Andy found a company called Tamarillo Tropical Adventures, (www.tamarillo.co.nz) formed in 1996, set-up and operated by Anthony Norris, Marina, Mantovani and Ratu Joseva (a traditional chief in Kadavu) with adventure and traditional culture they guide kayaking journeys for all ages and abilities. We designed our own expedition, a nine-day 165km epic adventure circumnavigating Kadavu Island. Little did we know then, but our journey would take us through tranquil smooth clear blue waters to some extreme weather conditions, to unforgettable views and adventure mixed with delightful local culture, food, and entertainment. Leaving us with an inspirational feeling of unseen uniqueness of traditional villages and lifestyle with all its natural beauty of what Kadavu people hold close to their hearts.

As winter settled in nine enthusiasts from the Wellington Yakiti Yak Club, joined by a couple from Auckland, one from the U.K and one from the U.S.A flew in to Vunisia (capital of Kadavu Island) where we were met by Ratu and Anthony for a boat transfer to Tamarillo’s Kadavu Island Headquarters and traditional meeting house, which is Ratu’s coconut plantation and Homestead.

First there are speeches, where Ratu welcomes us “Bula”, this is Hello; and then a gift of Kava root is presented with some chants and claps to complete the ritual. We experience our first ceremonial welcome and the taste for Kava. (Fiji’s traditional welcoming beverage) …it is polite to except two bowls. This was a custom repeated every night at each village; ‘You feel a sense of total relaxation take over your whole body, it was a great way to unwind from a long days paddle’.

We sit cross-legged on a woven mat in Ratu’s Traditional meeting house that has mosquito nets strung and tied from the ceiling of the thatched roof, this is also our sleeping quarters. We try our first Fijian delicacy which was baked kasava (simular to our sweet potato) covered in a sweet brown sugary syrup… very tasty.

Later a spread of local delicacies awaits us for dinner. This included stuffed craps, fresh fish, taro, rice, and taro leaves mixed in coconut cream, with lemon tea to finish. We discover this is what is served most nights, with chicken, and pork, along with fresh baked cakes and scones all cooked over a fire oven.

As there is no power here, the use of Kerosene Lanterns is used, which enhanced the ambience to the whole culture dinner experience. Some villages have generators, but torches came in handy.

We are paddling 20-25km (5-6hrs) daily in double and single kayaks. Its 30 degrees as we set off inquest of adventure; there are four guides - Qase (pronounced Gus), Ephramie, and George, all Fijian and Nick one NZ guide along with Anthony on the water with us, and Ratu in the support boat, which carries our luggage, fresh coffee and food. The water is clear blue, and smooth, with the view of the reef and the hypnotic continual deep hum of the surf folding and crashing in the distance. Andy brought a sail along, and attached it to his kayak and motored through the water with very little effort. Definitely an ideal way to go.

As we glide through the various colours of blue water we admire our surroundings, with endless coconut trees, mangroves and tropical rainforest, there are lots of small villages fanned with palm trees, living along the coastline. The word “Bula” echoes from the shores as we pass the locals, our reply was “Bula Morcea” (pronounced Morthea) Hello and thankyou returning their friendly gesture; this was a regular occurrence throughout our journey.

Lunch is on another white sandy beach, each day we had a range of food from roti stuffed with bjuja or corned beef, home made buns with either egg, tuna, banana, tamarillo jam, and fresh fish with coconut cream caught that morning prepared by the guides, and fresh coffee and coconuts. Most days after lunch we could laze in the sun or go for a snorkel and be mesmerised by the impressive coral gardens and stunning coloured fish.

On one particular day; to our surprise we glanced out across the water to see a ‘dug out log of wood’ with a Fijian standing in the stem ‘paddling’ with a long pole, no blades attached. He cruised in effortlessly and stepped on to the beach. “Bula” this young man greets us. The dug out traditional canoe base is very rounded and the idea is you stand on the back edge for balance and use the pole to paddle. The water was warm and a few swims were had.

Another day we meet a guy by the name of Rarumvabuka he asked “why did we want to spend all those hours in the water just paddling” I guess it seemed unnecessary to paddle long stretches of ocean at a time.  I smiled and said, “We wanted to explore how beautiful their Island is by kayak”. He just smiled and nodded.

We stayed at eight different villages throughout our journey; accommodation was a mix of camping, village resorts, bure’s, and community halls. To name but a few; Galoa Island Resort was our first destination as we pulled up, we hear “we’ve been expecting you” this is Humphrey and Maraia the proud owners, their hospitality is faultless, with more local delicacies and enchanting entertainment we sing, laugh and share stories, Apon leaving the next day Humphrey sings a traditional farewell song, as we wave and head off round the coast.

