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Published: December 6th 2007
Kula Eco Park, Korotogo
Seriously, is there something on my head?After much delaying and postponing, we've finally sat down seven weeks into our trip to begin our travel blog. Well, I guess better late than never...
So on October the 19th we were driving through New Westminster on our way to the airport (running a bit late as usual) when a news flash on the radio informed us that a plane had crashed into an apartment building in Richmond! Much panicking ensued, as we both assumed that there was no way in hell that we would be flying anywhere that evening. Not only that, but it's hard to want to fly immediately after hearing of a crash. Images of road and airport closures flashed through our minds, but to our surprise everything remained open. It was very kind of the airport staff to run continuous footage of the crash site on the TV screens in the waiting area, very relaxing and reassuring when you're waiting for a flight!
The flight itself was a very long 15 hour experience, including a 1 hour layover at 1 am in Honolulu. We just kept reminding ourselves of the marathon 40 hour bus ride from Vancouver to Tijuana that we had taken 3
years ago, and it seemed to make the flight go by more quickly. Sadly, we never got to ride the famed Wiki Wiki train in the Honolulu airport, since we filed off the plane, sat around for an hour, then got back on. Andy made it a point on our flight to sample both of Fiji's beers (Fiji Gold and Fiji Bitter) before we arrived, so that he could be prepared, he called it his pre-trip research. And somehow during the flight, impossibly it seems, we managed to lose a day. We're actually a day ahead so we're technically living in the future, even though we'd just come from the past. Must be something to do with the fact that my dad has always said Andy's living in a time warp.
We arrived in Nadi at 5:20 am on Oct. 21st and were welcomed to 'Fiji Time' after waiting for 2 hours for our prearranged airport pickup. Our first impressions of Fiji were great; beautiful, hot, humid and tropical, with the calls of strange birds surrounding us. It's really quite undeveloped, and the average home is either a small, colourful concrete house, or a traditional hut called a bure.
Relaxing in Suva
Fiji ad campaign gone terribly wrong... There were loads of vintage cars, and lots of Datsuns too. The landscape reminded us of Belize a little bit. Our second impression was that everyone was really, really friendly in Fiji. It is impossible to walk down the street without having most people that you pass greet you with a boisterous 'Bula!' and a grin.
We checked into an interesting hotel, the Aquarius Fiji, with an amazing location in New Town beach, about 2 km outside of Nadi town. Just below our balcony there was a small swimming pool surrounded with palm trees, hammocks, and tables for eating or relaxing at. Oh and did I mention the gorgeous ocean views too? However there were some small friends included in the deal. After showering I started to towel myself off and discovered that all of our towels were infested with tiny bloodthirsty ants. The following morning I woke up to find bites all over me, and a nice fat bed bug in our bed, apparently he was too full to run away. I guess I was the 'lucky' one, since Andy got away with nothing, but I told him it's because I'm the sweeter one. Either that or just
Nananu-I-Ra
I'm confused, this doesn't look like the Fraser river. unlucky...
We spent the next day exploring the main drag and shops of Nadi, and while looking around we were escorted into a shop to join a Kava ceremony with some locals. Kava is a ceremonial drink made from an infusion of a type of pepper plant, and can be used to welcome visitors. It's mixed in a large wooden bowl called a tanoa, and small cups are passed in turn to everyone seated in a circle. It looks a bit like muddy water, tastes herbal and has a slight lip numbing effect. As we left the shop, we passed a girl being escorted in, looking a bit worried. As we passed, we told her to enjoy the ceremony, and with a panic stricken look she replied 'There's a ceremony?!'. From there we also toured the local market and checked out the bus schedule for our next destination, the Coral Coast, where we could enjoy Fiji's crystal clear waters.
