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Published: January 25th 2006
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Caqalai
As viewed from Snake Island Greetings friends,
It appears that I repeated myself on the last two blogs that I wrote. (Be it I may have been the only person to notice I went on about Lake Taupo and the Tongario crossing twice, but still!)
THIS was an uncharacteristic error and I aim to not repeat this this again. hehe - enough of that old pony...
My travels continue into the Islands of Fiji, formerly of British Crown sovereignty and surely the furthest point from Britain within the old Empire? hmmm - Im not sure - did we have the Moon also? nah! ok
Before I venture into the islands here, I did go out in Christchurch, New Zealand- attempting to go to a dance club, but it was a Tuesday and things don't hot up (so I've been told) in Christchurch until Thursdays! Ended up going to a bar where there was an open mixing (on decks) night and then another bar where they offered free playstation-ing and table tennis! I went along with Paktocheng from Hong Kong and we played table tennis. So, leaving Christchurch on a Boeing or was it an Airbus plane - im not sure but I'm certain
The 20 second walk around island
Snake Island 10 minute walk along sea bed from Caqalai (at low tide obviously!) it was one or the other - not the other - Mcdonald Douglas..... yes, I arrived into Nadi, Fiji - and hee heee heeat! My trip has been most funny with the variance in temperatures- Cold to hot, hot to cold, now cold to hot again. Is that part of a round the world trip anyway I hear you cry? while no I didnt hear you cry that so Im not going to go into the answer... (i havent a clue)
Right - Fiji Land of 333 Islands I read somewhere. 500 somewhere else. By my count (and I in the end I had to stop counting)- there was seven - but no - really that's how many Islands I stayed on. I didn't stay in Nadi any longer that the time it took me to book onto an Island I had read about called Leleuvia - south of Ovalau- which itself is north east of the main island Viti Levu.
I headed from coast to coast in west to east fashion, to catch a boat to this Leleuvia. When I arrived, it appeared that my boat had already left, but there were a group heading to neighbouring
Snake Island 2
...and Snake Island close...(plus someone doing a silly pose in foreground!) island Caqalai (pronounced Fan-ga-lay) so I decided that I should first check out this island. And just as well as I did - it was special 😊
In short (and trousers), it was a beautifully setup desert island run by the Methodist Church of Fiji. We walked around the island in about 8 minutes. Lovely sand, swimming and excellent snorkelling around different parts of its circumference - a desert island paradise off the "beaten track". There was no water pumped around such a small island, so toilets and showers were flushed and taken (respectively) by filling and pouring buckets of waters from nearby rain water tanks. The island only had beds for a small amount of visitors - maybe 20 max. - so it's not a crazy island.
On the second morning on Caqalai a handful of us staying on the island went along to Niubasaga (on the nearby northerly island of Motoriki) for a Sunday church service -I believe it was Methodist- all said and sang in Fijian naturally.
The snorkelling was unreal. One time I went into the sea and after 2 metres, the sea bed dropped -from being able to walk in the water to
Group on way to Church
Visitors and residents from Caqalai island on boat to Motoreki for Sunday church. (Spot Tongue man who has ruined yet another photo! hehe) around 4 metres depth. In this spot there was masses of coral, lots of aquatic life and amazing visibility. This was repeated around other spots around the island.
Two of the most amazing things whilst here were walking out to Snake Island - (see photo), a tiny lump of coral? rising above the sea level and reachable by foot at low tide. Also, there was one evening when everyone on the island had gone to bed, must have been only 11pm, but I took a couple of steps from my dorm room to the beach and the sea was deadly calm and the moon was lighting the island....i took a walk around the island with fellow traveller Emily and it was eerily silent - the sea - the island - just the moon's presence lighting up the (otherwise pitch black) island.
From Caqalai I travelled to another desert island - Leleuvia (my original destination). This island was a little bigger - I believe a 20 minute walk around, and here I did a lot of night gazing! First, fellow travellers Bill, Ruth and I witnessed some insane thunder storm on the mainland, attempting and failing to take shots
Warm Fijian welcome! (ah te be grand)
Each time someone came or left(Caqalai) the residents played and sang Fijian songs. Bruce on left is not Fijian hehe! of large sideways and downwards lighting strikes! I myself saw Venus and Mars appear as the sun set, the Milky Way and two shooting stars! (also some crabs running at my feet!)
Bill and Ruth, having studied in Scotland, initiated some Scottish dancing and we drank the Fijian drink Kava which supposedly has hallucinogenic properties - I didn't feel those kind of effects though!
After being lazy for the time on two small islands and having many mosquito bites, I headed to Leveka (on Ovalu)- the old capital of Fiji to learn some Fijian history.
I went to the local museum and took a tour of the local town. Local Tabaki gave me the tour and also invited me to visit his home afterwards. I duly accepted and he invited me to eat with his family also. I ate a fish caught locally (that was wholly intact!) spinach, cabbage and bread-fruit - it was grand. Tabaki was a dude also. He told me lots of wise things about life, so I had to get a photo!
I spent my remaining time chilling on another island - called Nananu-I-Ra -north of Viti Levu. Here I met two flying cockroaches
Kava drinking on Leleuvia
The mixing bowl for Kava - crushed Kava plant (into powder) is mixed with water - looks greyish colour! Drunk from coconut shells.. in my dorm room, and previously met travellers Bill and Ruth and Arjena and Merrilee. ("Stop following us" I heard them heckle!)
Nah! I ate a nice concoction of rice and bolognaise sauce with Bill and Ruth - ta for that - before being ushered out by the man with the torch on the island who warned us we would soon be in darkness for the electricity generator stopped at 10pm! Made the place great to gaze at stars though and whilst still in the southern hemisphere - I looked up to the sky again!
Overall, the Fijian people I found were very friendly, often saying "Bula" ("Hello/Hi/Life" in Fijian) to you as you pass on the street or pausing for a chat - in typically relaxed "Fiji time" - (basically - Can I have a milkshake please" -"Yea sure in 5 minutes" comes a Fijian reply and then 15 minutes later a cow turns up for milking) Ok that's a joke but as I compare Fiji time to South Africa's "African time", I believe Fiji is slower but hey - it's hot - and their attitude is refreshing - why rush everything ... take it easy - ya!
Music being played on Leleuvia
Two dudes on Leleuvia playing and singing for us in the evening.. I agree. To me it appears relatively poor - but it's a happy place. I enjoyed being here 😊
Ta-ra for now.
Pat x
(I rung into California, USA after Fiiji but I'm filing this on another blog...)
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Flora
Flo
fab!!
hey pat- boy im jealous and wish i could just keep travelling...your pics of fiji (and all the other places) look great and like a bit of a tropical paradise. I'm off to bournemouth this weekend which is a definite highlight for me in these weeks where I spend most of my time working for my MA and not a whole lot sleeping. Keep us updated! Flora