Fiji to New Zealand... the sublime to the downright ridiculous!!!!

Well, we have arrived safe and sound in New Zealand.

Early start again - taxi came at 5 a.m to get us to Nadi Airport for an 8 a.m flight with Air Pacific.Security not quite as busy as at LA and Heathrow and insisted on emptying rucksacks to go through the scanner - thereby discovering large can of "precious" deoderant and a bottle of squash over 100 ml. Ooops. All ran well and we enjoyed a somewhat "fruity" breakfast of erm... fruit mostly!

All feeling a bit apprehensive about the change again - we have been in Fiji for a month and we now know "how it works" (sort of), the food to buy and from where, the buses to catch and how etc We are going to have to relearn all that in each new country - which is half the adventure admittedly! All of us are looking forward to something a bit more westernised and hot food, not rice or noodles and not coconut based!

Some amazing views coming over New Zealand and a very bumpy 5 minutes as we crossed the NZ "alps"

       

Tiegan's bear Ziggy caused a minor security bio panic as it came through the "bio hazard" check. The NZers are really stringent about foodstuffs and, it seems, mud - especially on shoes, which may cause a threat to local agriculture. Ziggy is stuffed with rice (we think) in his paws and this is what triggered the machine to beep! Nervous moments for TG before he was allowed to enter! Good news though as NZ customs lady stamped the girls' bear passports. Managed to get a good deal at Duty Free to replace Rowan's camera which was dropped on board one of the Fijian ferries and cracked the lens. Picked up a shuttle bus at the airport and very spookily discovered that the driver was a Brit relocated from Southend, Essex near where Nicole used to live.

We said goodbye to Fiji and 30 degrees. Warmth, beaches and flip flops.

We said hello to this....

Oh my goodness!!!!

We knew we couldnt chase good weather all the way round - and we knew it was not going to be hot and sunny but.... something slightly less dramatic would have been good! We settle in to the Elms Hotel - which has suffered damage in the recent earthquake and has only just reopened. It is operating in the back section, reception in a portacabin and only a continental breakfast offered. It is great for us though, especially as Kathmandu (the outdoor shop) is just round the corner! We head there immediately and stock up on hats, gloves, thermals and thick socks. The girls also get a pair of "el cheapo" gummies - that's wellies in English!

When we get back from our shopping trip we find the nearly empty hotel is filling up with Air NZ and Air Asia passengers whosse flights have been cancelled and the "snow in" begins!



Back to Nadi - Aquarius and Sabeto

Another bus journey and we are back in Nadi. Fijians are obviously oblivious to age ratings on films, they dont notice the graphic content, or they simply dont mind what images their children see. Every single long coach journey we have had with a TV really horrid films have been shown, with the volume up very load - hard to escape from. We have a good routine established now to try and protect the girls from this a little - we sit as far back as we can and they sit near the window - they also are then allowed some "precious" nintendo time and are duly plugged in!

We have secured an amazing deal on accommodation for our stay in Nadi for the next 3 days - 3 nights for the price of 2 and an additional 20% off - making Aquarius Fiji almost the cheapest place we have stayed during our time here. It has air conditioning and a pool, complimentary continental breakfast and we all have a bed - the girls are not doubling up or sleeping on a spare mattress on the floor (which they have had to recently).

   

Glorious surroundings - more of a hotel than a backpacker hostel - but for £23.50 a night for the four of us b+b you can hardly complain! The girls have once again renewed their relationship with sand and pottered about on the beach building sandcastles and moats.  

From time to time the seaplane from Turtle Airways takes off or lands right in front of us and in the distance we can see the cruise ships carrying Australian and US passengers on launches to the mainland speeding back and forth. We enjoy the sun setting and plan our last 2 days in the South Pacific.

Nadi is an entry and exit point to Fiji and there is little of note to visit in the near surrounds except the Sabeto Hot Springs where we spend an interesting hour or so. They are located halfway between Nadi and Lautoka - the next town up the coast of Viti Levu. The bus drops us at a crossroads and we are directed to hail a waiting taxi van. We negotiate a price there and back and head off along the increasingly narrow dirt road. We reach a point when we are just not sure we are still headed in the proper direction and eventually happen upon the Sabeto Hot Springs also known as the Sabeto Mud Baths.

Mary, our tour guide, shows us the source of the sulphurous mud pools - a bubbling hot spring which is about 70 - 80 degrees in temperature. The sulphur in the hot springs is believed by locals to have healing properties and we are taken to the first pool and Mary sets about smearing us with slightly grainy and distinctly cold and smelly mud!

  

  

After we are all coated the sun bakes us until our skin feels tight we are allowed to enter the first pool. 

