Fiji
August 27-September
8
Written by PeteBackground
If every single island were counted, the isles of the Fiji archipelago would number in the thousands. However, a mere 322 are judged large enough for human habitation and of these only 106 are inhabited. We visited three of these islands, Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, and Taveuni. The largest island Viti Levu ("Big Fiji") is 10 times the size of Tahiti. With a total land area of 7,022 square miles, Fiji is slightly smaller than the state of New Jersey. Viti Levu has 4,171 of those square miles, giving it more dry land than all the islands of French Polynesia put together.Another Boat?
It is our hope to find another boat in Fiji. We altered our original plan since leaving Tilikum Triton. At this point our plan is to tour around Fiji for a couple of weeks doing the backpacker thing. In the meantime we'll have notices posted at the four most popular yacht clubs. So we'll keep checking our email looking for responses. We are looking for a boat headed to Australia instead of NZ. We want to spend two months in Oz and two months in NZ. We have been advised by many people to avoid Oz's hot summer months of January and February. So now we plan to spend October through November in Oz and December and January in NZ. That leaves us with the month of September to find a boat and sail to Oz. If we are lucky we'll find a boat that fits our schedule. If we do sail then they are likely to stop in New Caledonia first. No problem with us. It's another country we get to visit.If we do not find a boat, then we plan to fly straight to Oz from Fiji. This way we'll get to spend a little more time in Oz and NZ (about 10 weeks each). No problems. In reality, we could use some more time, but I guess we have to return home and work. In summary, Karen and I are happy whether we find a boat or not. The only downside right now is lugging around all our 140 lbs of luggage as if we were backpackers. Not easy.
Once we get to Oz we won't have to worry about lugging our stuff around. We plan to buy a campervan then sell it. Then in NZ we'll buy a car and then sell it too. This should save us a lot of money on hotel and car rental expenses. Both countries have companies that guarantee buy-backs at a discount from the purchase price. This works out great for us. We should save money in the long run.
Beachouse
On Monday, August 27th, we flew into the city of Nadi on Viti Levu. We immediately took a local bus to The Beachouse, a backpacker place on the Coral Coast. We stayed here a couple of nights. It was filled with other backpackers mostly from Europe, Australia and New Zealand. This place is right on the water. During low tide there was even a beach. I played volleyball for two of the evenings while Karen read and hung out and chatted with some of the backpackers.Most of the backpackers seem to be coming around the world from the opposite direction as us. So most of these kids have already been to Oz and NZ. We talked to them about places to go and things to do. Our tourism list for Oz and NZ is getting very large. We are going to need lots of time to see those countries.
Waterfall and Kava Ceremony
While at The Beachouse we went on a tour that included a kava ceremony, a walk to a waterfall and lunch. As a tour group, we had to ask permission from the village chief to walk on his land and see the waterfall. This was done through a traditional kava ceremony. Our guide, Jonah, helped us through the "touristy" ceremony.Prior to the ceremony we had to elect a chief or Ratu to represent our group of eight. We chose our oldest and presumably wisest member, Jeff from Brisbane, Australia. Once we had a ratu leading us, we entered the village chief's house. It is the largest house in the village. The main room is where the ceremony took place. As we entered the house, the ratu was sitting on the floor half way across the room facing us. There was a woman facing him about 10 feet closer to the entrance with a kava bowl in front of her. The kava bowl was of the traditional design; round solid wood bowl with four square legs. The bowl is about 18 inches in diameter and stands about 6 inches tall.
Ratu Jeff took a seat on the floor on the village ratu's right. The men sat facing the center on the right side while the women sat on the left. We formed a square. Jonah sat next to the local woman who had the kava bowl.
What is kava? What does it do to you? Simply put - it is a root that is crushed into a powder. When mixed with water and drunk it calms the body. Your lips, tongue and throat go numb if you drink enough (about a glass full). If you are a habitual kava drinker, you are a very quiet and tired person. One taxi driver told us he preferred the people to drink kava rather than alcohol. He said that alcohol makes people rowdy and violent, kava makes people calm and mellow.