Muani Village, was a charming little community, the children are first onto the beach to greet us, they would look in awe at our kayaks wanting to have a go, so Andy yells “who wants to come for a paddle” two energetic kids bound towards him, in to the kayak they leap. In the evening its the adults turn so out for a night paddle we head, the moon light was magical as it glowed on the calm water, with the squeals of delight, the chatter and the laughter we head out in the bay for an hour. There is a school here for all the locals and near by villages to attend, so before we leave we have the pleasure to be introduced to all the teachers and children from pre-school to intermediate we see how their education system is run and have a sneak preview of what they are teaching.

Some days we encountered strong headwinds; torrential rain with metre swells, the water is warm so is quite refreshing. Getting to Daviqele Village was an interesting feat on its own. As we paddled into an inlet we pulled up on shore in front of the mangroves, it’s a dead end, “where to know I hear someone say” we are to carry our kayaks 25km through the mangrove trees to the other side, from their we have the village about 400mtres in site. Ratu Aca is the chief in this village, who in his day played professional rugby for Fiji. He told us a story of how he first met Anthony many years ago, where Anthony and a friend apparently surfed into his village on a big wave. Ratu Aca said “anyone that could ride a wave that big and surf up to the shore without capsizing is more than welcome to stay here” Anthony and his friend stayed for a week, and they have been friends ever since.

The next day we needed to head round the western end of Kadavu Island where Kadavu’s tallest mountain Nabukulevu is situated, also know as Mt Washington which stands at 822 Metres high, the surf was rougher this day, so headed out a little wider to get round safely. True to the guides’ advice, by late morning the winds were blowing steadily at 15+ km, with a few gusts to 25km.  The sea went from a smooth-faced ½ - 1 metre swells to more and more.  The increase was slow and predictable, giving use time to settle into the rhythm and the more challenging paddling of the day. We encountered 3 ½ to 4 ½ metre swells, as we sat rolling, swaying, and watching the volume of water rolling before us, some of us tried to get the most distance out of every wave by surfing the edge in anticipation to catch the wave at the right point and ride with it, speeding at 8-12 knots down the face of the swells. The rides were fast and joyfully noisy with adrenaline on high, this was ocean kayaking at its best.

As we paddled around the corner of the island we watched in wonderment the beauty of the ocean as the white water crashed and exploded leaping high onto the rocks and draining away just as fiercely.  Water flattened out and lunch was a half km up the coastline, it gave a reality check of how the changing face of the sea can be so unpredictable. The rest of the afternoon was magnificent, dead flat, clear blue waters, and only a whisper of wind.

Tavuki Village was one of the more traditional places we stayed at, In 1988 Ratu Nacagilevu House was built, meetings are held here by chiefs and elders from around Kadavu Island, here important issues are discussed and decisions are made. We were honoured to be able to meet one of the elders Ratu Jone who welcomed us with the Kava ceremony. We also had the pleasure to meet Ratu Joseva’s sister Bulou Lusiana (the word Bulou is the feminie version to Ratu meaning chief) as their family comes from a line of chiefs. We arrived at Daku Village, here we were honoured to be invited by the chief ‘Epi Ravono’ to his son’s ‘Eprioni’ 21^st birthday party.  It was an exquisite display of traditional culture, dressed in the formal tapa cloth wrap made by his mother, with a patterned shirt, lei and head dress, the party carried on until daylight.

Having completed the circumnavigation of Kadavu Island, we leave our kayaks at Ratu’s homestead and have a short walk through the mangroves behind his place to Matava Resort. We should have been suspicious when someone said, “there would be a little mud”, it didn’t really register until we got to the start of the trees, there we were faced with a great expanse of black swamp mud. “ You are joking, I heard everyone say! We’re not going through that are we?” Ephramie beamed a big smile, crossed his arms and strode off into the mud. For the next half hour we ploughed through knee deep. I heard joy say, “ I know I’d wanted to trek but this wasn’t what I had in mind”

Still it was a memorable end to the trip, as we hosed ourselves down at the resort boat ramp we were looking forward to the hot shower we had been waiting for all week. Matava with its relaxing beach front bure’s, decks and hot showers and gorgeous views, complete with its charming maitre d’ called Maggie was a marvellous end to a captivating and challenging week.

With Fiji’s exquisite coastline, impressive views, and lovely warm climate, Kadavu Island is surrounded by the great astrolabe reef, which protects the white coral beaches from the pounding pacific swells and provides tranquil lagoons and passages, faultless bays and beaches.  Its remote and unspoiled environment, which shows off its immaculate clear turquoise waters, is perfect for kayaking and cultural interaction.  An absolute must to see and experience, “why wouldn’t you want to go there I say” Discover it for yourself, that wonderful heart warming feeling you get that sooths the soul, if not one of the highlight adventures in your life you definitely would not want to miss out on.

I think really this was one of those truly special trips where you get more out of it than you thought, by seeing Fiji in its natural environment with all its raw features and beautiful people and to have shared such an experience, and have photos that captured all those memorable moments, this is most certainly an adventure I will do again.