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.

Tuesday 12th July - Silana and Arouvidi

Today we had "the best day yet" say the girls as we travelled by taxi out to the village of Arovudi, Silana and the hospitality of Seru, Sala and their family. The village is located on the northern tip of Ovalau and about 80 people live there.   We have to  remember our village etiquette  - and Tiegan, Rowan and Nicole have to wear sarongs and dress modestly, no hats or sunglasses and bags carried not over the shoulder. No touching of heads as Fijians regard the head as sacred - and should we meet the chief we have to remember to keep our head lower than his.
We are shown around the church built from stone and baked coral mixed with water (instead of cement)

the meeting house

and also the collection of ramshackle houses which are spread around the village.

Everyone welcomes us with a smile and a handshake. Some income is generated from vegetable and fruit growing and also from the sale of mats woven from pandanus leaves and we sit awhile and watch two ladies show us how.

We sit in the shade  in an open sided area, under a thatched roof with palm leaves covering the pillars. It has an earth floor which Seru covers with a large woven leaf mat. He then shows us how to play Vidi Vidi, a version of Caroum which is popular here - a cross between subbeteo, snooker and shove ha'penny.

We turn out to be "not very good"!

Sala teaches the girls how to make coconut lolly - a bit like coconut ice fudge. She shows them how to husk the coconut, then break it open and the how to grate the inside using a purpose built tool with a rasp at one end and a paddle at the other which one sits on.
                
Tiegan is in charge of the cooking as she is older and Rowan (much to her annoyance) mashes  the banana! Sugar is the only other ingredient - it is still a relative luxury here and these sweets are only cooked on a Sunday - we are privelleged to be shown this.

  The inside of the house is eye watering! 

The cooking facilities no more than a glorified camping stove open flame at knee height and the tiny area is sweltering!

 

There is a Fijian flag on the wall and a picture of the Queen as well as various bible verses and words and phrases of wisdom pinned up.

We head back outside with the finished plate of sweets and the shade.

A delicious traditional, but basic, Fijian lunch of Rou-Rou (boiled dalo leaf parcels in coconut cream stuffed with casava and tuna) and  boiled casava is consumed with gusto. Sadly I didnt have my camera with me to photograph it. But it looked a bit like this!


Migrating humpback whales are spotted in the far distance and we are invited to stand on the table to get a better look. Sadly we can only see the occasional water spout and the flick of a tail. The afternoon draws to a close, we sit together on the woven mat and talk, tell stories and laugh A LOT!

The time to say goodbye comes only too quickly! It is with real sadness that we leave the simplicity of Silana and this lovely family. We pledge to spread the word about this "resort" as they have very few bookings for overnight guests or day tours and they are struggling financially to support themselves.They currently are having to use a local agent for bookings and paying 20% commission and while they are building a website progress is slow. Access to e-mail, internet and computers is in Levuka and patchy at best. There is no electricity in the village as it is too far out - but there is talk this may come soon, maybe by the end of the year.

We board the carrier to make the return journey to Levuka.  It is much cheaper than the $30 FD we paid for the taxi - $2FD each - but not quite as comfortable.

 In essence it is an empty truck with bench seating on 2 sides under a tarpaulin. This is the local transport as the roads are not passable by anything other than 4 wheel drives and heavy duty vehicles. Buses dont run that far to the north of Levuka.

We eat (again) at Kim Paaks Kum Loong as we have done every night and receive local size portions tonight!

Nadi to Sigatoka

Yesterday was Sunday and nothing much to report. Everything is closed today and it drizzled on and off all day. Lots of people departing and arriving at Bamboo, but still some familiar faces around. The girls potter and play games with Dilenne and we get some much needed washing done. We got chatting with another young guest, Alistair, who takes David to play golf at Nadi Golf Course - where Vijay Singh learned to play. The course is sandwiched between the end of the runway for Nadi airport and the Turtle Airways seaplane terminal. The $10 (£3.30) fee seemed reasonable until presented with a $25 (£8.30) bill for half a dozen golf balls and a bag of tees which was subsequently negotiated down to 3 balls each and no tees for $10 (David found some on the course) and a shared set of clubs. The course was short and criss crossed by ditches/streams which made navigating your way round quite difficult. The game was bought to an early close by rain after 12 holes, however a 5 minute walk along the beach seemed like too good an opportunity to miss. David was very wary in the rough for any resident wildlife of the reptile variety but managed to avoid any encounters and returned with the golf balls intact. In the meantime, Nicole and the  girls ventured to a nearby mid market hotel across the road and "borrowed" the pool for an hour or so in the rain. The girls have started to suffer from itchy insect bites and have suddenly developed heat rash so this was a chance for them to cool down a bit and expend a bit of excess energy.
The rest of the day was spent updating the blog, writing journals, replying to emails and finding a new place to stay. Lots of the places we find on the internet are either above our price range or already booked. Eventually we book Vakiviti, a very small backpacker in Sigatoka (Sing a toka) towards Suva and packed up our bags ready for an early start. The rain is much heavier by the time we crawl into our bunks.

Rowan, Samu and Tiegan at Bamboo

Today we left Nadi and Bamboo Backpackers behind and we say goodbye to Samu and the other staff. After an early start, we catch a lift with Pela to rendez vous with a Coral Sun coach to take us along the Coral Coast towards Suva. We are staying at Vakiviti Backpackers in Korotogo near Sigatoka. The coach is very modern and very cold! Yes folks, it is still raining in Fiji and the temperature is less than tropical. It started off as a light drizzle yesterday and rain has fallen steadily ever since. We are travelling towards the east of Vanua Levu (the largest and main Fijian island)  and apparently the easterly side is always wetter. The roads fall into two categories on Fiji - either sealed (tarmacked) or unsealed (dirt tracks). Only the main roads are sealed and after the wind and rain are full of potholes and uneven patches where the surface has been washed away. The rain is so hard that we are dropped at a resort hotel under cover near to Vakiviti, where Karen the manager, meets us there in a rattly old mini van so we dont have to find our way in the wet.

