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Levuka
The main street It has been family season recently in Suva for the AYADs - not a week has gone by without someone’s parents, sister, brother, cousin etc visiting from home. Our first visitor from home was Ed’s mum, Kathie, who was here a few weeks ago. After a couple of days sightseeing in Suva we headed northeast to Ovalau, a small island off Viti Levu that is home to the old capital of Fiji, Levuka. Levuka is an old colonial town with a gorgeous main street and some fantastic buildings around the place; the Levuka Club and an old Masonic temple that was burnt down during the coup are a couple of examples. The place in which we stayed was fabulous - the Levuka Homestay, a small but gorgeous and homey bed and breakfast run by John and Marilyn, a very welcoming Aussie couple.
Now bear with me for a moment while I remember the breakfast. Aah, the breakfast. It was probably the most amazing breakfast I’ve ever had, anywhere, and Ed would agree. We had fresh fruit, home-made muesli, toast, cheese, tomato, a home-made apple and chilli relish, fruit frappes, home-made lemon and passionfruit butter, and the most incredible banana pancakes
Levuka
A methodist church, with stunning backdrop with maple syrup. Then when we had finally undone our top buttons, and then every other button, and stared longingly at the last banana pancake while Kathie stared agog at the amount of food that had vanished from our plates, John waltzed over and asked, “So how would you like your eggs?” We summoned up more stomach space and continued with poached eggs and bacon, before finally pushing our chairs back and crying defeat to stop Marilyn dishing up yet more banana pancakes. The next morning we were better prepared, pacing ourselves in anticipation of each dish, and for weeks after we spoke of nothing but the incredible Levuka breakfast. “So Julia, how was Levuka?” “Well, let me tell you about the breakfast…”
The first day we took Epi’s tour, where local resident Epi takes you up into the village of Lovoni which sits in the crater of Ovalau. It absolutely bucketed rain for most of the day, so we sat and listened to meandering and entertaining stories of local history while waiting for lunch to be prepared. Ed and Kathie’s ears pricked up at mention of the missionary Frederick Langham, who played a pivotal role in tricking the
Lovoni villagers to surrender their town after much fighting - whether Langham was a knowing traitor or just a pawn in someone else’s plan is still up for debate.
Finally the rain relented just long enough for us to head off on a walk through the surrounding bush. Along the way we were regaled with Epi’s informative tips on natural remedies, such as how to stop bleeding, cure asthma, find water and treat constipation (eat two pawpaws and drink a glass of water if you’re interested). The following day we headed to Caqelai (pronounced ‘Thangalai’) for a bit of island relaxing. It’s a cute little island that is fantastically cheap, making it a great weekender from Suva. Sadly Ed and I had only a night there, returning to Suva the next day and leaving Kathie to enjoy the snorkelling.
The next weekend the three of us took off again, this time for a slightly more traditional Fijian island getaway. We headed to Beqa, a beautiful island south of Suva, and stayed at the Lawaki Beach House, a cute little set-up with a dorm and two bure - room for ten guests. Lawaki is now possibly my favourite holiday
Levuka
Kathie and just some of the fabulous breakfast! destination in Fiji, thanks to the fantastic snorkelling, probably the best I’ve seen yet. Normally the generator only runs between 6:45pm and 10:30pm, but Ed and I payed a few dollars extra to have it turned on at 7am one morning so we could catch a World Cup semi-final match. Apart from the early start, we had a very relaxing time, reading books, snoozing, playing badminton and cricket, and taking a walk up the large hill behind the beach house where the beautiful view was right across to the edge of Beqa Lagoon.
As for night life, there have been some entertaining parties recently - a wrong party (come dressed in something wrong), a masquerade party, and most recently our house party on Friday night - a second housewarming to welcome Jeremie. In hindsight, staying up until 5:30am before having to get up at 8 and roam the streets shaking a can for the Red Cross Door Knock Appeal was perhaps not such a great idea. See pics for some house party frivolity.
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Amy
non-member comment
London just can't compare..
Hi julia and Ed, just read the last 5 entries or so to get a catch up on what you have both been up to. Sounds fantastic! Congrats on the rugby job julia, should be good to go home for a bit. I will still be here in london otherwise would have loved to have seen you. Keep the blgs going, i love the photos. love amy x