).

 

See you on the next cruise!

Captain Harvey

Bula!

We returned from Cultural Cruise number 9 last Tuesday, and it’s probably true to say it was the best yet.  

We departed Denarau on Tuesday 2nd October and called at a little sand cay just north of Lautoka called Nukunimanu.  

Wednesday was spent at Kioa, where the villagers gave us a great welcome and put on a fantastic cultural show during the morning – Tuvaluan (Polynesian) culture.  The afternoon was spent swimming and snorkeling at a nearby beach where the passengers saw plenty of marine life and some great coral.

Thursday morning we called at Nuka on the island of Rabi where the passengers went ashore and witnessed a beautiful exhibition of Banaban dancing and singing after which they returned to the ship for lunch before enjoying water activities at Albert Cove to the north of Nuka.

An overnight passage saw us arrive at Kia Island on Friday morning where everyone was able to enjoy great snorkeling and diving on the Great Sea Reef (the third longest barrier reef in the world) and visit the local primary school.  The kids were very pleased to have us there and put on great show, much to the passengers delight.

During lunch the ship moved to Mali Island (nearer the mainland) where we visited Nakawaga Village in the evening for a splendid kabu (Sevusevu/Kava welcome ceremony; a lovo dinner and meke) – a great night, sitting under a large and beautiful Baka tree and joining the friendly villagers for a bilo (cup) of Yaqona (kava) and a chat.

Saturday was a busy day with two optional tours available or just a trip into Labasa.  Many of the passengers took advantage of the tours – the more adventurous going on a river tubing trip and the rest going to a village where they learnt about Fiji medicine, how to make lolo (coconut milk) and about the multiple uses of the coconut tree, before travelling to a Sikh temple and the Labasa sugar mill.  Everyone met up in Labasa for lunch and an Indian cultural show before being let loose to wander the town to shop or visit the wonderful produce market – arguably the best in all Fiji!

Sunday was a quiet day at Galoa Island where some passengers attended the local church service in the morning and went swimming and snorkeling in the afternoon.

We returned to Denarau by way of the north coast of Viti Levu, stopping at Nananu-i-ra and Manava Cay on Monday, before berthing at Denarau on Tuesday morning where 85 happy passengers disembarked.

See you on the next cruise!

Captain Chris

We have now completed the inaugural circumnavigation of Viti Levu Cruise offering something for everyone in the way of activities, culture and sightseeing.  While designed to allow golfers to experience playing at some of Fiji’s courses, non golfers also had plenty to do and see.

After leaving Savusavu, we visited the historic town of Levuka on the island of Ovalau, the original British capital of Fiji and the site of the first of just about everything modern in Fiji; the first Methodist school; the first public schools; the first cinema; the first Morris Hedstrom (MH) store – and so the list goes on.  This was a rest day for golfers, so everyone had the opportunity to experience the history and sights of the town and to visit the Special School in the town – the school which caters for children with various disabilities.  This was Captain Cook Cruises first visit to this school and the children were very excited, putting on a wonderful show to the great delight of our passengers.

On Friday we visited the present capital of Fiji, Suva.  Reef Endeavour anchored in Laucala Bay on the south eastern side of the city, allocation which gave the golfers easy access to the Fiji Golf Club and non golfers easy access to transport to the CBD where they were able to enjoy the sights and sounds of a vibrant, friendly and safe small city – modern shopping mixed with “bazaar” type outlets; not to mention the wonderful handicraft market and very large fruit and vegetable market.  The golfers expressed delight at playing the Fiji Golf Club course, especially following the “challenging” Koro Sun Resort course at Savusavu.

We had another rest day on Saturday when we visited Beqa Island.  Beqa (pronounced Benga) is surrounded by a coral reef which forms a very large lagoon, making for smooth, clear water, excellent snorkelling and diving and nice sandy beaches on which to relax.  In the evening we visited Raviravi Village where everyone was able to experience a sevusevu (welcoming) ceremony, eat a lovo dinner (cooked in an earth oven) and an excellent and very entertaining meke (singing and dancing concert) put on by the villagers – a night thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Sunday had Reef Endeavour at Pacific Harbour on the south coast of Viti Levu – the Adventure Capital of Fiji.  Here the golfers played the beautiful Pearl Championship Golf Course – an international standard course once rated as one of the top 10 most challenging resort courses in the world (and the course where former No.1 golfer, Greg Norman, won one of his first championships.  Some of the long time golfers even proclaimed this course to be the most picturesque they had ever played.  The non golfers enjoyed the sights, lovely beaches and snorkelling of Pacific Harbour and a couple even joined the golfers at the magnificent clubhouse for a very tasty BBQ buffet – served mid afternoon after a long round of golf.

