Our least favourite 'must do' today is to visit the Customs office in Lautoka to check in and to request a new cruising permit to allow us to visit Kadavu island and Beqa (pronounced Mbengga) reef. We motor sailed from Musket Cove up to Saweni Bay which is 5 miles south of Lautoka and a prettier, cleaner anchorage than the sugar cane capital. We'd heard reports of boats coming away from here covered with a sticky film – outfall from the sugar cane mill.
Saweni bay is large, shallow and surrounded by mangroves and it's so quiet with the birds twittering it feels like we're parked on a rural river. We'd travelled with Tahina and called a taxi from the beach restaurant to come pick us up. Customs was straight forward although we can't go to Kadavu and come back to Lautoka as we'd originally planned; we have to go to the capital Suva via Kadavu. Fijian bureaucracy is the same as any other country – lots of paperwork and an excuse to employ 6 people who can wear uniforms and brandish a stamp of authority. There wasn't time this afternoon to do the provisioning we'd envisioned so we'll pop back on the bus tomorrow.
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