February 13, BULA (Fijian for Hello)
We anchored at 8:30 and will be using tenders to get ashore. We do not really know what to expect. Dravuni is one of the Pacific’s most unspoiled destination, less than 200 people live here. It takes only 10 minutes to walk to the other side of the island and 15 minutes to walk the length. White sand beaches, swaying palm trees and a small inland peak complete the picture of an idyllic island paradise.
Once anchored, we had to wait for the immigration officer from the island to clear us for disembarkation. Then we were informed that the pontoon dock was damaged due to large swales hitting the island during the night. Princess had to send a crew to the island to repair the dock. Once repaired they asked that anyone unsteady on their feet not go ashore. I feel sorry for those passengers since this is a once in a lifetime chance to visit here. No one on the ship including the crew have ever been here.
We got ashore around 11:30 after a bumpy ride on the tender, getting on and off the tender was precarious. It truly is one unspoiled island with beautiful white beaches. Betty got a 30 minute neck and shoulder massage from a Fijian woman for $10. I was talking with her husband who informed me that only 70 to 100 people live on the island. He said he was born here and will die there. He has five sons, and he was glad the ships come to the island because we have money and they need money.
After Betty’s massage we walked to the other side of the island through the jungle, the other side was all pristine white beaches. We walked back to the village and strolled by the small school and various buildings, then headed to the beach where we sat for over an hour. Although it was very warm, the ocean breezes made it very tolerable. I bought my second T-Shirt, we also have a couple little shells from the island. Passengers and crew enjoyed the beach and water although one passenger got stung by a jellyfish. This island is a 3 to 5 hour boat ride from the Suva, the capitol of Fiji.
We were lucky to be able to stop at this island, the weather here for the last 3 weeks as been very rainy and windy. The crew worked very hard to accommodate this stop. We thank the Captain and all the crew that made this possible. And I am sure the Fijian said “Vinaka” (Thank You) too.
We returned to the ship for well needed showers and our air-conditioned ship. We sailed away from this pristine island at 5:45 and we are now sailing to Bay of Islands, New Zealand. We were scheduled to sail to Nuku'alofa, Tonga but it has been cancelled due to tropical cyclone Jasmine headed there. We are going to be at sea for the next 3 days before arriving at Bay of Island, New Zealand, before returning to our set schedule. We are happy we are not going to Tonga, as we’ve been there before and there is not much there that we did not do or see.
Tonight’s entertainment was another singer, David Crathorne, who is the singer in the casino lounge. We didn’t realize who he was prior to going, he was excellent and we enjoyed his performance.
