Blogs from Ovalau, Fiji, Oceania

Well, on Friday, I sent out on my first weekend adventure. I made my way down to the Patterson Shipping company office because they operate the ferry boat that travels to Levuka. Levuka is the first capital of Fiji and has some great historical buildings so I decided to make it a weekend trip. Well, like everything else in Fiji, time is not the most important. The bus was supposed to pick up at 1:30. At about 1:45, it drove by jam packed with people. We are then told that a second bus is on its way. At 2:30, we find out, that bus forgot to stop for us. The company calls for another bus and around 3 pm we're finally on our way. This bus is one step up from my typical daily town bus...it ... read more

(Day 735 on the road) "This bus is alwayson Fiji-time, mister!" The young Indian woman gave me her widest smile, exposing her perfect teeth. I was in the predominantly Indian village of Tavalu on Viti Levu's northern coast, Fiji's main island, waiting for the local bus heading east. After my disappointing stay on partying Mana Island it was time to dig a little deeper and search for the "real" Fiji. As many visitors to Fiji stay around the city of Nadi (where the international airport is located) and the adjacent islands of the Mamanucas and the Yasawas, chances were good that the rest of the country would be blissfully devoid of many visitors. Before I start however a word on my last blog entry about my second anniversary of travelling: Thank you all for the countless ... read more

I have been unable to get online so haven’t been able to send any of my blogs for over one week so what follows is the backlog! Before that, however, I have a message for my cousin, Veronica in the USA: I was SO delighted to get your email through the travel blog and hear all of your news after so many years. Unfortunately, my replies to you keep getting sent back so if you have another email address please can you send another message. I would love to get in touch. Now for the journal… Levuka, Ovalau Island, Fiji Tuesday 28th October 2008 The journey from Leleuvia to Levuka on the small open boat was quite rough. Close to the islands and within the coral reefs the water was calm, clear and smooth but as ... read more

Leleuvia Island Friday 24th October 2008 Yesterday we journeyed here to Leleuvia and are staying three nights until Sunday. The journey was quite an experience. We left Rain Tree Lodge at 8 a.m. and got a bus to Nausori. The bus was full of local children going to different schools so it detoured to different villages; this was great because we saw so much of the local culture, the kids, some as young as six and travelling alone, were so polite and well behaved (very different to hoards of English or Spanish schoolchildren) and the countryside was stunningly beautiful. It wasn’t raining! Yet again, we were the only white faces on the bus (the young backpackers at Rain Tree had hired cars, which are quite expensive in Fiji) and our recommendation to anyone coming here is ... read more

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 ... read more