I know, I know, once again, Long time, No update!
My excuse this time is I was busy being homeless--- ie, all my stuff in my car, living with my boss temporarily, then living in a hotel temporarily, starting my job and getting ill all at the same time. I'm now healthy (I think) and moved permanently (well, til end- March) in my own place, and now with internet! So time to post about my amazing trip to Fiji in August!
This Fiji trip was pretty last minute, since the NZ Dept of Immigration liked to take their sweet-ass time getting my passport and updated work visa back to me. I booked the flights about 2 weeks before the trip (!) and found a guided tour called "FeeJee Experience" to take me around and show me all the sights!
I've got heaps of amazing pictures so I'll keep the background reading minimal.
Fiji is a group of 333 islands in the South Pacific Ocean, most of these islands volcanic-formed. The total population is around 837,000 people. It's ethnicity is varied, as Fijians make up 56% of the population, and Indians make up 37%. The main island is Viti Levu, which is where I spent my 4.5 days.
So, on a Friday morning, I took the Interislander Ferry from the South Island to the North Island. Friday night I met up with Dave, Pete, and Lyndsay, three of my great Wellington friends. Saturday i drove all the way up the North Island to Auckland. Sunday I took a plane from Auckland, NZ to Nadi, Fiji!
Nadi (pronounced "NAAN-dee") is the start and finish of all tourist destinations. Not much to do other than eat and sleep here and catch your flights. But I did manage to walk 20 minutes from my hostel to see my first glimpse of the beaches of Fiji...
and my First Fiji Sunset.
The next day this "FeeJee Experience" van picked me and two other travellers up from our hostels. Over the next four days we'd do a whirlwind tour of the sights and cultural experiences if the main island of Fiji, Viti Levu.
Here I am relaxing outside the van with Zena, a groovy gal from the UK that had been backpacking the world for the past 5 months! Amazing!
This is Kay. He was our tourguide, born and raised in Fiji. Knowledgeable, organized, but also fun and friendly!
Here was the map of our itinerary. We started at Nadi and worked our way counterclockwise.
This picture goes out to Jenn. She is infatuated with the "one sticking out palm tree" that you see from all the postcards of tropical places. Saw this tree on Day #1 and thought of you, Jenn! :)
Here is the Sri Siva Subramaniya temple, the largest Hindu temple in the Southern hemisphere.
We had a picnic lunch at Natadola Beach. Some say this is the prettiest beach in Fiji. It was an overcast day, so we weren't too impressed, but this was a zillion times better than a day at work ! The locals were offering horseback rides on the beach.
Next was time to see some Fiji culture. Our tourguide showed us a brief walking tour of Malomalo Village, a traditional Fiji neighborhood.
The village church. Men sit on one side, women on the other.
No organ, no piano. Apparently their a cappella singing on Sundays is phenomenal.
Some of the houses. Nothing fancy.
The villages are pretty self sufficient with regards to supplies. Fruits/veggies/eggs all harvested here, the men go to the sea to fish---- they may only visit a store to buy sugar or some special ingredient.
This used to be the chief's hut. He no longer lives here (the chief may be in charge of a few villages). Here we are with a village elder and some cute and curious village children.
It is customary for visitors to the village to wear sarongs. Also hats and sunglasses aren't allowed--- covering any part of the face/head is a sign of disrespect.
Here is a photo inside the chief's hut. Most of the structure is made from parts of the coconut tree! Bark, fronds, leaves woven together for the floor mat, coconut fibers to tie things together.... no nails necessary!
Any idea what this may be?
No, not a Lincoln Log, but a Pillow! Yes. Kay commented on how comfortable it was. We tried it out and disagreed. :)
After a bit of culture, it was time for some adventure! Our van drove us to the bottom of this super-tall sand dune.
Then Kay got some boogie boards out of the back of the van, and gave us a 30 second sandboarding lesson-- "hands on the front, head to the side (so you don't inhale sand), and drag your feet if you wanna slow down".
Then we climbed up that bad boy hill, and down we came!
Super scary at first, but then super fun! Pretty much the island equivalent of sledding :)
After all that excitement for the day, we reached our accomodation for the night, Mango Bay Resort. Check it out, this was my private hut!
My 2nd sunset in Fiji.
That evening we were also welcomed to the resort with a Kava ceremony. Kava is a root plant and is ground up into powder, placed in a cloth sack and brewed in water to make a murky beverage that is used for celebrations and special events. The whole ceremony is quite traditional, where the bowl is prepared, and a when a cup is handed to you to drink, you must clap and say "Bula!" (the traditional Fiji greeting, kind of like 'aloha', meaning "hello", "goodbye", "cheers", etc). The beverage has relaxing powers when drunk in large quantities. I noticed my lips tingling with the first cup, but nothing else. It pretty much tasted like starchy potato water.
Day 2 of the tour was a Jungle Trek! We picked up some local teenagers who led our hike. To get into the jungle, we ditched our van and piled in the back of a pickup truck. Here are Zena and I holding on for dear life on the bumpy ride into the jungle!
We were warned it would be muddy and we'd get wet up to our knees.
There were some crafty, primitive bridges in some parts.
Kay made us fancy fern hats to keep the bugs away :)
After about 90 minutes of walking, we arrived to this amazing waterfall and pool. Time for a swim!
