Fiji

Leaving Taveuni and Fiji

mochi, colleen & yaya — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 21:38:00 +0000

Our ferry was delayed a day because some rich people chartered it and we had to spend an extra night on Taveuni. We took advantage of the time to find the Natural Waterslide and take a dip.

We fnally shoved off on Friday afternoon. Colleen has taught Ambiana how to play Go Fish and they amused themselves for awhile this way. We spent the night once again on the Ferry arriving back at Veni Levu at 5am to catch a bus that took us back to Suva!

Back in Suva

At 7am in Suva we stashed our bags in a cubby at the local outdoor swimming pool and then went in search of breakfast and internet cafes. I read in the paper that my beloved red Sox were up 2 games to 0 in the World Series!! I updated the blog and then we went to the Fiji Museum which was a big disappontment. There was not much there but the big oceangoing canoe was cool.

We found a park for Yaya to swing in then we caught the bus back to Nadi and spent the night at an overpriced backpackers close to the airport. Our flightto New Zealand leaves at 7:30am tomorrow! Colleen says she could live in Fiji forever, she loved the laid back pace in the villages and the friendlyness of the people. I loved the Yasawas and the sea but the 2 bigger islands did not do much for me. The cities too crowded and ramshackle trying to be 21st century global and too much litter. The People were very nice but there is an under current of conflict between the Fijiand and the Indi-Fijians. Civilization has laid waste to Fiji as it has to most of the planet.

Vuna

mochi, colleen & yaya — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:32:00 +0000

We left Lavena and travelled back north and then down the west side of the island to reach the village of Vuna and the Vuna Lagoon Lodge. We though the bus trip to Lavena was sweet but the ride to Vuna was even sweeter! The bus winded up the mountainside along the coast with big cascades falling down to the sea at every switchback! We stayed in style at the lodge which was right on the sea so I could get up in the AM and put on my mask and snorkle for a wake up swim!

Sunset at Vuna!

The next day we hiked 5km along the road to the famous blowhole! The coast here reminded me of the Red Road coast on the island of Hawai'i. We timed our walk perfectly and caught the local bus back to Vuna!

After a week of rain we finally got a west coast sunset!!

The Road to Lavena

mochi, colleen & yaya — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 21:18:00 +0000

We headed South on the local bus towards Lavena where we had heard there was a nice village and a great hike. It rained and rained as we threaded narrow dirt roads and I have never seen a place as lush as the east side of Taveuni. Our bus ride was cut short by a rain swollen river which had flooded the ford in the river 2 feet deep.

We waited on the bus for 5 hours for the water to go down a bit and then the bus driver hired a pick up to take us the rest of the way. I was crowded in the back of the truck (Yaya and Mama got a seat in the cab) sitting on a bunch of Kava roots with 5 other people as we made a mad dash through the still formidable rain swollen river. It was pretty exciting. We had 3 more rivers to cross in this way but they weren't as flooded and finally at 10pm we arrived in Lavena and got a room at the local lodge.

The flooded river

Lavena Coastal Walk

Lavena is a small village at the head of the Lavena Costal Walk Trail. There is a small lodge for guests but most people make the trip from the resorts on the North end of Taveuni and back in the same day arriving by taxi or local bus. It was very windy in Lavena which made it cool and pleasant and kept the mosquitos away. There were lots of kids in the village and they didn't have school because the road was still flooded over and they all converged on the beach and surrounded Yaya and us. Unlike the kids on Waya these kids were a bit feral and relentless in their desire to pick and poke at our darling child.

Colleen decided to take a sea kayak trip while Yaya and I walked the Coastal Trail. She was keen to go on her own but they would not rent her a kayak without her agreeing to take the guide. I was in full agreement as I had read the journals and people kept thanking the guide for saving their life. So Colleen and carlo headed out to sea and Ambiana and I headed up the coast. We could see Mommy for awhile but then they went outside the reef and were lost beneath the swells. Colleen later told me she had never seen seas so big!

The trail is 5km one way and hugs the coast the entire way passing through the lushets forests I have ever seen. Was passed through 2 villages and several coconut plantations, and crossed several streams.

We met Mommy and Carlos at the mouth of the river that leads up to the waterfalls. Colleen told me that Carlos did indeed save her when the kayak upset as they made their way back out to sea after stopping to see another waterfall further down the coast. We had been waiting for them and Yaya collected rocks in her pocket from the beach to give to mommy. She was really excited to see Mommy and Carlos surf the kayak into shore.

