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Published: October 30th 2008
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Drinking Bau
Me enjoying the milk of a baby coconut Well, we're now back from Fiji and I have just about recovered from my (self diagnosed - thanks to doctor Lonely Planet) Dengue Fever. We only had 2 weeks there, definitely not long enough but better than nothing.
We spent the first day in Nadi, it was really hot and Del had a bit of a hangover from drinking too much wine on the plane (there was a change of plane and we ended up in business class - she thought it would be rude not to celebrate) and then too much Fiji Gold (beer) when we arrived. There's not much to do in Nadi, so we headed to Suva, the capital city. In both cities you need to have your wits about you to make sure you don't get conned into buying swords (sticks of wood) with your name carved into them...people tried a few times, but we were on to them! We had a day and a half of curry and roti fuelled sightseeing before it was time to catch the local and crowded bus to get the ferry across to Ovalau - a small island just off the east coast of the mainland.
The bus trip
Ferry crossing
This photo does not do justice to how rubbish the bus was was quite an experience. About half of it was on unsealed gravel road and I'm not sure the bus had any suspension. We were travelling along a dirt road for about half an hour when people realised we were going the wrong way, so we had to reverse back until the driver could do his best 10 point turn. It was another half an hour back and then it was probably another hour on the correct dirt road. It was not a comfortable journey. Still, at least we weren't on the other bus...which lost a wheel!
We had booked to stay at a place called Bobo's Farm for our first two nights on Ovalau and we were met by Bobo at the ferry landing. Five hours after leaving Suva we arrived at Bobo's Farm, in the middle of the rainforest. It was a strange place to stay, Bobo and his German wife Karin kept having little domestics, making it quite awkward for us. It was nice enough though and they took us in to Levuka (the old capital)to see the independance day celebrations and for a short walk around the farm, village and beach.
It was then on
Drinking kava
Del drinking kava - a Fijian drink/obsession to a village called Silana for two nights staying at Seru (the village chief's adopted son) and Sala's place. Silana was brilliant. Sala took us into the village to meet some of the locals. I sat outside playing a disc flicking game I didn't understand with the chief's spokesperson, whilst Del and the other women went inside one of the houses to make tea. Tea was served with a mountain of bread and butter (I didn't know I could eat so much bread) and as guests Del and I were given mangoes, all enjoyed whilst sitting on the floor. It was amazing how welcoming and generous they were given that they have very little. Later that day, after tea, Sala got her guitar out and we sat by the beach listening to her songs.
The next day was Sunday, when Fiji stops. Sala invited us to go with her to church in the morning for which I had to borrow one of Seru's sulus (a wrap-around skirt). Everyone seemed really happy that we had gone along and were very welcoming. We had no idea what was going on though - it was all done in Fijian. The rest of
Reenactment
Part of the Fiji day celebrations. Karin was furious that it started early and that we only caught the end of it - we weren't that bothered. the day was spent snorkelling and reading.
We spent the next two days in Levuka, where we didn't really do much as I was ill. From Levuka we got the boat to Caqalai, a tiny island south of Ovalau, where we had booked ourselves in to a traditional bure (a little thatched hut). The island was lovely and we spent three days snorkelling, reading and relaxing.
It was then time to start making our way back across to Nadi to catch our flight to Christchurch. It was pretty much a full day of travelling to get to Fiji's second biggest city, Lautoka, from where we got a taxi to our accomodation in the Sabeto mountains, a great little place with absolutely stunning views. Again, we didn't really do much whilst there, it was nice just to sit and read and enjoy the view every now and then.
On to New Zealand...
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