In the meantime, we have moved from Musket Cove to Denarau. Denarau is our port of departure from Fiji. The days are flying by. We have made an appointment with customs for Friday. After that, we want to tackle the approximately 1,000 nautical miles to New Zealand.
We are members of the Musket Cove Yacht Club.
The weather forecast is mixed and changes daily, which basically means, “We have no idea what the weather will be like; the models disagree.” This is typical for this region. So we'll just have to take it as it comes. Preparations are underway, and we're doing another load of laundry at the marina's laundry room. The prices here are relatively reasonable, which is not always the case.
Laundry in Denarau, Fiji
A supermarket on the outskirts of Denarau is just within walking distance. Here we buy the few things we need for the crossing. We will only buy drinks directly at the harbor, in the small express supermarket, as we don't want to carry the weight with us for the entire journey. The days are hot and humid at just under 30°C. On Thursday, the clouds roll in, and the first thunderstorms are expected. We have finished our shopping, so it doesn't bother us much. The import of food into New Zealand is very restricted anyway, so we only take the bare essentials for the planned 10-day crossing. Things such as pork—in any form, including canned, fresh, or frozen—are prohibited. You either don't take them with you at all or only in small quantities, which you then consume on the way. Anything you bring to New Zealand that is not allowed to be imported will be confiscated at customs and then disposed of.
Sundowner in Denarau, Fiji
In order to leave Fiji, you have to go through almost the same process and paperwork as when you entered the country. So I fill out the papers in advance to speed things up on Friday. But that's not all. New Zealand also wants to know who they are dealing with on the day of clearance. Here, too, you have to fill out a few documents. Although we have a visa, advance registration is still a must. This is usually done online. If anything changes after submission, this must, of course, be reported. The administrative effort involved should not be underestimated, and we Germans, who have been brought up with bureaucracy since birth, live in constant fear of forgetting something. Gaby is always completely relaxed about such matters because she doesn't concern herself with them at all. So everything falls to me again.
Seafood restaurant in Denarau, Fiji
To help us plan our provisions on the Katinka Enjoy better, we've been eating at the harbor restaurants in Denarau during the last few days of our stay. And there's plenty to choose from here. The Indian restaurant is our favorite, but the Mexican place isn't bad either. Our latest discovery, the Bonefish, is an excellent fish restaurant. The steakhouse at Dinghy Dock is always our starting point for the evening. Here you can relax and enjoy a sundowner while watching people return from their day trips by boat. Many, still in a party mood, suddenly get weak at the knees when they have solid ground under their feet again, and some of them need to be supported. Others, on the other hand, have completely underestimated the sun at sea and look like cooked lobsters. Dressed in light clothing, they stroll along the promenade for a while until the bus takes them back to their resorts. After this spectacle, we head to the restaurant described above. We usually end the evening on the boat.
Dinner
So the plan is to set off on Friday. According to the current weather forecast, we will still have a southerly wind on Friday, which is expected to veer southeast during the night leading into Saturday. We will therefore initially head southwest before turning onto a southerly course. We will see how much of our strategy we can implement and how the weather changes before we reach our destination. We are planning on 10 days, which means a daily run of around 100 nautical miles. Of course, we will report on our experiences at sea. We are looking forward to an exciting time in New Zealand and would like to thank everyone for the hospitality we have experienced in Fiji. Maybe we will come back again. For now, we are focusing on the next 10 days. Until then, we wish everyone fair winds and keep a stiff upper lip.
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