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Published: February 5th 2014
Wednesday 29
th We catch the 6.30am bus to the airport and all goes smoothly and we fly to Sydney. We change terminals and go to book in with Air Pacific for our onward flight to Fiji.
We then find that there’s a problem. Our Agent hasn’t issued us any tickets for the flight and they won’t let us on ! After a lot of talking they agree to sell us new tickets to Fiji and then on to New Zealand. We have to pay again for the flights and hope our Agent refunds the cost, I’m not hopeful.
Finally we take off and say goodbye to Australia after four wonderful months.
The plane’s new but it seems the airline spent all their money on it as the in flight meal is a chicken burger and two biscuits ! They even charge us for watching the films.
After 4 hours we arrive in the dark and pouring rain. We get our taxi to our hotel which seems to be in the middle of no where, but as it’s so dark we don’t really know. The staff are incredibly friendly and have kept the restaurant open for us.
We are the only diners at 8.30 !
Still we’re here and will sort things out in the morning.
Thursday 30
th The rain pours down all night and wakes us several times. In the morning we can hardly see out for the rain and clouds.
We decide to take a taxi into Nadi town for breakfast and hear that the town flooded overnight. We see that most shops are closed and many owners are moving their goods upstairs and boarding up the shop fronts as more flooding is expected.
After a strange breakfast of poached eggs, banana and salad we go in search of the bus station but can't find any information or the timetable. We give up and have a look around. Fiji is very 3
rd world.
A policeman then sees us looking at our book and asks if he can help. I tell him about the bus problem and he marches us to the bus station and get a chap to provide us with the timetable.
We go back to the hotel and watch the rain. At lunch time the hotel tell me where I can get another dongle and off
I go to Vodaphone where a helpful chap sets me up.
We spend the afternoon reading on the balcony watching more rain fall ! We decide to hire a car rather than struggle with our bags in the rain which is forecast till the weekend.
After some research I talk the the hotel tour guide who contacts a “man” who will show me some rental cars. The man asks how much I want to pay and shows me a vehicle to match. It’s not new and hasn’t been for several years but it’ll do, if it doesn’t break down.
To celebrate our freedom we drive to Port Denereau and find it’s a purpose built port for the wealthy. Nothing like the real Fiji. We have dinner and return. It’s not the sort of place I’ve come to see.
Friday 31
st We wake to sunshine ! After a quick breakfast we hit the road and our first stop is in Nadi town to top up with cash as there aren’t many ATM’s around. As soon as we get out of the car we are approached by a “Tour Guide” offering us cheap tours or deals which
we decline. Everyone we pass says “Bula” or hello, they’re all so friendly.
The drive’s very easy and we pass green rolling hills and palm trees along the road. There are people on the road with tables trying to sell fruit. It’s all very similar to Malayasia.
Finally we turn off and head down towards Natadola Beach, supposedly the best beach on the main island. We’re right on the beach and can hear the waves breaking.
After a walk along the beach we are approached by “Tour Guide” George who offers to show us around his village, not for nothing naturally. We tell him we’ll see him after lunch and he’s waiting for us as arranged.
He takes us to Sanasana village just along the beach. It has a population of about 400. The myth of Fijeans living in straw huts and wearing grass skirts is firmly dispelled. The buildings are tin or block work with tin roofs and they wear jeans and Nike T shirts. The grass skirt stuff is firmly for the tourist shows, but it is very 3
rd world. No paths or roads between building and all very very poor.
We spend
the rest of the afternoon in the sea which is bath warm and then around the pool.
I feel strangely at odds with myself. We’re staying in a posh resort with all the trappings and I’m now a tourist and not a traveler and it doesn’t feel right.
Saturday 1
st There’s something to be said for beach side accommodation --------- noisy ! We hear the waves all night long crashing into the shore.
Good news first thing when we get an email from the travel agents agreeing to refund the cost of our flights.
We set off and shortly arrive at Sigatoka, a fairly large town. We have a look around and go to the market and then get talking to an elderly couple over coffee.
A few yards up the road we turn off for Tavuni Hill Fort. After about hundred yards we discover the road’s more suitable for a JCB than our old hire car. We plod on carefully and I stop a car coming the other way and ask how much further. The driver says no more than 1 K. We weren’t to know he has no idea of distances and
15 mins later we’re still not there.
Eventually and a lot further than 1 K we find it. We pay to go in and get a self guided leaflet. It’s a hill top fort built in 1800 by a Tongan Chief who fled to Fiji. Eventually the British made him surrender.