Mommy Kayaking off the shores of Taveuni

We stopped for lunch at a picnic table next to the river. Carlos's sister lived near by and he went to visit her and returned with some rast wild pig and kassava root to add to our lunch!

The only way to approach the waterfall was by swimming up the river and into the small gorge before it. I went first, the river was refreshingly cool and crystal clear with lots of small trout in it. I made it into the gorge before the waterfall but could not progress much further due to the volume of the flow. When it has not been raining for a week it is possible to swim right up to the falss and climb up beside them to jump off. When I swam back Yaya was excited and told me that she went pee pee poo poo in the water and the fish came and ate it all.

Colleen swam up next and found the current to be too strong for her as well. Carlos took this picture of us. He was a great guide, very friendly and informative.

Here he is standing behind Colleen on the suspension bridge on the hike back.

The Way to Taveuni

mochi, colleen & yaya — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:13:00 +0000

LAUTOKA

The next morning we caught the bus from Lautoka to Suva arriving to find that the ferry was broken and was not going to Taveuni but to Savusavu instead from which we hoped we could find a way to Taveuni, the locals said it was possible so onboard we went. Everyone laid out on the floor of the lounge and slept. It was a 12 hour overnight trip and we arrived in Savusavu at 6am.

SUVA

Savusavu

From Savusavu we caught a packed local bus that took us over 60km of unpaved jungle road to the ferry which looked like a toyboat and could not possibly hold all the folk on the bus but it did and we made the crossing to Taveuni in 1.5 hours

Taveuni

Barbara's Beach Campground

Once on Taveuni we walked into town and then caught a Taxi to a campground on the sea called Barbara's Place. It wasn't much of a beach and it poured buckets of rain on us our only night there. We did a little snorkeling but the water was real shallow and the reef mostly dead. We decided the next day to push on to Lavena. I tried to call Gaelen but the line kept saying the phone was busy.

Nadi and Lautoka

mochi, colleen & yaya — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 21:11:00 +0000

We took the Big Yellow Boat back to Vanua Levi and caught a taxi into Nadi and found a room at a cheap backpackers overlooking the main street. We found a local pizza place and yummed out on a large pie. Our room overlooked a disco and we were rocked to sleep by techno-Indi-Fiji beats into the wee hours of the morning. The next day we did some shopping for some new sarongs and a cute little island dress for Yaya. We wnated to head to the Island of Taveuni and couldn't find anyone who knew when the boat left from where to there so we caught a local bus to Laautoka hoping it was the right place. The busride was fun and filled with colorful locals, Yaya loved the open air windows and all the cows along the road.

When we arrived in Lautoka we found out that the boat leaves from Suva which is a 5 hour busride back the way we came. We spent the afternoon at the local market which sold tons of fruit and produce and then found a cheap hotel for the night.

Yaya's new derss!

Naviti, Yasawa Islands

mochi, colleen & yaya — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 23:25:00 +0000

White Sandy Beach Resort

Our next stop was the Island of Naviti and White Sandy beach resort. This was recommended to us by the staff of the Yasawa Flyer. While it had the nicest beach and the best snorkeling with a reef out of a technicolor acid trip, the place was way to resorty for us, We were greeted with a song as we disembarked from our small boat, given a coconut drink with a flower in it and given the laws of the land which included no drinking water unless we paid for it and a trip to the beautiful beach cost $2. There was a large staff who got up early to practice rugby and net ball and after dinner they put on a real cheesy "Hula Show".

We spent most of our time on the beach snorkeling and playing with Ambiana in the shallows as she has overcome her fear of the waves. I told her not to be afraid of them, that they were only saying BULA!

The food was the worst and most of the folk here were they young party crowd that liked to stay up late and drink. It didn't have the nice village and family feel of the previous 2 islands but the snorkeling and the beach made up for it.

Nacula, Yasawa Islands

mochi, colleen & yaya — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 23:22:00 +0000

Seaspray Resort

Adi's place had recommended Seaspray Resort on Nacula Island so we made that our next destination. It was an hour north on the Big yellow boat and this time we were the only ones going there. In fact there was only one other couple staying at Seaspray the 2 days we were there, Steve and Kathleen from Germany. Even though Adi had booked us before we left her place, when we arrived we were a surpise to them but they were happy to have us. Tourism is down in Fiji due to some political issues we are unware of.

Again we camped as we love our little tent home it being a familiar place for the 3 of us, especially Ambiana. They mowed a shady spot on the lawn for us to set up and served us lunch right after we arrived.