The next day we caught a local bus and after a bumpy 3 hour ride over rolling grassy hills, through small villages and past beautiful turquoise coastline, we arrived in Korotogo on Oct. 23rd. After a short walk, we
Nananu-I-Ra
A spectacular view found a room at a large old white mansion-like hotel owned by an interesting Egyptian man. Our room was huge, much larger than our former ghetto apartment, and also smelled much better. We enjoyed two long days lounging on the beach and eating delicious coconut and curry dishes at the local restaurants. Sea cucumber is a specialty here, apparently it's an acquired taste, and I've decided not to acquire it, after seeing the cucumbers in the ocean and mistaking them for large pieces of dirty rope. A highlight of our Korotogo visit was touring the Kula Eco park, which showcased local birds, iguanas, and snakes and included a canopy walk through an area of untouched jungle. There we were able to hold a baby boa constrictor, which was very silky, and several iguanas.
From Korotogo, it was only a short ride into the capital city of Suva. Ahh Suva, with it's noisy dirty streets, and lively, friendly people. What's not to like, or dislike for that matter. It's a place that truly seems to grow on you after a few days of exploring it's winding, unevenly cobbled streets. The Fiji museum there is great, with lots of information about
Nananu-I-Ra
Enjoying the unVancouver-like weather! indigenous Fijian culture and the large handicraft market near the bus station is not to be missed. We enjoyed beautiful hot weather and periods of warm heavy rain too, which would come from nowhere. The weather was warm enough to be outside, soaking wet in shorts and a t-shirt, and still not be cold. The temperature remained in the high 20's even when it rained.
Since our Fiji visit was 11 days long, we decided that our only chance to experience a Fijian island was to take a bus north from Suva to Rakiraki, and then a 15 minute boat trip to a beautiful and tiny island called Nananu-I-Ra, located just offshore. The bus trip was a real eye opener. The route went deep into the Fijian highlands through lush green jungled hills and the truly exciting part began when we reached the unpaved section of the highway. Dust poured through the open windows as the bus climbed along a narrow one lane dirt path. At times it seemed that the bus would tilt much too far to the side, and that we were doomed to plummet into the rivers or gorges below. After arriving safely, Andy patted me
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Get your papayas here, fresh and juicy! on the back to celebrate our survival and I looked a bit like Pigpen from Peanuts, with a cloud of dust floating around me. It turned out that we were lucky, and our experience had been the best case scenario. Two German travellers that we met the next day told us how during their bus ride, after a period of rain, the roads had been very slick and muddy, and some sections had washed out. Their bus had broken an axle and slid off the road, injuring and bruising quite a few people. Some people had to be transported to the hospital, while the others waited at the roadside for a few hours until another bus could reach them to finish their epic adventure!
It was great to get out of the city before having to return to Nadi to catch our flight to Australia. There are basically three things to do on Nananu-I-Ra: eat, sleep, swim and then do them all over again. So we spent the better part of three days lounging in the sun and eating papayas from trees we found growing near the beach and coconuts that were washing up on the shoreline (don't know
Nananu-I-Ra
Psychedelic Fijian beetles whose they were but they tasted great). Then we would swim, sit on the beach, and swim some more. The best part was that we had the whole massive beach all to ourselves, it felt as though we lived on our own desert island! It was a perfect way to spend our last few days in Fiji. On Oct. 30th we left Nananu-I-Ra and returned to Nadi for one night, then caught the plane to our next destination, Australia.
In eleven days we completed a loop around the whole island of Viti Levu, in total about 12 hours of riding the local buses. We visited Nadi, Korotogo, Suva, and Nananu-I-Ra, then returned to Nadi. Andy managed to not smoke the whole time, however he says he's huffed enough bus diesel smoke to make up for 10 packs. Things we'll miss include: white sandy beaches, delicious fresh fruit, the world's friendliest people, Fiji Bitter, beautiful bright printed dresses, coconut lolo, and curries.
But on the bright side, next stop...Sydney!
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Lisa
non-member comment
Enjoyed reading of your adventures...it's the closest I'll get to travels of my own for some time! Great pics, too. Owen looked at the one of Andy with the papaya boobs, and asked, "Does that man have boobies?" Looking forward to your next entry! Take care! Lisa