The Vakiviti Van

David breathes a sigh of relief when we are shown to our new home at the sight of a double bed, a fridge, a kettle and a slightly less dank bathroom. The girls have negotiated the "top bunk" rota and are thrilled at the prospect of a pool on site. There is no cafe here so it is self catering for the next few days or going out to eat. Karen drives us into Sigatoka town to buy a few supplies and gives us a mini tour of the area. The Fijian rugby team are staying in the next hotel for pre-world cup training and selection. There is widespread surface water and debris along the shoreline and road sides as a result of the rain and the journey is bumpier than ever. Karen explains that the investment in Fijian infrastructure e.g. drains,  is non existent and that despite money being donated by Chinese, Indian and Malaysian investors the improvements do not come.

Top quality Fijian roads!

In town we dodge in and out of the rain between the supermarket and fruit and vegetable market hall and buy what we need for the next few days. Anything with a recogniseable brand e.g Kellogs, Walkers or Nestle has to imported and is on sale for an enormous price - $17 for a small box of Frosties - around £6.

We avoid the obviously tourist eateries opting for a cafe full of locals and are rewarded with a delicious lunch of chicken chop suey, rice and vegetable curry and roti for the princely sum of £3. Very amusing to watch the locals supping bowls of hot Milo (malted chocolate drink) to warm up!

Vegetable curry - Fiji style
We did also check out the "staff WC" as there wasn't an alternative... let's just say  we wish we had had a camera to record the sheer horror!!!

Fiji at last...

The plane was delayed for an hour before take off as a result of a faulty door mechanism, however by this time the girls and David were already asleep and stayed that way until long after take off. The evening meal was pretty pants and not sure the troops would have eaten it, even if they had been awake. Breakfast, an hour and a bit before we landed in Nadi, was a little better - a cheese omelette with grilled tomato and a chicken sausage, fruit, yoghurt, banana muffin and a cup of tea.

 

We have arrived in Fiji! Bula! This means hello. Customs really easy and the nice man stamped the teddy passports which the girls were thrilled with. We found our contact for Bamboo Backpackers really easily and bundled into the dusty, rusty, yellow taxi which I am sure would not pass a UK MOT but again I am sure we will travel in worse! This is the view from the taxi as the sun rose and we made our way to Bamboo. This is a range of hills called the Sleeping Giant which looks over Nadi - so called because its profile resembles a sleeping man.
 

The Bamboo Backpackers

This is our home for the next 3 days.

The room wasnt quite ready (not surprising as we arrived at 7 am!) so we settled on the deck and enjoyed our first breakfast Fiji style! This is free (hurray!) and the same every day, although you can add eggs or have tea instead! The fresh pawpaw is amazing!

The next 2 images are not for the faint hearted! We must admit it is a baptism of fire- and took 24 hours to acclimatise ourselves to our surroundings. Basic - but functional!

 David and Nicole get to have the top bunks as bunks have no rail or ladder and are very high! Bathroom is erm... interesting... enough said! After a good nights sleep - the accommodation doesnt seem so bad, the beds are surprisingly comfortable and the fan works well.

The girls have been spending a lot of time being entertained by the staff- being swung in the hammock or playing table tennis  - all are amazingly friendly and welcoming. Everyone smiles and laughter is everywhere. 

We ventured in to Nadi town on the local bus - which is open on the sides  and drive through a little residential area - every garden seems to have free ranging chickens and a broken down car in various states of rusting.

We visited the local produce market - not quite like Sainsburys! Mostly open air and all the produce seems to be home grown and being sold by the growers, (predominantly ladies) either seated on the ground or inside on wooden stands.  Everything is arranged beautifully in "heaps" and laid out for buyers to choose their own.  Vegetables and fruit were being splashed with water to stop them from drying out and to keep them looking good for buyers. Most are recognisable eg. aubergines, pak choi, okra, green bananas and a lot of pawpaw. Refreshingly nothing looks perfect but all guaranteed fresh and local - no unnecessary air miles here. Most piles seem to cost  1 or 2 Fiji $ - (3 $F to the £) and a pile of mussels were $1 - so cheap in comparison. Also lots of stalls with buckets of spices and tiny fresh hot chillies - a real feast for the senses! It is hot and noisy and smelly! There is also a large hall with row upon row of stalls selling Kava. Some still in root form and some bagged up in powder form.

Kava is made from the bare root of a pepper tree, pounded into a fine powder and then mixed with fresh water.As a guest in Fiji, you will frequently be invited to participate in one of the most common ceremonial and social customs in the islands, the Kava Ceremony. The drinking of kava, or Yaqona, is quite common on social occasions. It is regarded in Fiji as "the National Drink". Kava has a pleasant calming effect on the body, while leaving the mind clear. Unlike alcohol, there are no hangovers.

Before we leave the market we follow the smell of fresh sweet pineapple and find a man selling freshly cut whole pineapples, ready carved and ready to eat. We buy one for 50 cents and the man gives us another! This is about 15p! They are amazing and drip everywhere! We walked on into the main town and  approached atleast 10 times by Fijians who inform us we are shopping at the Indian side of town and we should go to the truly Fijian part. The obvious and very open divisions between the two cultures is shocking and we  both sense a degree of tension as we walk around. We stand out in the crowd and consequently also approached by several dubious looking characters offering us bargains, trips and invites to Kava cermonies within souvenir shops. We have heard tales of tourists being scammed and duped into parting with large amounts of cash on the promise of a boat trip or similar excursion and so politely smile and walk on.