The Fijian Islands

The Fijian Islands are one of those places I never expected to get to before I was 40 and married. Yet, as luck would have it, I did a brief stint in acting, got a part in a play with the Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre Company and we were invited to perform for the Shakespeare Congress in Brisbane, Australia. Quantas, the lovely carrier of all visitors to Down Unda, offers a lovely little treat to all departing their lovely country: A stop-over. Any OZ city on your way out of dodge, Auckland, New Zealand, Fiji and LA (if that's not your last stop). I figured I would one-day explore my hobbit ancestries all over NZ, I had been to Brisbane, and LA wasn't even a consideration. That's like choosing Florida over Iceland. Now Fiji, that was somewhere I wasn't expecting to get to any time soon. Plus, it's one of the few countries where I didn't need to get a visa, so Bula Bula off I went!

One of the things that struck me about Fiji was how like Jamaica it was. In Nadi, the other large city that's not the capital, there were little things that were so 1960s Jamaica. Case in point, this sugar cane train, just moseying along through town.

The market is very present day Jamaica, and just tons of gorgeous fresh fruit and vegetables. Up front, my favourite, papaya. Or as we call it in Jamaica, paw paw.

 One not so Jamaica aspect was the Indian temples. We have a lot of Indians in Jamaica, but apparently in Fiji, they came over and kinda ran the place a for a bit (a source of contention with the Fijians now) and so they built a few places of worship. This is temple off the main drag in Nadi.

One the spots I stayed at on the Coral Coast (in the south) had recreated a local Fijian village in the back, they had men in grass skirts dancing, the man rowing the boat, the whole nine yards. At night, there was a little concert where guests could sit in a circle with musicians, learn about Fijian culture and drink Kava, the national drink made from the root of the same name. The stuff is definitely an acquired taste.

Some dancers looking sexy for an impromptu performance at the hotel.

So, this hotel, the name of which I cannot remember, is somewhere between Korolevu and Korotoga, and is essentially the launching point for trips to the tiny islands of Yanuca (pictured here, and pronounced Yanutha) and Beqa (pronounced mbenga). These islands are a surfer's paradise, and while lounging on the beach, I dreamed up the crack pot idea that I wanted to swim to this island. Yeah, that lasted a good half hour, when I remembered how I hyperventilate snorkeling in 40 ft of water because I start thinking about the various sea creatures and how much faster than me they swim. It was a pipe dream. I found a local fisherman the next day and took a nice little motor boat over, and hung out at the charmingly rustic Yanuca Island Resort. 

It was completely empty and rained the whole time, so my travelling buddy, Willis, and I hung out and watched Being John Malkovich  and ate some porridge that the host prepared for us.

I was determined to do some kind of water sport, so I got out the snorkel gear and went to town in the rain. The water was grey with low visibility, so I started to hyperventilate in about 5 ft of water so I got out.

Next up was Nananu-I-Ra Island, at the top of the main island, Viti Levu and definitely one of the cool spots of the trip. Here we have Don Pedro and Iselita from the Nananu Island Lodge water shuttle. Just kidding, I don't know their names, they were just on the boat.

The first sighting of Nananu Island Lodge. We camped. It was awesome.

Nananu is famous for the diving, but that wasn't on the agenda this trip. Instead, walks to the top of the mountain to catch views of the main island sufficed. Very cool.

 Sunset on Nananu. I'm sure I could have had smoothies with Gwyneth in LA, ran with Legolas in New Zealand or gotten really up close and personal with a kangaroo in Melbourne or Sydney, but I'm pretty content with my layover choice. People are really surprised I've been to Fiji, and sometimes I can't believe it either.