The woman poured the kava into a dishrag. Then she wrapped the rag tight and poured water over it into the bowl. The point was to dissolve the powder into the bowl. She kept pouring the water onto the dishrag while ringing out the rag. The result was a bowl of muddy looking water.
Using half a coconut shell as a cup, we each took turns drinking the muddy water. Before each person drank, they had to say some Fijian words and clap once, then after the drink they had to say some different Fijian words and clap three times. It was fun to participate in the ceremony but the kava tasted just like it looked - muddy water. Although I have to admit I went back for seconds. Now my squeaky-clean drug use record has been tarnished.
Once the ceremony was over and we had permission to enter the
land, we took a trail up to the waterfall. The trail crossed the creek nine
times. Each time we have to ford the creek. My expensive Tevas were finally put
to good use.
Once at the top we enjoyed a refreshing swim in the pool at the
base of the waterfall which is about 100 feet or so tall. After our swim we
feasted on papaya, pineapple and bananas that Jonah had prepared for us. After
snacking on the local fruit, we made our way back down to our bus.Next the bus took us to a local craft shop where a barbeque lunch was waiting for us. We ate a nice lunch and browsed the shop. I bought a small handmade wooden chess set. The wooden pieces stick into the board like pegs.
Elections in Fiji
One of the concerns we had about coming to Fiji were the much publicized upcoming elections. There had been a lot of news during recent years about coups and racial problems in Fiji. Fiji has had two coups recently. The first one occurred in 1987; the second on May 19, 2000. The main cause of the instability is that half the population is indigenous Fijian and the other half is Indian (from India) and they HATE each other.Indians were brought to Fiji to work the sugar cane fields. Britain actively brought them over for about 35 years (1879 - 1916). The Indians were like indentured servants. To come to Fiji, the Indians had to sign a labor contract in which they agreed to cut sugar cane for their masters for five years. During the next five years they were allowed to lease small plots of their own from the Fijians and plant cane or raise livestock. More than half the Indians decided to remain in Fiji as free settlers after their 10-year contracts expired, and today their descendants form nearly half the population, many of them still working small leased plots. The Indians seem to be more industrious than the indigenous Fijians. They own most of the businesses and do most of the farming. Now they want the right to own land and be more involved in government. This does not sit well with the indigenous Fijians and that is where the trouble lies. Most Fijians make their money by renting their land to Indians.
We decided after talking with many different yachties
that Fiji would be OK at least before and during the elections. Five days after
we arrived, elections began. The voting lasted from Saturday to Saturday with
the counting scheduled to last the next week. The United Nations brought in
observers to monitor the polling and counting process.
Here is one
example of how bad the racism is here. We talked to a local policeman about the
election. (All policemen are Fijians and don't carry weapons of any kind.)
During our conversation, he stated, "We do not have racial problems. In fact,
there would not be any problems if the Indians weren't here." I almost asked if
he was kidding, but it was clear he was very serious. WOW! He went on to
explain that the Indians should not own any land or be involved in government
but it was OK if they wanted to work here.Two nights before the election began, I watched "The Leaders' Forum" on TV. The forum had a moderator and seven of the prime minister candidates answering questions. That's right, seven political parties! There was an eighth candidate but he could not make it. It seems he is still in jail for his involvement in the coup last year. I think he killed someone. Now that's democracy. Even a criminal can be elected to office. First, the candidates took questions from the press then the moderator. Finally they were allowed to ask questions of each other and this is when it got really colorful. Remember the current Prime Minister is here and so are two others that led the coup. Last May 19 these two men who led the coup were holding guns on Parliament and the Prime Minister. I wish candidates in the US would be this candid during their debates. When it was all over most of them summarily accused each other of slander, liable, forgery, bribery, and spending taxpayers money on personal things. I came away with a clear feeling that the leadership on both sides not only despise the other race but also truly hate each other on a personal level.
Keep your eyes on Fiji. The story is not over yet. As one local pointed out; they don't have coups during elections. They wait for a few months for the promises to be broken by the new leadership then there will be some action. I heard these guys promising cooperation and all sorts of rhetoric. It is clear to most people that no one will be able to come through with their outrageous campaign promises.
