Rabi island, Fiji

I am lucky enough to be surrounded by islands here in Fiji, at one stage being able to see Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Kioa and Rabi islands in a single glance. As sailors we also enjoy the straights and channels and passages that lie between, the Somosomo Straights are world-class game fishing grounds but the wind funnels through and – against the tide – can make for an exciting ride.

The people of Rabi are Banabans, relocated in 1945 and their way of life is different from the mainland. Two years ago I met a young local man who patiently answered my many questions and I promised to send books for a local kindergarten. Proving FAR to heavy to post, I was thrilled at the chance to deliver them personally and totally amazed to find Robata sitting – as if waiting (although he had NO idea I was coming) – not 100 yards away from where I was put ashore!

The main ‘town’ of Nuku (more later) is a quaint place but it doesn’t have the best anchorage, and the reef off the village dries completely at low tide, so we sailed 3.5 miles north to Albert Cove, known locally as Motawa. A perfect crescent beach sheltered by reef, with good holding (always important to a small boat), overhung by palm trees with a few rough huts in the shade near the permanent water supply, it is communally owned and farmed for kava, copra and fish, with a few bored-looking pigs tied to palm trees apart from one ginger-coloured youngster who regularly escaped and wanted to move indoors. Enough children to provide endless fun as they swim from morning to night, local ladies to learn new ways with strange ingredients, a teacher to help make a phrase list in the local language which is borrowed from Kiribati and the BEST teacher for my Skipper, diving for lobster and fishing off the back of our boat (the lights attract the fish), Panea was ‘a fishing machine’, making us laugh at his speed of hauling them in.

Many days Robata and his friend Francis ROWED up from Nuku in a TINY and very leaky rowboat to hang out with us, sharing many a cuppa in the cockpit they taught us a lot about the local way of life and then would paddle out to the reef to spend the night catching fish to smoke or salt and sell in ‘town’. Skipper gave them surplus lifejackets and fiberglass patches for the dinghy, now we feel surer of them greeting our next visit.

We just wandered around to deserted beaches, out onto the reef, over to another inhabited cove but mostly ashore to play and to give, we were never ASKED for anything but learnt that ‘rubbish’ aboard could be useful ashore – a big jam jar would become a lamp, an off-cut of line would have many uses and any item of clothing was quietly accepted.

Because the local teachers were on strike, school holidays had been declared early and many of the children were visiting from ‘town’, unaccompanied by parents; they declare Motawa ‘more fun’ because ‘more play’. Panea caught enough fish to feed them, I took ashore big pots full of rice or noodles and they were happy little campers and proved brave enough to make their way out to the boat one afternoon for a madly exciting game of …… Snakes and Ladders accompanied by slabs of home made bread and jam. Another day they just floated around singing ‘Happy Birthday to Angela’. Aaaah!

Motawa was a trip back to a more simple way of life, people have to work steadily in the garden plots where a storm earlier in the year destroyed all the cassava, the new crop coming along nicely will be relished once ready; or in the bush gathering coconuts for copra or out fishing but there is ample time for just sitting and it was lovely to see small children chatting at length with the elderly.

On our last afternoon we joined a kava session with the locals and Fijian fishermen from two boats out of Labasa. The kava or ‘grog’ is pounded (200 blows) in a hollowed tree trunk with a brass implement; that one of the chickens thought the log a perfect place to roost between pounding sessions was cause for laughter. The kava dust is then squooshed through a cloth in water and the muddy liquid handed round in half coconut shells, hmmmm, interesting flavour. More enjoyable was the singing, one of the Fijian boys so completely hamming up his baritone counter-part that we could join in the laughter. Changing the last line of the Fijian Song of Farewell ‘Isa Lei’ to ‘Mai Matawa nanuma tiko gna (‘Oh forget not when you are far away, Precious moments beside Motawa Bay’) was a sad but sweet way to leave.

We sailed back past Nuku, centre for the Rabi Island Council of Elders, so quiet that if you are clever, you can photograph at least 5 people during ‘rush hour’. Overlooked by the Methodist church (176 steps up), Nuku is a clean village with dirt roads for the bus that runs down to the south of the island, passing the well-used rugby grounds, criss-crossed by tracks we were soon cutting through folks’ gardens and exchanging greetings of Mauri (hello/blessings) and Ko ra’ba (thank you) and answering many questions, most of the grownups seem to have a reasonable command of English and the kids are taught in school.

Despite what the locals say, Nuku seems to be visited only by Westerners with some form of sea access: the soft adventure vessel ‘Tui Tai’ (good website) visits on Fridays and the small cruise ship ‘Blue Lagoon’ occasionally through the season, then school children dance for the passengers. However, for a potential land visitor there IS one small guesthouse (all meals included), a neat local library, bush hospital, two small stores selling very basic foodstuffs, and everywhere there are food plants with garden plots up on the steep slopes, every one fishes and there is a tiny fish market so you could manage by flying in to Savusavu (grabbing some basic supplies) and taking a 3-hour bus to the small town that lies opposite on Vanua Levu, then (by prior arrangement) take a local boat across the Rabi Channel.

But be careful, you won’t want to leave either. ‘Mai Matawa nanuma tiko nga’, indeed.

Sounds like you are having a fun trip1 Thanks for all the reports!

Isn't Rabi the island one needs to get gov't/local permission to visit, as that is the deal they made with the Banabans back in 1945?