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Published: September 11th 2006
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Tavewa Shoreline
Token palm-fringed shot We boarded the plane in Rarotonga for our short flight to Fiji at 01.30 on Saturday 5 August, and arrived in Nadi (on the main island of Viti Levu) at about 03.00 on Sunday 6 August. Losing a whole day is clumsy even for us.
The date line can really mess with your head if you think about it too much, but Fijians operate on ‘Fiji Time’ (i.e. whenever) so it was all pretty irrelevant.
No sooner had we touched down in Fiji then we were ushered in to the airport booking office for the place where we’d be spending our first few days in Fiji and invited to get a few hours shut-eye on their armchairs - very hospitable, the Fijians. First thing the next day we caught the Yawawa Flyer catamaran to the Yasawa Islands, a journey which took around 5 hours and stopped en route at several idyllic little islands, including Bounty Island: the rumoured location for this year’s ‘Celebrity Love Island’.
Eventually we arrived at tiny Tavewa Island and David’s Place. If we thought we were relaxed before we arrived here we were in for a shock. This may be the most chilled out
Tavewa Shoreline (again)
Looking over towards Nacula (our 2nd stop) place that either of us has ever been to. Like much of the accommodation on Fiji’s smaller islands, it’s run by a local village.
We were staying in one of several traditional-style bures (small thatched huts) scattered around a grassy coconut grove right next to the beach. We spent the next few blissful days snorkelling in the perfectly clear water, dozing in a swaying hammock and chatting with other guests in the communal dining hut. David’s Place is pretty basic by most people’s standards, but we had a fantastic time there. Ian and Jon: you’ll be disappointed to hear they’ve had electricity and Sky TV installed since your visit.
Unfortunately, day three came all too soon. This was the day we were transferring to nearby Nacula Island and more up-market accommodation. This was also the day that the weather took a dramatic turn. We awoke to persistent rain that soon became torrential and strong winds left coconuts and palm leaves strewn everywhere. As the day wore on, the sea got rougher and our pre-booked water taxi failed to show. Just as we decided that we should stay on dry land until the weather improved, our water taxi finally
arrived to take us on the short but nerve-racking crossing between the two islands! Not an experience we’d like to repeat.
Worse: the accommodation at Nacula may have had more facilities, but it didn’t have half the atmosphere of David’s Place and the dreary weather continued while we were there. So we spent our time reading, playing cards and doing a bit of sea kayaking.
A few days later we took the Yasawa Flyer back to Nadi - yet another rollercoaster ride on the lively South Seas. We arrived in Nadi windswept and hungry and headed out for a curry fix with a Kiwi couple we’d met at David’s Place (yum). The next day we headed to Suva, the Fijian capital and home to many Indo-Fijians….Mmmm, more curry! We didn’t see much of Suva because we arrived in the evening and all the advice was to take taxis at night, but it was definitely a change from the relaxing, island pace of life we’d got used to.
We left Suva after just one evening and early the next morning we took a taxi to the local airport for our flight to Ovalau Island (off the east coast
David's Place
Our bure amongst the coconut palms of Viti Levu). Despite a puncture and wheel change, our taxi got us to the airport where we boarded the smallest plane we’d ever seen. The flight lasted a whole 12 minutes, with us sitting right behind the pilot. After landing, we got on the Air Fiji minibus for Levuka, only to be stopped by a few minutes down the road by the second puncture of the day!
We were soon on our way again, past jungle covered mountains and tiny villages. Levuka (once the capital of Fiji) is a one street town, much of it appearing just as it did at the height of British colonial rule, right down to our hotel - the oldest in Fiji (think very ‘shabby chic’). Levuka was a nice change after 3 weeks of beaches. We wandered around the town exploring the colonial sights, greeted at every turn by a friendly “Bula” from the locals.
We had originally planned a few days on Caquelai (a tiny island close to Ovalau), but we couldn’t face the prospect of more bad beach weather, and we were pretty beached out by this point. So we headed back to Viti Levu, on an even tinier
twin-prop plane: just 10 seats including the pilot!
We had only one night left in Fiji and, somehow, we’d not managed to try Kava. Kava is a drink made from a plant root. It’s an important part of traditional, Fijian village life and should be drunk as part of a strict ceremonial practice.
If you drink enough of it, it has a mild narcotic effect beginning with tingly lips and it’s a must-do for anyone travelling in Fiji! So when we told the taxi drivers at our Nadi hostel that we’d still not tried it they were horrified and invited us along to one of their post-work Kava sessions…in a roadside shack opposite the hostel! They tried to teach us the finer points of Kava ceremonies, but the more Kava we had the more we struggled with it.
The next day, we flew out of Fiji a few days earlier than planned, which allowed us just a little more time for our epic Australian East Coast road trip.
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Mike
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Vic and Bob - tastic!
Oovavu indeed Rach and Rod! Did you see the dove from above on your travels? As ever, a good Blog. You always were good at talking a load of BoLOG's Rach.