Hanging Out in Suva
We stayed at The Beachouse for three
nights, and then took a local bus into the capital of Fiji, Suva. I keep
mentioning we are taking local buses, because here in Fiji the local buses are
not like what you are used to. These buses usually do not have any windows and
are very, very crowded. It is a big event for us to get on the buses with all
our backpacks.We did a self-guided walking tour of Suva. It wasn't anything special. The city is not that big and is not that interesting. We spent a couple of days here. Some of the afternoons were spent at the Royal Suva Yacht Club meeting people and looking for a boat to crew on. The yacht club is not very big but by South Pacific standards it is very nice. There were about 15 yachts anchored. We learned that we missed our friends on Xena by one day. We met a few new friends but did not find any suitable boats. After our last experience we are pickier. We actually turned down one boat. The 60-foot sailboat was owned by a couple with two kids and they were heading to Oz. They invited us along. They had very little experience and the wife absolutely hated sailing. She was not afraid to tell us either. In fact, she had such a bad attitude she didn't say anything positive about Fiji or sailing there. Who wants to spend time with that miserable woman? Certainly not us.
Two of the evenings we went to the movies. Suva has a six-theater complex showing some recent releases. Karen and I have always enjoyed the movies so we thought we would take advantage of it. We saw Kiss the Dragon and Along Came A Spider.
Savusavu, Vanua Levu Island
From Suva we took an overnight ferry to Savusavu on the island of Vanua Levu. Ferries in this part of the world are questionable modes of transportation at best but this one turned out OK. We took one look at economy class when we got on and immediately upgraded to first class for about $5 USD more. Economy does not have near enough seats for everyone. People were sitting on deck. On the other hand first class had a TV, air conditioning, and seats for everyone. The seats came from first class seating of a decommissioned airplane. The seats in economy class were from a plane as well but they were from economy class.In the morning we grabbed all 140 pounds of our junk and waddled into town. We finally found "David's Budget Holiday House". For the equivalent of about $15 USD we get two beds, a breakfast and use of the common kitchen. It's an OK backpacker's place. The bed was comfortable, but the damn rooster and dog outside our window each night refused to let us sleep. I seriously considered a new use for my Leatherman one night, but was too exhausted to actually get up. BARK! BARK! COCK-A-DODDLE-DOO! BARK! BARK! COCK-A-DODDLE-DOO! I enjoy eating chicken even more these days and if someone offered me "dog", I'd gladly eat it too. Especially if it means one less BARK! BARK! outside my window.
Savusavu was
uneventful. Not much here except another yacht club and some hot springs. We
verified our notice was posted and talked to more yachties. This is becoming
real work now. We feel more like beggars and are beginning to hate Dario even
more (if that is possible) for creating this situation.The hot springs were very hot! Steam was rising everywhere. It was a real shame that the locals don't really take care of the area. There was trash everywhere in the hot springs area.
Taveuni Island
We chose to go to Taveuni Island next because from reading our guide it seemed to have the most to do on one small island. Our choice was right on. We stayed here about a week and decided not to worry about a boat anymore. Besides there was no internet available so we couldn't find out if anyone responded to our postings anyway.Again to get here we took the same type of overnight ferry. This time we booked first class from the beginning. We arrived first thing in the morning and got a "taxi". Actually the taxi was a pickup truck. Karen sat in the cab with the driver while I was in the back with all our bags. The roads here are all dirt with many holes. The whole ride is about an hour. Picture me in the back with all our bags bouncing around. Ouch!
We asked the taxi driver to take us to Beverly's Campground. It was suppose to have "bures" that you could rent. Bures are traditional Fijian houses. They are built on a raised wooden platform; the walls and roof are made out of thatched palm leaves. We get there and guess what? All the bures were destroyed in a cyclone a few years ago and not rebuilt. While they have tents for rent, we opt for another place to stay.
Our kindly driver then takes us to Tovutovu, another backpacker
hotel. They have an eight-bed bure for about $7.50 USD per person. We stay
here. We are surprised to met three women travelers at the bure.