The final day of the cruise was spent at Natadola Bay where the golfers enjoyed several hours playing the challenging world standard golf course, opened only 3 years ago and designed by Fiji’s own V.J. Singh – an experience none will ever forget (even the less experienced golfers), all proclaiming it to be one of best days of golf (if not the hardest) they had ever experienced.  At the same time the non golfers were hosted and entertained ashore at Yatule Resort (adjacent to the Intercontinental Resort) where they enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing day, interspersed by Fijian entertainment and really good snorkelling on the nearby reef.  Just before dinner, which, being Island Night, is one of the highlights of the cruise with the crew performing an excellent meke, the golfers were presented with variety of prizes to reward their accomplishments over the 7 days of the cruise.

All in all, a very successful inaugural cruise – one which everyone said should be repeated in the not-to-far-distant future.

Vinaka

Captain Chris

The cruise got underway on Tuesday with the golfers teeing off at The Denarau Golf Course at 0800 hrs.  They played a Stableford competition, finishing at about 1230 hrs, after which they boarded Reef Endeavour to depart Denarau at 1330 hrs, bound for Tivua Island where they, along with the non golfing passengers, enjoyed some swimming, snorkelling or just lazing on the beach.

Wednesday morning saw the golfers head out to Koro Sun Resort to play a nine hole course.  The course was “challenging”, to say the least, with many interesting holes in the layout and quite steep in places, but most of the players thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

During the afternoon all passengers chose to participate in some of the other activities on offer including a visit the J Hunter Pearl Farm, river tubing and snorkelling.

The 18 golfers on board have been partnered into 9 teams of 2, and at each course to be played the competition format will be varied (stableford, stroke, ambrose, etc) so as provide a little more interest and enhance the fun experienced by all – fun being the main emphasis of the cruise.

 

Stay tuned for more updates and visit our Facebook page for photos.

Captain Chris

Friday 14th September

Bula All,
Today the Reef Endeavour is anchored off Laucala Bay just off the National Stadium and the University of the South Pacific. It is creating alot of interest as the people here have not seen such a big ship anchored off in this bay.

The Golfers went off to play while the other passengers went to town to do to sightseing and shopping.

In the afternoon passengers went to swim off the sandcay just near the anchorage.

The weather is overcast but the sun came up in the afternoon with quite intense heat.

Tomorrow we are off to Beqa island and being just onboard for a half day I hope to report a little bit more.

Vinaka.

Commander Semi.

Bula,

During our 3 night Yasawa Islands cruise on Monday 30th July, our Chief Officer sighted a whale from the bridge approximately two miles north west of Sacred Island.

When departing Sacred Island at 1130hrs we were lucky to view the whales blowing water spouts. It was a fantastic experience for both crew and passengers and one we will not forget.  Hopefully we will be able to share some photos upon our return.

 

We look forward to you joining us for a cruise experience like this one.

Vinaka,

Captain Harvey

Bula,

Another Cruise which was completed on the 21st of July from the Yasawas with a group of 16 Malaysians who were fun to be with. Great company with lots of dancing, singing and food. A jolly group.

Vinaka,

Captain Harvey.

Recent highlights from the Captain.

Our new three night Mamanuca itinerary takes us through all the Mamanuca Islands, stopping at Malolo Lailai (near Plantation Resort), Nukuimana sand cay (near Mana Island Resort), Monu Island (next to Monuriki Island where the Tom Hanks film “Castaway” was filmed), Yanuya Village (for church), then Sacred Island and Yalobi on Monday.  It’s a very comfortable and scenic itinerary with more opportunities to do pickups from the Mamanuca resorts.

The ship now berths (and departs) from Denarau as the channel has now been dredged to a depth and width that allows Reef Endeavour to enter the marina.  This means ALL the cruises including the northern cruises leave from Denarau.
 
We'll have more news from our Cultural Cruise soon.
 
Captain Chris


 

Bula,

Another beautiful cruise through the Yasawas. On the 16th  while having lunch on the sundeck travelling from Matacawalevu to Drawaqa , west of the islands, passengers were overwhelmed with Dolphins swimming with the ship for at least half an hour. Lunch was not a priority for a while.

Captain Harvey

Bula,

We have just completed the Heritage Cruise and the highlight of the cruise was the crossing of the 180th meridian. Most passengers did not realize that we cross the meridian twice meaning theoretically we lost a day heading west and gained a day heading east.  This took a bit of explaining for some to grasp. Lucky we had Florian who would make a very good teacher in the classroom. Very convincing!! Our passenger divers were very delighted after their dives in Taveuni, Whispering Tide and Manava Cay. Their remarks, fantastic, awersome………..

Vinaka,

Captain Harvey - MV Reef Endeavour