Mamanuca Islands, Fiji – island life and old friends

After making our way south through the Yasawas, we continued into the Mamanuca Islands. This is a compact group of small islands, reefs and sandbanks just off the west coast of Viti Levu (means ‘Big Fiji’ and is the main island in Fiji).

The Mamanucas is one of Fiji’s best-known sailing and holiday areas, with Musket Cove being the most well known and most populous anchorage amongst sailors in Fiji. We spent most of our time at Musket Cove, and after months of moving between remote islands and small anchorages, it was fun to be somewhere social again.

The best part was catching up with old friends. We met Karmen and Tom from SV Sauvage, whom we have known for 3.5 years, and sailed with for several seasons. We had not seen them since we met last year in Tonga, and we sooo looked forward to meeting up with them again.

We also hung out with Kevin from SV Utopia, whom we had not seen for four years, since the marina in Cape Town. Noxoma and Utopia are sister boats, and Utopia got delivered only two weeks after Noxoma. Four years and a couple of oceans later, we finally found ourselves together again on the other side of the world.

We made a quick hop to Mana Island, just north of Musket Cove, together with our friends on SV Sauvage and their guests. Mana Island is one of the larger islands in Fiji’s Mamanuca group, surrounded by clear turquoise water, coral reefs and long stretches of white sand. Unlike many of the smaller resort islands nearby, Mana is also home to a local Fijian village, giving the island a mix of everyday island life and tourism.

We anchored just off the island and spent some time exploring ashore, but one of our favorite spots was the beautiful sandbank just outside the reef. We took the dinghy out to spend some time on what was essentially a little patch of sand in the middle of the sea.

Our time in the Mamanucas was less about how many islands we could visit and more about slowing down for a while. We loved the time we spent with friends, including one we had sailed halfway around the world before seeing again. It is so special to share the ups and downs of this lifestyle with people who know exactly what it is like.

We left Musket Cove a little sad, but also incredibly grateful for the friendships we make along the way. Life at sea means that our paths often take us in different directions, sometimes for years at a time, but there is always the chance that they will cross again somewhere down the road.

Until next time, wherever in the world that may be! 🌏⛵