Last day in Fiji

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Our plane back to New Zealand didn't leave till 8.30pm so we had all day to get from Suva to Nadi. On the way was a place called Kula Eco-park, just near Korotogo. It used to be a general bird park but now it has become a specialist collection of Fijian wildlife. There are still a few remnant exotics here (a macaw, cockatoos, peafowl and guineafowl) but for anyone who wants to see some native Fijian animals but who doesn't have the time or ability to find them wild, then this is a great place to come. It was a bit steep where the entry fee was concerned ($20) but we did get the distinct impression that the fee may have been "flexible". There are aviaries for barn owls, harriers, Fijian goshawks and peregrines, and walk-through ones for most of the native parrot species. There was also a male orange dove and male golden dove here, enabling me to get some close-up photos (after removing the web a spider had somehow spun between the lens and the lens cap!). Robyn's favourite animals were the fruit bats, and the iguanas and boas in the handling area.

There is (or was) another wildlife place nearer to Suva, called Orchid Island. We didn't go there because I'd read in a recent guide that it was pretty much derelict now, even though the staff at the entrance are happy to still take an entry fee from you. While at Kula we asked the guy on the desk about it. He said a few years back a big flood destroyed quite a bit of it and the rest is just steadily falling apart. Apparently taxi drivers continue to recommend it and to take tourists out there because the entry fee gets split with them!

The Suva airport really ticked me off. Almost without exception the shops in the departure lounges were staffed by Indians. Barely a Fijian in sight. Maybe they're not considered as trustworthy in airports as Muslims... It's unfortunate that visitors' last impressions of Fiji are provided not by Fijians but by Indians because they are often very rude or -- at best -- disinterested. We didn't meet a single rude Fijian anywhere but we met very many rude Indians. (We did meet a few nice Indians too, they were just heavily outnumbered by the not-so-nice ones).

The flight home was not the best either. The meal was a choice between crumbed fish or a meat pie. Seriously. It was almost as if Air New Zealand was taking the mickey. "I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen, we couldn't be bothered putting any effort into your meal tonight, so we just went down to Pak'n'Save and got the cheapest thing we could find."

However it was the first time I've ever come back into the country and not been hassled by customs. It was probably because I was travelling with Robyn instead of being alone. The customs lady provided a ending to match the travel agent girl who started our trip in Fiji. "Where did you stay in Fiji?" she asked. "On several different islands," says Robyn. "Did you go to Beachcomber Island?" "No, we avoided places like that." "Oh," she replies in a puzzled tone, "then where did you stay?". I think she thought that outside of the Yasawas and Mamanucas the whole of Fiji is just little villages full of cannibals.

And that was the end of our Fiji adventure.

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Photos

Fiji goshawk (Accipiter rufitorques) at Kula Eco-park
(all the photos on this page were taken at Kula)

Collared lory (Vini solitarius) at Kula Eco-park.
Kula is the Fijian name for this bird

Koro Island shining parrot (Prosopeia tabuensis koroensis)
(this was the name used at Kula, although this subspecies is now included in P.t.tabuensis)