Pitufa.at » Photo Galleries » Matuku

We have visited the little island Matuku in the Western Lau group twice this year (2022). It's off the beaten track and not many yachts make it here. The people are super-friendly, there are several good anchorages and the reef is simply beautiful!

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1/46: Of course we invited our friends back to Pitufa.
2/46: We anchored Pitufa in a beautiful, sheltered anchorage on the E side of Matuku
3/46: At high tide it's easily reachable by dinghy, but at low tide it's a muddy walk from the boat.
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5/46: Not far from our anchorage lies the little village Lomati
6/46: We took our sevusevu (kava present) to the chief and were welcomed to the family and accepted as guests in Matuku. "You are part of the village now".
7/46: Chief Jiko
8/46: The kids took us around to see all sights:
9/46: Drying kava
10/46: New solar panels bring electricity to the villagers
11/46: The forest behind the village
12/46: The gardens up in the hills
13/46: As always we tried to encourage awareness for environmental issues. We'll try to organise recycling for the village.
14/46: Children as well as adults were interested in the role parrot fish fish play to keep the reef clean and healthy.
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16/46: Christian did his best to mend dodgy devices.
17/46: Headman Cama and his wife Luvu also invited us for lunch.
18/46: Drinking Kava in the assembly hall.
19/46: There's a school in the neighbouring village Makadru.
20/46: We went there for a little presentation on environmental awareness and sustainability.
21/46: Many houses are built on stilts in case of floods caused by Tsunamis or cyclone surges.
22/46: In Makandru lots of ruins remain from the last cyclone.
23/46: Invited at the women's organisation.
24/46: Open boats are the only means of transport on the island, there's no road system.
25/46: The Red Cross organised a first aid course and we came to watch.
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27/46: The school in the main village of Yaroi.
28/46: Making coconut oil
29/46: Thee doctor at the very basic medical station in Yaroi ...
30/46: A ship with specialist doctors came and the villagers spent the whole day queueing for dentists, cardiologists, etc. It was the first visit in 3 years!
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34/46: Pulling teeth is a quick job here... No fillings done.
35/46: Each time we returned from the village with fresh bounty! No plastic involved...
36/46: We also did a few boat jobs, like installing the spinnaker pole track on the mast (we brought it from Austria on the plane...)
37/46: The underwater world of the pass and surroundings is wonderful and mainly healthy.
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41/46: Some areas are overgrown with algae, due to overfishing there aren't enough fish to keep the reef clean...
42/46: Lots of anemones and clown fishies!
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44/46: Sharks are a rare sight here
45/46: Turtles are also still hunted...
46/46: We did our best to share our knowledge about reefs and sustainable use with the villagers. They are planning to install Tabu areas (protected zones) - hopefully it'll work out!