TNS461 17/06/2016  After a night at sea we arrived just off Taveuni Island ready to assess the
pier and decide whether it was suitable to come alongside. Some masterful
work by captain Simon, the permanent crew and amazing work at the stern by
the Aft Port team saw us able to come alongside a very small pier and ready
for a day of touring the island. Most of the voyage crew were picked up by
our guides in an open air bus at 10am. Our first stop was the Bouma
waterfall with an amazing pool for swimming. It was a very hot and sweaty 10
minute walk to get there (surprisingly ok for wheelchair access).

The waterfall was amazing and a cool dip was exactly what we needed. A number of
the voyage crew climbed the rock wall to jump off into the pool below to the
cheers of the rest of the crew below. After lunch and a visit from some
local pigs we got back on the bus and travelled on to the village at the end
of the road. Some of the crew toured around the village whilst others headed
straight for the beach. Like our last village visit, this one was also
devastated by cyclone Winston. In some places all that remained of houses
were the concrete foundations. A lot of families are still living in aid
tents and the school’s roof was completely blown off. Following this
everyone met on the beach where we swam with the chief’s adorable son.

After a busy day we made our way back to the ship, had a lovely dinner by Ali and
then headed out to have some cocktails by the sea. The harbour watch teams
were kept busy by a string of locals coming down to have a look at the ship
from the pier. This morning we bid farewell to Taveuni island. We have just
enjoyed a lunch of swordfish boullibaise followed by sail setting and a pod
of dolphins was spotted of the starboard side. We are now sailing the
fastest we have since day 2 (4.2 knots at present) and are getting ready for
the quiz tonight.

Signing off aft port watch – Ruth, Bev, Alec,Colin, Izzy, Hannah, Lauren and
Clive.