Fiji: Day 102 - Malolo Leilei (Musket Cove)

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Sailing Across the Pacific Ocean 2013 (Part 27) - Leaving Fiji

It was only a 20 mile trip from Robinson Crusoe to Malolo Leilei, so we took our time leaving this morning. The weather was great for a sail. Dead calm seas, light winds, it was just a gorgeous day on the water.

To get to Malolo Leilei, there is a half-mile wide passage that you have to navigate through. We thought it was really cool how they had a cannon on the one side at the entrance to the channel. But as we got closer, we realized it was just a tipped over navigational beacon...

Strangely, there was also a house on pillars all alone in the middle of the reef. Talk about being isolated. At high tide it just looked like a house in the middle of the ocean, but at low tide a small all-sand island appeared right beside the house and the guy had his seadoo parked on it.

Here is Malolo Leilei from the passage.

The beauty of this island is beyond description. I would say it is the most beautiful that we have seen in Fiji. Two sailboats slowly cruised by as we were approaching, making for a fantastic video/picture.

I was just in awe the whole time as we approached, I kept forgetting my duty to spot dangers in the water.

The island is split into two pieces by an airstrip in the middle (you can see the gap in this next photo).

On the left is the Musket Cove Marina Resort (where we grabbed a mooring ball) which used to be THE cruising hub of Fiji, before it was "well-charted". On the right is The Plantation Resort, which is more for people that fly in I think.

We saw this huge five-spreader mega yacht as we strolled in. I could actually see its mast over the other side of the island when we were miles away.

Here we are taking the dinghy into shore to check in and grab a drink.

It has a really well-maintained dinghy dock (with power hookups).

Musket Cove!

It was low-tide. Normally, that swampy looking area is all water for swimming and water sports.

There was a really nice beach bar at the end of the dinghy dock. A wedding was taking place in the recreational area where they allow you to bring your own drinks and food ashore for a BBQ.

The only problem with Musket Cove is that it is significantly more expensive than other places we have been. $15 Fijian per night mooring, $5 per person on your boat, and the worst of all, they charge $1 per book to use the book swap. The sacred book swap system operates on a global-level, unspoken, mutual consent that it is free. They are taking advantage of one of the few remaining honest and good pieces of human nature left on this planet. I just think it is really weak and a shameless way of making a few extra bucks.