Colo-i-Suva, Fiji

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IT IS 27TH OCTOBER, WE ARE IN LEVUKA ON OVALAU ISLAND, FIJI. WE ARE ONLINE AGAIN AFTER 6 DAYS SO WE CAN NOW SEND THE BLOGS WRITTEN PREVIOUSLY!

Colo-I-Suva Forest Wednesday 22nd October 2008

We have been in Fiji for one week now and have seen more rain than we get in a year on the Costa Blanca. We are in Colo-I-Suva forest, about 10 kilometres north of Suva. It is beautiful despite the fact that the “rainy season” which normally starts in about the middle of November seems to have arrived prematurely. We are on the eastern side of the island of Viti Levu, which is known to be wetter anyway. This morning, in boots and kagoules we set off to hike through the rainforest; we were heading for a waterfall but we gave up and retraced our steps back to the lodge where we are staying because it was too torrential and slippery; we were walking under what felt like a waterfall anyway. We have a nice double room by a lake (my son Dan would love it because it is 110 feet deep in the middle and has carp as well as other fish). The shared loos and shower block are really clean and there is a covered walkway to get to them so one doesn’t get an extra shower on the way to the showers! We are glad we bought mosquito nets with us, however, because they are not provided and the insects here are nasty little buggers. The moths are enormous and the stick insects are about one foot long. I have loads of bites despite lots of Deet spray, mosquito nets, coils and keeping as much skin covered as possible. John has only a few but then he never gets as many as I do anyway. The rainforest is quite spectacular and the food is excellent. We are staying here another night then tomorrow we are off to Leuleuvia Island just south of Ovalau (east coast, Lomaiviti group of islands). The boat crossing is about an hour so we are hoping it doesn’t rain too much and to get to the landing will entail two bus journeys and some walking with the packs on so some dry weather in the morning will be greatly welcomed! In the meantime, for the rest of today, its feet up, book reading and watching the rain because it doesn’t look like stopping. We’ve been without power here at Rain Tree Lodge (what an appropriate name) for six hours now so might as well chill out and get the reading in before it gets dark! There is no internet access so this blog will be sent at a later date.

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Photos

Colo-i-Suva forest
Raintree Lodge, beautiful place to stay.

Arrived at Raintree Lodge
Wet and weary and ready for lunch!

Essential mossie nets
In the Fijian rainforest the mosquitoes are huge warlike creatures who love English blood!

12 inch long stick insect
It must be all this rain that makes everything grow so big!

Rain on the lake
Everything is soaking wet - but it is SO beautiful!

Lillies
Lillies on the pond outside our deck