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Published: March 7th 2018
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It has become apparent that the towels we were issued with on Saturday will not be changed. The humidity is 86% - once something gets wet, it stays wet. I can still see drops dripping from the towel I used after yesterday’s swim. I understand that they only get linen delivered once a week and that would be fine if we was staying in a Fijian hotel with Fijian prices. But the hotel is foreign owned and we are paying decidedly first world prices. It has put me in a bad mood. It’s going to be a long day.
First, the old man goes to see if the dive shop has managed to conjure up 3 more customers. Meanwhile, I will spend the morning swimming and reading. That pretty much covers the available activities at Wellesley Resort, until it’s no longer too early to drink.
This morning however, an exciting development; for the first time in 5 days, the sun comes out. I’m not sure how to deal with this upturn in events! Sunblock over insect repellent or vice versa? I don my wet costume, collect my wet towel and head for the pool. The decking has been blocked
off; it says ‘wet paint’ frankly it should say ‘wet everything’.
The dive isn’t on so we decide to visit the biggest village on the Coral Coast, Sigatoka. It has 2 claims to fame; sand dunes and a fort.
Today, the sand dunes (we don’t want to peak too soon and do both on one day). I’ve seen an exhibit about the dunes at the Fiji Museum. They are being eroded by the wind. They also contain one of the largest ancient burial sites in the Pacific, meaning that as the sand recedes skeletons appear.
The dunes are Fiji’s only National Park. A very friendly ranger shows us the route map. We opt for the shortest (one hour) loop. It’s a lovely walk over the dunes, across the beach and back through the mahogany forest planted to reduce the erosion. This is the highlight of the visit. The noise as we enter is tremendous. At first we think it’s birds but realise the tree tops are home to thousands of bats, hanging upside down stretching their wings in the sun.
We return via Sigatoka. Lonely planet recommends a good seafood restaurant for lunch, but is it
has closed down. Luckily the lady who works on the spot it once stood gives us directions to its new location 20 miles away.
It’s completely empty, which is not surprising bearing in mind how difficult it was to find, but a shame because it’s in a great spot overlooking a bay with the waves breaking on the coral in the background.
We order food, it takes an age. 45 minutes later our dhal soup and fish curry arrive. It’s essentially the same thing only one has bits of fish added, and cucumber. I’ve never had cucumber in a curry before. I can see why it hasn’t caught on. In an ironic twist, it takes longer to cook than it takes to make a sudden and not altogether expected reemergence.
Another exciting development when we return to the hotel, my towel is dry for the first time in 5 days. It takes a while to locate and retrieve; it has fallen off the wall where I left it into a large bush next door. Finally, if a little gingerly (follow the curry reemergence issue) I can use our private pool for something other than watching how much
rain can bounce.
We end the day with Fijian beer and chilli chicken pies from the excellent Hot Bread Kitchen rounded off with watching sunset and rugby training on the beach.
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