Fiji: Day 94 - Ashore Ovalau

Monday, Oct. 28, 2013

As I said in yesterday's post, Levuka was the main city of Fiji in the late 19th and early 20th century. There were 52 hotels operating here and the harbour would have been full of boats. Now, there is just a shadow of that former life. A metropolis of closed and rundown shops/buildings and a big empty harbour with the remains of resources that once supported hundreds of boats/ships. We are one of three sailboats anchored here now. It has that same depressing feeling of a struggling economy that we saw much of in French Polynesia. 

The dinghy dock was a bit rough, but nothing like Niue's or Panama's. At high tide, it was really rolly, so make sure you secure your dinghy away from the wharf if you come here.

Ah, so that explains the smell that I was reluctant to mention. There is a tuna factory here.

We vistied the little museum that they had in the library.

There was just a $2 donation for visitors.

Bowls from the leper colony at Makogai! (See older blog entries)

I felt the town had a bit of an 'old western' feel to it, but no one else agreed with me.

A fruit market where we bought a papaya.

The yellow triangle on top of the church that you can see is a range marker for entering the harbour (and avoiding the reefs). You get out your binoculars and line it up with the matching yellow triangle marker in the mountains behind it, and you know you are on a safe line to enter the harbour!

Here is Wakaya anchored out in the harbour.

We ate at this Chinese/Fijian restaurant (the only restaurant still in business).

Business is booming, as you can see.

We have seen pretty much all the Levuka has to offer, so we are going to weigh anchor tomorrow and head to Suva to get some new batteries (and possibly fix our struggling head).