Daniel, the other guy in our group, had a waterproof camera-- we took advantage of it, swam to underneath the waterfall and took this photo! How fun! (I was squinting big time as I really didn't feel like losing my contact lenses!)
The local teens that were our tourguides did the whole hike barefoot. They also quickly climbed to the top of the rocks and started jumping down into the pool. A few courageous boys used the rope swing and swung to jump in. Obviously they've done this before, probably since they were little! Zena, Daniel and I were quite skeptical/scared. Daniel got the guts to take the first leap off the rocks. He survived, so I went next!
Sploosh! Probably the scariest thing I've done since bungy-jumping. But exhilirating for sure!
Once again, mad props to Daniel and his waterproof camera, this time using "burst" mode :)
After our waterfall fun, we had to hike down a series of mini rock pools. This was too good of a photo opportunity to pass up!
Nothing says sexy like wearing sneakers with a bikini! :)
We hiked from the waterfalls to this stream where a boat was supposed to take us back to our van.
No boat here!
So we walked til we found it :)
Then, a nice relaxing jungle boat ride to end our day's adventures.
Our accomdation for the 2nd night of the tour was at Uprising Resort. Check out my beachfront bure!!
This was the view from my porch!
My shower was outside. It had no roof. I'm normally a morning shower girl, but purposefully took one the first night. What an INCREDIBLE feeling to shower under the stars!
I spent the afternoon relaxing on my porch reading, having a coffee, and soaking up the sights and sounds of the beach. Bliss!
Later that afternoon, our huge tour group (aka the three of us plus our guide) met up for an early evening walk. Kay borrowed a machete from the resort and cut a coconut down for me for a snack. Mmmm.
Frog on the beach!
I just about missed it, but here's Fiji Sunset #3.
Day 3 of the tour started out with a quick driving tour through Suva, the capital. Here's the Governor General's Mansion.
The gate to the mansion is wide open, but there's a guard out in front. Kay assured us the guide didn't mind being part of tourist photos. Here we are, with Laura, the new addition to our tour group!
Here's the TFL National Stadium, where all the important Fijian sporting events take place.
Later that afternoon we cruised up the inland road on the east coast and visited Wailotua village.
This is the meeting house of the village.
We were warmly welcomed with wreath/lei-type things from the locals!
They had a sevusevu traditional kava ceremony just for our arrival! Afterwards, we were officially "welcome" in the village.
Here's Zena drinking a bowl of kava. I forgot to mention, you must drink it all in one go--- no sipping, no stopping!
After our ceremony, the locals took us for a ride down the Sigatoka River on bilibili rafts, made from bamboo.
At first we were sitting and relaxing...
Then we had to help paddle.
We let the locals take our cameras for some action shots from the hill. Here we are racing the other raft--- a bamboo shoot does not make the most effective paddle!
Afterwards, we went back to the meeting house where the local children performed some songs for us. They were full of rhythm and energy!
The day ended with some lively dancing with the locals. What a wild, festive experience full of Fiji culture!
On the long drive to our night's accomodation, we stopped at a roadside produce stand. My bargain purchase was all these cucumbers for one Fiji Dollar (53 US cents!).
I enjoyed trying some of the local culinary treats and snacks.
These "Peanut Ruffs" were kind of like Peanut Butter flavored cheese balls, minus the cheese.
This is kokonda--- similar to ceviche. White fish marinated/cooked in lime juice, then tomatoes, onions, peppers and coconut milk added. And always served in a coconut shell. I would eat this every day if I could. :)
Chocolate isn't that big here, probably because it's so hot/humid all the time! But I did find these "Choki" sticks--- basically a snack-sized tube of chocolate paste. It ain't no Nutella, but it satisfied my chocolate fix. :)
Our next stop was VoliVoli Beach, pretty much the Northern tip of the Island, and our accomodation for Night #3 of our 4-day tour.
My jungle hut for the night! So lush :)
Fiji Sunset #4. Complete with boat and small island.
Day #4, our last of the tour, was a bit cultural and a bit relaxing. First, to highlight how important the Indians are in Fiji culture, we visited this super tiny Indo-Fiji bed and breakfast sort of place. It's hard to describe, as it was in the middle of nowhere and not in a tourist location at all. But here, we learned how to roll and bake our own roti bread! Here's me, hard at work, rollin.....
Then bakin my bread over an open fire! Fun stuff!
We had a beautiful spread of Indo-Fijian food to enjoy with our roti. Yum.
After our hearty lunch, our next-to-last stop on the tour was here.
It was a thermal mud pool at one of the villages! We got in and got ourselves dirty. :)
Here's Zena, Daniel and myself, soaking up all the therapeutic qualities of the mud!
Scary sight, I know :)
Right next door was a super warm thermal pool, where we were sent to get clean again.
Our final stop of the tour was a short visit to an orphanage just outside of Nadi. We brought them some school supplies and toiletries and got to visit with some of the children. Many of them had cerebral palsy and severe motor development problems. But full of life and beauty, like this girl!
The tour was then complete- our van dropped us off at a hostel in Nadi, where I stayed the night and woke up super early the next morning for my flight back to New Zealand. I was really glad I was able to see the highlights of Fiji, especially the cultural parts which may be missed if one just decides to stay put at one resort. It was a whirlwind tour full of adventure, laughs, and memories!
Until next time, Bula!