It has no solid bottom, rather a thick layer of soft cool mud, about a foot deep, probably full of all sorts of other debris! It is a slightly unnerving and very unsteady plunge and there is a distinct smell in the air.  It is tepid, but not unpleasant. 

We are encouraged to wash off as much mud as possible before having a final rinse to get the worst of the mud in the nearby shower. We then head to the hot pool- this is just like a very hot bath and it feels good to sink in and enjoy the heat of the soupy water - although again one doesnt like to consider too deeply what might lay beneath the murky depths - this pool does have a stony bottom in places which feels much nicer underfoot! !

We bypass the many local ladies offering massages on a sea of sarongs under the trees

and emerge from the changing hut feeling 16 again ( well that's what Mary said should happen). In reality we were all distinctly quiet and a bit lethargic on the bus journey back to Nadi - and we all smelt very whiffy.

Club Oceanus and back to Vakaviti

  

So after a very relaxing 3 days at Club Oceanus we say goodbye. We  were back on the Pacific Transport coach travelling along the Coral Coast and back towards Sigatoka. We have made the decision to stay with Karen, Jhoti and Edward at Vakaviti. We are dropped at the roundabout and  take the now familiar 5 minute walk along Sunset Strip. We  feel a sense of real comfort as we head up the steep drive and are again in surroundings we already know. The girls spent the first afternoon in the pool and Nicole ventured into Sigatoka town to buy basic supplies at the now familiar MH and the produce market.  Not sure how it happened but the spend was $80 - ok this is only £25 for 4 days x 3 meals (self catering again!) but even so!!! Although there was beer involved. Managed to stay away from the imported iceberg lettuce which was $18 FD - a mere £6! Also decided against this local delicacy - which is on lots of locals menus. Mmm Yum!

We spend the next day or so around Sigatoka and Korotogo, enjoying the sunshine  (it has finally made an appearance!) and glorious temperatures.

     

We have lots of walks along the coast road and Nicole finally manages to get a photo of the elusive Krishna temple which sits on the hillside overlooking Sigatoka town.

  

We spend an hour in the supermarket/cafe/tour centre/car hire/taxi rank/hairdresser/beauty parlour- 3 shops run by the same Indo Fijian family at the end of Sunset Strip and decide to mark our return to Korolevu with henna tattoos. The girls take forever to decide but finally opt for these designs which will last about 2 weeks.

On our last morning the grown ups finally relent to the endless badgering and agree to pony rides along the beach. David duly negotiates a deal (he is becoming ruthless at this!) $50FD reduced to $30 and Tiegan is lifted onto Joe Frazier while Rowan gets a legup onto Michael Jackson. Co incidentally the owner of the horse was also called Michael- which he told us about 35 times!

   

Michael, the owner not the horse plonks hats on- but they were enormous and Rowan tells us, on her return, that her hat fell in the sea a couple of times along the half hour "beach tour". 

Suva to Pacific Harbour and a reliable internet connection HURRAY!!!!

We have decided we are in need of a slight step up in accommodation and also a bit of down time for both the girls and the grown ups. We have stayed in some pretty basic and cheap places during our time in Fiji - not as basic as we had imagined and nothing completely awful. We had always said that along the way when we need to we would take a few days off the usual traveller haunts and spend time in slightly better surroundings. It is time this plan was put into action!

We still have 9 nights left and have decided to travel back along the King's Highway to the south of Viti Levu towards Nadi and the airport. We had planned to visit the Zip Fiji centre and also to try a spot of white water rafting along the way, but it is massively expensive and out of our price range. Instead we have opted for a step up in accommodation for 3 nights and the girls have chosen to go horse riding on Natadola Beach in a few days time. We spend the morning in Suva stocking up on basic shopping for eating in and replenishing supplies of insect repellent and "Stop Itch" and "Buddha Balm" passing through the busy municipal market and cant help marvelling at the beautiful flowers for sale here for pennies.

We find and board the bus to Pacific Harbour and the relative luxury of Club Oceanus. It costs about $30 FD more per night than we have been paying (about £10) but is definitely well worth it.

The bus driver drops us here, at what we now find is Pacific Harbour. This is more of a complex than a town, village or a resort. A sort of man made "holiday village" with tourist type souvenir shops and tourist prices in the bars, restaurants and cafes.There is an ATM, a laundry and a little supermarket with tourist prices to match and all set on a beautiful lily pond. However, first we have to find where we are staying - which turns out to be a good 10 minute walk further along the road. We are not amused and there is a stony silence as we march, fully laden with packs and bags of basic foodstuffs and bottles of water bought from Suva in case there was no store close by. We walk in the mid afternoon sunshine and are all relieved when we finally see the sign appear round the corner!

  We unpack a bit and in our now usual ritual do a bit of washing while the girls explore and jump in the pool!