Yaya was thrilled as there must have been 15 dogs on the island. There are 4 resorts all on the same stretch of beach, all owned by the same Fijian family-tribe. Ours again was the no-frills resort, just some bures and amn eating space and some hammocks and some dogs and a cat or two.

On the other side of the island is the lagoon where the 1979 flic "The Blue Lagoon" was filmed. It was a 20 minute walk over the most lovely trail.

Join us in the Blue lagoon

Waya, Yasawa Islands, Fiji

mochi, colleen & yaya — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 23:25:00 +0000

Adi's Place

From the big yellow boat we transferred to the small open local boat with the 40hp motor which took us over the clear blue sea, over the coral reefs, over the shallow sandy beach to shore where the people of Adi's Place came out to great us and the other 4 people who were in the boat with us and to carry our bags up to the "resort."

Waya has the highest peak of the Yasawas and it towered over our stretch of beach. There are 2 other "resorts" on Waya and we'd had chosen the simplest one. No fancy frills, just some accomodations and an eating "bure" and very chill hosts all on a beautiful stretch of beach with rolling green covered hills rising behind us with rounded knobs of volcanic rock sticking up out of them.

Yaya was an immediate hit, fawned over with big smiles and lots of kisses and touches. We settled in under an open "Bure" and were welcomed. We were camping and were asked weather we wanted the beach and of course we did and were shown a lovely spot under a big shade tree right on the edge of the sand:)

We spent a very relaxed afternoon, were served a yummy lunch, spent time in the warm sea frolocking and snorkling over the reef which dropped straight down 40 feet and was covered with colorful fish, hanging out in thwe hammock and just chillin' til dinner was served. Then it was right to bed at 7:30pm, Yaya and Mama were out before dinner in fact and Mama had to be woken up but we let Yaya sleep.

We woke before sunrise around 5:30am and as the sun rose we wandered the beach in front of the village as it was waking up the same time as we were. We saw goats and chickens and baby chickens and lots of kids and even encountered the local crazy man..

...all before a yummy breakfast of fruit, oatmeal and pancakes. "Gaga likes pancakes Yaya told everyone at breakfast!

Adi's place is situated right between a Fijian village and a boarding school. The kids walk from the village to the school right by our tent and everyone had a warm Bula (hello) for us and all the kids were fascinated by Yaya and would sit with us for hours talking and playing with her.

In the afternoon we walked around the south end of the island to snorkel the reef over there by one of the other resorts, other than that all we did was play in the sand and swim and watch the sunset and rise. Our Bula Pass allows us 2 nights at 3 different islands so on Saturday we said good-bye and loaded up on the small boat which took us to the big yellow boat and north we went to Nacula Island

We've arrived in Fiji!!!

mochi, colleen & yaya — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:22:00 +0000

Uncle Michael drove us to LAX at 7:30pm on October 9th and we waded the lines at the ticket counter, the baggage check and finally the security checkpoint to finally board our Air Pacific flight 811 at 11:30pm. It was a looooooong flight but uneventful, we took off after dark and landed while it was still dark 10 and a half hours later. Yaya slept the whole way while Colleen and I took advantage of the free inflight movies. We were served dinner and breakfast and as the sun rose we made our way off the plane and into the airport terminal.

We enquired about a ride to the port where we wanted to catch a boat to the Yasawa Islands and were directed to a man who handed us off to another man who told us we needed confirmed reservations to get the free bus and that he would help us free of charge. He led us up to his office where we went over our options and decided upon a 7 day excursion up the Yasawa Island chain taking advantage of a discounted "Bula Pass" which allowed unlimited travel between the islands within that time. He made the reservations for us and also called the island of Waya and booked us a camping spot at Adi's Place. Then he asked for a 20% down payment and gave us a confirmation number and then led us out of the airport and across the main road to the bus stop.

Here we waited with fellow travelers for the big yellow bus to take us to the big yellow boat. The bus ride gave us our first glimpse of life in Fiji, lots of school kids going to school in their school uniforms and lots of buses full of Indi-Fijians in crowded buses off on their daily routines. When we arrived at the port and stepped up to pay the balance on our ticket we found out we needed a voucher that "Francis" had neglected to give us. We feared we had been ripped off but a phone call to the airport confirmed our reservation and all was good!!!

So on the boat we went for a pleasant 2 hour cruise over the deep blue sea to the island of Waya!!!