Not
because they are women, but because two of them could be grandmothers. Linda
and her mom, Helen, are from NZ and Bonnie is from England. All of them have
traveled extensively. In fact, Bonnie was recently a guide on the Inca trail in
Peru. She has been traveling for the past 16 years. She is my new role
model.
We spent the next day with them hiking at Bouma Falls. The hike
included three waterfalls. The tallest one was 90 feet with a large swimming
area at the base. The waterfall I enjoyed the most was the third one.
It was
not quite as tall but that's OK. There was a place at about 30 feet up that you
could jump off the waterfall into the pool at the base. It was so much fun that
I jumped off three times. The only other one in our group that took advantage
of this thrill was Linda. On our way back down Karen lost her sun glasses in
the one of the river crossings. Bummer!The following day the "girls" moved on and two guys, Frank and Joe, moved in. Frank and Joe are both retired elementary school teachers from the San Diego, CA area. They are two guys out having a good time. Both are very funny. We spent a few evenings with them playing trivia games. If we have time we'll look them up on our way back home. To get home we plan to fly through LAX.
They
offered to pick us up and take us to the San Diego Zoo and the marina area.
Hopefully it will work out.Another wonderful thing we did on Taveuni was the Levena Coastal Walk.
This
was probably the most beautiful and interesting walk we have ever been on. The
walk takes you through the Lavena village on the coast. This is is on the
southern side of the island and therefore the trade winds blow a strong cool
breeze through here. The villagers still live a very traditional life - living
in bures and weaving mats. The beach area is full of soft white sand and
coconut trees.
The path
wanders along the coast sometimes veering into the thick vegetation of the
land. Next we came to an area on the coast with a bunch of reef pedestals. Reef
pedestals are huge black rocks that were created from a volcanic explosion. The
bases of the rocks have been eroded away by the sea so the rocks now sit on
pedestals. They look like big mushrooms.
Further along the path we noticed a small outcrop of lava rocks at the surf's edge. I thought it strange that water seemed to be flowing down the rocks into the sea. A quick taste of the water proved that fresh water was bubbling up from the rocks.
This walk became rather classy when we came to a river crossing. There was a suspension bridge. It bounced and swayed when we walked on it.
Finally the climax of the walk: the waterfall. During the final 100 meters, we had to hop along rocks up to the middle of the river. In fact to actually see the entire waterfall, which was partially hidden by a wall of rock, we had to swim the last 30 meters. I put on my snorkel and mask and we swam. The visibility was good and I could see tons of fish. As usual the waterfall was beautiful. Actually there were two falls. A lower sloping one with about an 8-meter drop and a taller one. I was told that we could slide down the sloping one and jump off the taller one but I was a chicken. There wasn't anyone else around and I was uncomfortable with how to actually climb up these falls.
During the whole day we only ran into two other tourists on the trail. We took advantage of the solitude and swam back to our backpack and enjoyed a quiet lunch together. Lunch consisted of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, some apples and a fresh pineapple. We have been living off of PBJ's for quite some time now.
Snorkeling and Diving
Taveuni afforded us the opportunity to do some snorkeling and diving. We paid someone to take us out to snorkel the "Rainbow Reef". It is so named because of the bountiful and colorful hard and soft coral. It was definitely more colorful than any other place we have been so far, but I was expecting more soft coral. Everyone seems to rave about this place so I was disappointed and mentioned it to the boat driver. He explained that the soft coral is there but during the slack tide it recedes due to lack of food or plankton floating by. Bummer! Why didn't anyone mention this to us before? He was kind enough to take us over to another spot called The Cabbage Patch. Wow! This place is cool. There is tons of green coral that resembles monster-sized cabbages. Definitely the highlight of the day.There were four of us in the boat; the driver, another snorkeler named Jeff from Chicago, Karen and me. After the snorkeling trip, Jeff mentioned he was going to a waterslide and asked us to join him. Sure, why not! This was a natural rock waterslide with about three small pools. It might have been more exciting if there was more water flowing, but still it was fun. In one of the pools there was some local kids catching prawns in nets. I gathered this was going to be their dinner.
