Here goes!
Just getting back to the Sonoran Desert, to home in Tucson Arizona, far away in all possible ways from the Fiji islands we just visited and kited.
The vibes of the Fijians were truly and surprisingly sincere and warm, super clean, rarely saw any garbage on the beach or elsewhere, sublimely perfect temperature day and night(23 to 27C), thin neoprene top if kiting at dusk or if you tend to get cold or for surfing maybe. Been to kite much of the Caribbean(Barbados, Bahamas, Union Island, Turks and Caicos, Aruba), Cape Hatteras, Florida, Florida Keys, Oregon Coast, Hawaii, Baja MX, Northern Peru, San Blas Panama, Brazil, Cape Town. But nowhere are the people's vibes this simple and sweet.
To the wind point though: 9 days and nights spent there, 2 1/2 spectacular wave kiting sessions, 3 sessions of flat water kiting, all on a 13m Drifter for my 105 kg. I say sessions and not days since the tide and exposed reef pares down time on the water, limiting you to 3-4 and maybe less hour sessions. Dagger to the heart in general terms for a rabid desert dwelling wave kiter, but went with my wife, had a great time, and was able to work on learning to surf and was able to stand up on a surfboard and get some good kiteless surfboard rides on perfect learning waves on the surf break called Restaurants(small day) at Tavarua Island for the first time in my life after trying several times in the past. If you are well accompanied and have a bad time in Fiji, perhaps you should put a dagger to your heart, the place is delicious, top of the world.
Arrived in Nadi, rented a car and drove 2 hours to the Coral Coast, stayed 2 nights at Wellesley resort. Beautiful, clean, with a nice sandy beach to launch, put up a 15m which flew but not enough to pull a kiter, even for her fly weight category. If I remember right about 160 US$ per night for a super nice bure(Fijian for self standing hut with a/c) with its own private pool.
Zero knowledge anyone has there about kitesurfing, even less about getting to the breaks, etc. Finally visited Matanivusi Resort next door, one strong option for boat support and guidance on where to wave kite, as they have supported kiters here and there. If they had room on their boat they said perhaps they would have taken me. For flat water in that area, kiting is only doable at or near high tide from what I could see, but we did not get on the water there. Also met a nice Australian fellow Cormac Brown who kites and runs the surf trips from the Beach House hotel/hostel nearby, he could be hired to support a wave kiter.
7 days then at Tavarua Island( no room at Namotu), pick up at airport by the resort in a bus, 40 min drive to a beach where boats are waiting to take you on a 45 min ride to Tavarua Island. You see Cloudbreak a few km away and Namotu a few km the oposite direction. For the 500 US$ per person per day (about 600 US $ pp pd at Namotu) you get a bure similar to Wellesley and all meals(buffet) and boat transfers to the surf breaks. All alcohol or drinks other than water ++ expensive.
I consider myself a confident wave kiter, but felt very intimidated about kiting there on arriving at Tavarua. The day we arrived, the wind was the usual SE trade wind. The only kiter among 30+ surfers arriving on a windy day, got some advice from Trevor, one of the owner's teenage sons that kites, which was basically to wait a few hours till high tide, launch on the NE side, go around the island, and have fun on the SW side. He was not up to kiting with me to hold my hand that day. Crap, I thought, I will end up impaled on a shallow part of the reef somewhere, shredded like Parmesan cheese. But no, turns out that high tide(about 1.3m above low tide) will float you nicely above any reef all around the island. Kited on my 13m Drifter ( I am 1.90m 105kg) there at Tavarua on the SW reef, overhead but a quick close out type of wave. As I saw the next day, forget wave kiting there.
I imagined there was a reason I could see 10 or so kites 3km away at Namotu Lefts and none on Tavarua. By asking, I was told they would send a boat behind me to babysit me while there at Namotu. Whew! What a relief! So downwinded there and kitesurfed the most beautiful conditions I had ever lived, see pictures by the Namotu photographer. Just amazing, till sundown,then got in the boat, put the kite down, a bit tricky, folded the kite and back to Tavarua by boat. Did the same the last day there, but tide allowed only 1 hour of kiting that day before the light of day ran out.
Two other sessions we had with the opposite wind, NE, which my wife and I both kited a few hours as tide allowed on twin tips, in addition to a session at Restaurants, the famous left surf break at Tavarua that on NW wind turns essentially into small mushy minimal waves.
The next two days we spent nearby with no wind, at Tadrai Resort on the back side of Mana Island, 100 yards from the beach where the show Survivor has been filmed for the last few years. Super nice(expensive +++ also) all inclusive place with only 5 bures, super attentive staff, etc. It included a 40 min day trip by boat to Mondriki Island where the Tom Hanks movie Castaway was filmed, boat trips to the sandbar and evening champagne boat cruises at sunset. If flat water /choppy water kiting is your thing, there is a 80 meter sand bar 2km from this resort that should be really nice in any wind direction, but a good 45 + min away from kitesurfing breaks at Namotu and Cloudbreak, would be +++ expensive to hire boat support to take you there.
So, my guess is 30-50% wind days is a reasonable expectation for the area during wind season, could be more or could be less. My 2 1/2 wind and wave days there, specially now that I know what to expect, rank at the top of my wave kiting days ever. Will definitely do Cloudbreak next time if not ridiculously big, and with a good high tide if it happens. Go to Cape Town though if only 80% chance of 2 to 3 wave sessions per day will suffice (not to mention that these sessions are possible in 20km + downwinders in Cape Town) and you are OK with wetsuits.
Cheers!
Desertsurfer
> 9 months ago, 9 Aug 2018