In the afternoon we stroll up the road (this time slightly less weighed down!) and enjoy a stroll around Pacific Harbour - the water lillies are beautiful and the girls  tried to spot the fish swimming around in the pool.

The last day or so has been spent in these beautiful, calm surroundings and almost doesnt feel like Fiji at all. Nicole has spent time updating the blog and David has been researching Christchurch, NZ and beyond. Lots of the places we had earmarked have been damaged by the earthquake and so we have had to have a rethink as beds are now greatly reduced. We will only know the true situation when we land in a weeks time. The girls have played endlessly in the pool and have generally occupied themselves.

 

We have not eaten out at all as, although we have been eating with the locals and therefore very cheaply, we are trying to offset the extra cost of our room. We are also only to aware that we have the most expensive part of our trip coming up and all the travellers we have encountered along the way have warned us how pricey New Zealand and even more so Australia are.  

Thursday 14th July - Levuka to Suva

Another day, another ferry another ridiculously early start. time to leave Levuka and Ovalau- the bus to the ferry port on the other side of the island picks us up at 4.30a.m as we head back by ferry to Natovi Landing and then board the bus again for the journey to Suva.

Suva is Fiji's political and administrative capital and home to almost half of the country's population. It is the largest urban area in the South Pacific outside of Australia and New Zealand and we discover is twinned with Brighton!

Unlike our last visit the sun is shining as we reach the bus station and we walk uphill fully loaded to our new residence "Tropic Towers".

It was not, in reality, anything as nice as it sounds - but we had huge trouble trying to find somewhere to stay in Suva. A combination of city prices and lack of availabilty means that we stayed in probably the best of a bad bunch. The area was great, location wise, in that it was close to the bus station and close enough to the centre of the city. Not so great after dark - in fact the security man on the gate would not let David walk the short distance down the hill to the internet cafe but insisted he went there and back by taxi! Fortunately we were only there for one night.

We were able to pick up the Lonely Planet New Zealand guide from the University of the South Pacific campus bookshop and took in some culture at the Suva National Museum located in the capital city's botanical gardens, Thurston Gardens.
The museum houses an extensive archaeological collection dating back 3,700 years and relics of Fiji's indigenous cultural history. Also on display is the rudder of the HMS Bounty of mutiny fame.

The biggest exhibit is the enormous bilibili or bamboo rafts used until circa 1900 to transport produce between islands or for fishing trips.

We  see lots of "cannibal" exhibits - they were still eating people in Fiji 150 years ago! These are huge house posts - one for each side of the house. Often live human sacrifices were thrown into the hole before the posts - this was thought to strengthen the foundations and offer protection to the residents!


                                                                David tries out the head chopping stone!

By 1867 cannibalism was dying out but ironically the last act of cannibalism in Fiji claimed the lives of an English missionary, the Reverend Thomas Baker of East Sussex, and his accompanying party of Methodist Fijians. On the Fijian islands eating one's enemies was a time-honoured tradition. Sufficient for the act was a declaration of war, often made in symbolic form, such as by insulting the chief of another tribe.
Fiji in 1867 was still an untamed paradise and when Reverend Baker and his group of eight Fijian helpers made the arduous trek to the isolated village of Nabutautau, it was with the intention of bringing the blessings of Christianity and Western Civilisation to the natives.
Initially the party was made welcome but an inadvertant act changed this rather quickly! Accounts differ as to whether it was a hat or a comb that the Reverend Baker tried to retrieve, but the fact remains that he touched the chief's head, a totally forbidden act. Punishment was swift . The missionary and his war party were dispatched with clubs, and their remains consumed. By the time the cooking fires had been dampened, there was nothing left of the Reverend Baker but his boots. The remnants of which are retained for display, along with the fork and bowl used to consume him.

We also see a fascinating photo and artefact gallery chronicling the introduction of indentured Indian workers to Fiji by the Europeans from the mid 1870s. Indo Fijians are mostly descended from indentured labourers , girmitiyas or girmit, brought to the islands by Fiji's British colonial rulers between 1879 and 1916 to work on Fiji's sugar cane plantations. These were complemented by the later arrival of Gujarati and Punjabi immigrants who arrived as free settlers in comparison to their counterparts who were brought under the indentured labour system. They have adapted to the new environment with changes to their dress, language and culinary habits, although they have maintained their distinct culture. The Fiji Indians have fought for equal rights, although with only limited success.

We visit the Government Buildings on our way back to find an internet cafe to catch up on emails and then head back to the hotel for a swim and supper.

We are really trying hard to expose the girls to a bit of the social and political history  of Fiji as we go, as well as the animal and plant life.  However tempers frayed a bit today and words were had! We are all in need of some down time now and the chance to step back, take a breath and reflect on our time here.