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Reef Escape - Captain Cook Cruises
I knew this was only the third time in as many years that Captain Cook Cruises had strayed from its weekly Yasawa Islands itinerary in Fiji to journey north on a hitherto unexplored route. I just didn't realise the significance of the sailing nor the scale of the adventure we were about to embark on.
"All of the crew put their names down to go on this cruise," said the Captain from the other side of the table, midway through our first dinner, "and held their breath as they waited to see who was chosen to come."
Aside from the Australian Captain, his Swedish Chief Engineer, and the Dutch-Curacao Cruise Director, all of the crew on board Reef Escape are Fijian - adding an authentic Fijian flavour to each cruise. Now I learnt they were especially excited to be working on this sailing; partly because this was a new route but mostly because we were on our way to Welagilala, an untouched island paradise that is about as far north as you can get in Fiji - next stop, Samoa.
The Captain then stood up to announce that this sailing marked the eighth anniversary of Captain Cook Cruises in Fiji. This cruise indeed proved to be an extraordinary experience for anyone who likes to sink their teeth into a bit of soft adventure while immersing themselves in local Fijian culture and customs.
Within a couple of hours of Reef Escape leaving her mooring at the port of Denarau just outside Nadi, we found ourselves swimming through clear blue waters with mask and snorkel, each of us having already been issued complimentary snorkelling gear and carry bag for the week. Everybody soon fell into the rhythm of anchoring off a deserted island, stepping aboard the tender on the lower aft deck, being mechanically lowered into the water and zipping across to a spectacular white sand beach.
Alternated with the excellent snorkelling programme were culture-infused visits to remote island villages. All but one of these excursions were included in the cruise fare, representing tremendous value for money. Our first point of contact was with the children of Marist Convent Primary School in Levuka, a small fishing town on a large island west of the Fijian mainland.
Passengers were treated to an afternoon of traditional song and dance performed by smiling, enthusiastic children sporting fascinating costumes made of green leaves, shells and flowers. But the real fun came after the show: the children, intrigued by their visitors, shyly asked to exchange addresses in the hope of receiving a letter, and jumped out of their skins with excitement at each prospect of having their photo taken. Passengers were hesitant to leave, and each and every one of them returned to the ship touched by the experience.
Having been held up by some bad weather, it was half a day late that we arrived at our farthest destination: the famed Welagilala. As promised, the water proffered spectacular shades of blue and green and reefs teeming with colourful corals and fish. We did our utmost to lap it all up in the few hours we had, and so did an extremely cheerful crew, who managed to pull in some big catches on their hand lines.
Late that evening in the bar, I realised the full importance of the journey we had made. Reme, our nightly entertainer, told us: "I feel privileged to have seen this island today. I have heard many stories about it from guys who are in the navy: they say it is almost impossible to get to - it is so far the fishermen don't have enough gas. This is the only way to get here and it took us 18-20 hours of sailing time. You don't find many islands like this in Fiji anymore - uninhabited, untouched and unfished."
With Welagilala behind us, I was surprised to find that the cruise had more highlights in store: a freshwater swim at a natural waterfall, an outdoor choral church service at an island village to celebrate Easter Sunday and a trip to the 180th meridian to stand with one foot in 'yesterday' and the other in 'today'.
The most memorable night of the cruise for many turned out to be a lovo (a traditional feast of succulent meats, fish and vegetables cooked in an earth oven) with the villagers of Naselesele. It was preceded by a sevusevu - a Fijian welcome ceremony, and followed by a meke - a celebration of song and dance, which was performed by children and adults of the village. On behalf of the passengers, the ship's crew presented to the village leaders bolts of material for making clothes and a valuable offering of kava roots, used to make the narcotic drink enjoyed by all Fijians (little wonder they're all so relaxed).
We experienced kava parties on board, too. The crew - and any passengers who cared to take off their shoes and join in - would sit cross-legged on the floor of the Ra Marama lounge and pass the kava around. The genuine warmth and friendliness of the Fijian crew on board Reef Escape is instantly striking, their natural talent makes for some unsurpassable evening entertainment and their instilled sense of hospitality makes up for the fact that this is not five-star cruising. Anyone who steps aboard Reef Escape expecting all the facilities of a four or five-star ship will be disappointed. The ship is basic and comfortable, and perfectly adequate for this experiential style of cruise.
Cabins are roomy, air-conditioned and all of them have sliding glass doors - maximising ocean views - that open onto a covered walkway. 'Deluxe Staterooms' and 'Staterooms' offer double and twin beds, and 20 of the twins convert to king-size beds. Three and four-berth cabins are available for families. Bathrooms feature a mirrored cabinet for storage and a decent-sized shower with excellent water pressure and hot water at all times. Hand soap is the only product provided and a well-powered hairdryer is kept in the desk drawer of the cabin.
Public areas on board include a small pool deck aft with plastic tables and chairs, and a bar that also houses 24-hour tea- and coffee-making facilities. The Sun Deck occupies the entire top deck and is the prime spot for sun baking on a reclining, padded deck chair or enjoying a BBQ lunch. The Ra Marama lounge was the assembly point each evening for cocktails and rather uninspiring canaps, and a handful of passengers gathered around the bar for post dinner night caps, and to watch humourous barman Manasa mix his legendary tropical cocktails.
The dining room is on the lower deck and is reached by a steep descent via two outdoor metal staircases, which proved difficult for less mobile passengers. Meals are served at round tables of six, at single sittings three times a day: breakfast is at 7.30am (or earlier depending on the day's itinerary); lunch is at 12.30pm and dinner is at 7.30pm. Early risers enjoyed a good choice of hot and cold breakfast items from the buffet. Both lunch and dinner alternated between buffets and la carte. Oddly, the buffets were often the most impressive (although soup was usually the only entre to go with this) while the la carte menu offered a small choice of rather basic dishes. Although adequate, the food was disappointing for the tropics and I was surprised to learn that many food products in Fiji are imported from Australia. Admittedly, having experienced the dining extravaganza offered on Captain Cook's Great Barrier Reef cruises, my expectations had been high.
Other public areas include a sizeable conference room, which was perfect for talks on ports, marine life and Fijian culture or watching a video. Next to this was a sauna and indoor jacuzzi.
Originally built as a river vessel in 1987, the 108-passenger Reef Escape has a shallow draft of 1.5 metres and cruises at a maximum speed of just eight knots, which is suitable for the short distances and calm waters of her usual Yasawa Islands itinerary. However on our long distance sailing the ship rolled continuously in the choppy seas and her slow speed meant we were unable to make up for lost time when bad weather held us up. Then again, these are the reasons why the northern sailing is so rarely operated, and the passengers, who were there to experience the new itinerary, saw this as part of the adventure. In fact, the Northern Islands itinerary has been so well received that Captain Cook has increased the sailings to twice a year starting from October.
Eighty-one-year-old Carl - a character from Queensland who spent much of the cruise sharing the humourous poems his father had written - summed the week up perfectly: "I haven't had this much fun since Phar Lap won the Cup!"
Writteb by: Merryn Mclachlan - 16 Winter 2004