We follow the path and look at the numbered sites. They’re all just piles of stones and could be anything ! There’s nothing to look at all.
We climb to the top of the hill ( nothing there) and get a wonderful view of the countryside and green hills and valleys.
The awful drive’s been worth it just for the view.
We continue on and arrive at Korotogo a resort at the start of the Coral Coast. We book into the New Crow’s Nest Resort and get a split level apartment just across from the beach and with a balcony overlooking palm trees and the sea. A wonderful place to stop and only £42 for the night.
We lunch on the balcony and have fresh pineapple bought at the market for 50p.
Later we paddle in the sea and see lots of
dead coral, blue star fish and a type of sea snake. I decide to wade out to talk to some fisher women. It takes me 20 mins to get to them only to find their not fishing but collecting shells and not very talkative. Another 20 mins to get back !
We spend the rest of the afternoon around the pool and have a great meal of fish chowder followed by scallops later. It’s been a wonderful place to stay and we may come back later in the week.
Sunday 2
nd Over breakfast of banana pancakes and looking out at the sea we decide to stay 3 more nights and use the place as a base for going out.
We drive out for a 70 K visit to Pacific Harbour further around the Coral Coast. I misread the “last petrol before “ sign and after 45 K the petrol light comes on ! We spend the next 45 mins nervously watching the petrol gauge as we chug up the hills and coast down the other side. We arrive on vapour and take on fuel.
There’s no a lot to be seen at Pacific Harbour and
we’re pleased we decided not to move up here.
We walk round a tourist shop and buy our first souveniers of the trip, a Fijian battle axe and a figure. Some how we’ll have to post them home.
The drive back takes us along a pretty section of the coast where the sea breaks over the coral a few hundred yards off shore and forms a lagoon.
We spend the rest of the afternoon in and around the pool, it’s really hot and sunny. In the evening we share a dinner table with the couple in the apartment next to us, Ed and David. A middle aged gay couple who have just got “married”. They’re good fun !
Monday 3
rd We are picked up at 8am for our white water rafting trip. There are a coach load of people and we think there’s going to be a lot of us until we discover there will only be 4, the rest are going on a village trip.
The coach ride takes two and a half hours to reach the drop off point and then we have another one and a half hour overland trip. We’re
going way into the interior and along unmade tracks. It’s a rough ride and we pass many isolated villages and the driver explains that these people live off the land. They look extremley poor and we see some washing their clothes in the river. There’s no electricity either. The driver also explains that these people were cannibals in the past.
The scenery is of dense very green jungle.
Eventually we reach our drop off area and we walk down to the river and don our life jackets and helmets and then get a safety briefing from Moses our guide.
Just before we start off the clouds open and it rains, we’re going to get wet anyway !
We immediately start rushing down stream and spinning and hurtling through the rapids. The currents quite strong after the recent rain. As we hit one rapid we suddenly spin and stop against the rocks and Christine misses her grip and falls backward out of the raft. Luckily nothing more than her pride is hurt and a bruise to come on her bottom !
We pass wonderful dense jungle and deep gorges with high water falls. An hour and
a half later we come to a very high water fall and we stop and go see. The other couple go for a swim but we just watch. We’re wet enough already.
Eventually we run out of rapids and our rafting is over. We have a picnic lunch in the rain before we get into a motorised long boat for another 45 min run down stream. We continue to pass thick jungle and the odd village and people working on the slopes of the steep hills. Many have lost their crops in landslides after the recent heavy rainfall.
We reach base and change into dry clothes before the two hour ride back. It’s been a fun day.
In the evening we walk out to a nearby little restaurant and on the way back in the total dark we get a good view of all the stars.
Tuesday 4
th A glorious sunny and hot day and we spend it lazing around on the balcony and by the pool.
My swimming’s improving and sometimes Christine lets me beat her in our races.
Wednesday 5
th We leave this morning to go back to Nandi and stop off on the way at Sigatoka to stock up with a few supplies as we leave to go island hopping tomorrow. We’ve been warned that the meals on the islands are fairly small and basic and to take a few snacks.
We visit the little supermarket and all we can get are biscuits and crisps.
We arrive back at our first hotel and unload and I return the hire car.
We spend the afternoon repacking our rucksacks and then go round the pool for a few hours. It’s a very hot and sunny day.
An early night as we leave at 7.15am for the ferry boat.
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David Howell
non-member comment
Great
Hi Christine, Hi Steve As usual, I enjoyed your blog and the pictures. This one was particularly interesting. Just one point - that's a great picture of the view from the fort but couldn't you have asked those damn tourists to move out of the way? Just askin'.