Lovely laid-back Levuka!

I went ashore this morning and completed the formalities. Everyone SO friendly and helpful. It was so much easier than I'd been led to believe.  When we arrived yesterday I called the Port Authority on channel 16 and got an immediate reply. We were directed to anchor 100-200m north of the wharf.....Slightly nervous on a lee shore with a vigorous breeze blowing but it worked out OK.  Then I was requested to await the Health official, so we had lunch and within the hour Mr Aquila arrived. He is an imposingly large man, who I collected from the dock in a sloppy sea and got aboard with difficulty.  Once he had fumigated the boat against Zika virus-bearing mozzies we returned ashore to deal with Customs and Immigration.  This was handled by two charming friendly ladies in the Customs House on the wharf, and I was able to nip round the corner to an ATM to get cash to pay my bills - F $168 (£60) for Health and $5 for Ports.

As it was by then 16:30 I had to wait till today to deliver personal passport forms for the crew and walk 10 minutes to the Provincial Government offices for my Cruising Permit. Although they had to fax details to their offices in Suva I had my permit within 30 minutes and then my clearance from Customs to proceed.

The original building in which the Council of Chiefs sat until recently.
Surprisingly unaffected by hurricane Winston on 20 Feb 2016. Next door is the new provincial government building.

This done we set out to explore Levuka.  It's a UNESCO World heritage site and rightly so as it retains the unique style of early 19th century colonial days.  The shop fronts along Beach Rd are freshly painted with the high square frontage carrying the names of the owners...Gulabda's, Morris Hedstrom, Ivan's Hot Bread Shop, Patel's Tailoring and Radio Merchants. Inside are densely stocked emporiums staffed by families of Indian descent. Everything from sari silk to radios, pots and pans to watches, lights to put under your car to machetes.  There are a small number of restaurants along the front too. The Whale's Tale, Sea Site Restaurant and Horizon; some licenced, some "bring your own bottle".  Cyclone Winston's devastation showed in many places where buildings were still being repaired. The Category 5 hurricane unusually headed out to Tonga and then turned back. Levuka was completely open to its force from seaward.

Levuka waterfront

Today we strolled along back streets, enchanted by the shady verandahs and clapboard buildings, mostly fresh painted in cream, white or pale blues and greens. Only the shop fronts were pinks, reds and yellows. Everyone we passed greeted us with a cheery "Bula!".  Once for each person in our group.  That's a lot of Bulas!

We passed large elegant school buildings with grounds and sports field alive with playing children. The occasional whistle blast showed that the games were often controlled; girls practising netball moves and 8 year old boys working hard at very physical contact rugby, perfecting moves and plays that were impressively done.  We stopped at Levuka Public School and looked in at the cream-painted colonial buildings chatting to the Vice Principal and various children.  

From there we strolled up the valley road toward the steep mountain wall behind the town. Neatly laid concrete paths and steps led off in different directions snaking around from house to house, rising high above the bay. Benches had been placed at intervals for the elderly to rest in this area which locals call "Bamba" (Hillside). We met a young man who chatted to us for a long while and told us of his previous job as a long-line fisherman, letting out up to 65 miles of baited hooks to catch tuna. He said that wages were about F $35/ hour -about £12. They used frozen sardines from China as bait.  It took a day and a night to haul in the lines sometimes catching only 4 fish, and sometimes a boat load.

We climbed up to a waterfall that marked the collection point for the town's drinking water and then down the to the sea front again for a sandwich at the Royal Hotel.  They served cold beer and the thinnest toasted sandwich I've ever seen!This grand colonial building was absolutely charming with rooms preserved since the '30s, dark lounges, a great billiard room and ceiling fans to maintain a breeze. Out of the rear lounge through white painted turned wooden window bars we could see teenagers practising rugby and hockey in the lovely afternoon light.

The Levuka Port Authority Kava bowl

Before the shops shut at 5pm we bought various essentials  and pushed a trolley back to the dock.  Here we found Mark in the Port Authority office and were promptly invited to join in their Kava session.  A large orange buoy had been cut open to create their kava bowl.  As is traditional, the youngest member, Samson, mixes and serves the Kava.  He put five F$2 bags of ground kava into water and straining it through a cloth.  He poured it from a height into the bowl and listened to the sound of the  splash to judge its strength and consistency.   Then he brought me a coconut bowl and, remembering the protocol, I clapped once and drank it down in one. Everyone then clapped three times and so did I. The taste was a bit woody and mildly earthy.

Samson serves kava to (l to r) Paul, Phil, Mark and Justin

Each person is served in turn with the appropriate clapping, and after between 10-15 circuits of the room conversation was flowing and the fishing crew left to go to sea again, waving enthusiastically as they moved out.

We too took our leave to ferry goods to Tin Tin in the dinghy.  However the dinghy's stern anchor was firmly lodged on an obstruction on the seabed.  To our surprise a man on the jetty handed his long thin cigarette to a child and dived in, surfacing in the gloom of dusk with it in his hand.  He then leapt into a long skiff with his three children and sped off across the lagoon.  I shouted "Vinaka buku levu!!!"  (Thankyou very much!) after him.

We dined at the Whale's Tale and another night at Horizon.