Later this same day we made our way to a spot marked for the 180th Meriden. Technically speaking the 180th Meriden is the line that divides "today" and "yesterday". The 180th runs right though the island but the International Date Line actually goes around it. Fiji and Tonga have chosen to be in the same day as NZ and Oz. Never matter it was fun for us to sit on each side of the line and stare into another day.
On another day I chose to put my recent PADI certification to use and dive the Rainbow Reef area. Karen still wants to wait until the Great Barrier Reef to get certified. This would be my first dive since getting PADI certified in the Cook Islands two months ago. This does not count helping out Sir Swagman with their anchor line in Suwarrow. That was not a recreational drive. I have to admit I was nervous, but diving is very easy. All you really have to do is breath and I have been doing that pretty well for 36 years.
It was spectacular! I finally saw the rainbow reef. Many different types of coral and even more variety to the colors. Of course, there was strong current at the time so I explained to some of the less experienced divers that there is more soft coral visible when the current is running strong. I sounded very experienced. I can hardly wait for the Great Barrier Reef now.
Getting Out of Fiji
After a thrilling week on Taveuni we needed to head back toward Nadi and the international airport. We took another week to get there. The ferry ride from Taveuni was on a very questionable ferry. This explains why it was so much cheaper than our previous ferry rides. It was a small old wooden boat. It was about 35 feet long and about 10 feet wide with two levels. I could almost stand up in the bottom level, but you'd have to be Danny DeVito to stand upright on the second level. They say it holds 100 passengers. I'd say that 20 of those passengers would have to be on the roof. This was the wrong time to remember that we don't have any life insurance on either of us. One of the boys working on the boat put out two hand-trolling lines. He told me that a couple of days ago he caught four fish and the captain let him take two home to his family. He had a very infectious smile. A friend of his wanted to talk to me too. But he kept speaking Hindi. My first friend told me that this other boy was "not right" in the head and kept making the sign for crazy (finger going around in circles next to his temple). It was a long and strange 2 hour ride.From the ferry we caught a bus to Savusavu. It was two very long and dusty hours on a bus with windows that don't have any glass in them. Our bags, which had been in the back of the bus looked like they just came from a ride in the drought stricken sections of Africa. After dusting our bags and ourselves off we marched back to David's for the night. Our short-term memories were quickly reminded that night about what we didn't like about this place. BARK! BARK! COCK-A-DODDLE-DOO!
We took sometime once again in Savusavu to check the internet for messages for crewing and talk to yachties. Paul and Julia from Sabina (we first met them in Apia, Samoa) were there. Actually we only talked to Paul. Julia was on the boat, which was at anchor in the bay. It was nice to talk with a familiar friend again. Interestingly, while we were talking at the Copra Shed (the name of the marina) we felt the whole building shake. It shook for only 15 seconds. Curious about this we asked a local girl what happened. She explained that a boat probably hit the dock. Since the Copra Shed is on the water and stands on pilings we bought the explanation. A little while later we found out the truth. We just experienced a small (4.7 on the Richter scale) earthquake. Cool! In all my time in California (8 years) I do not remember feeling one. Luckily there were no injuries or damage reported. This was an unexpected experience for us.
Well, no luck with a boat here in Savusavu. More and more Karen and I believe we will be flying to Australia rather than sailing. The bright side is that we will get more time in Oz and NZ, which we are looking forward to more and more.
Our next ferry ride took us to the city of Lautoka back on the main island of Viti Levu. Lautoka is near Nadi where the international airport is located. We chose Lautoka because Vudi Point Marina is near there. Our posting was faxed there a few weeks ago and should be posted on the bulletin board. It will give us yet another opportunity to talk with more yachties and beg for a ride. We have about three days before our flight leaves for Brisbane, Australia.
This ferry ride was very different from the last one. This one is a high speed, brand new motor catamaran. Of course, all that explains the exhorborant fares we had to pay. You truly get what you pay for here.
Our luck remains the same at Vudi Pont Marina. No one needs crew. Brisbane here we come! We discover that we missed seeing Don and Gera from Sir Swagman by only a day. No matter. We plan to catch up with them in Sydney.
The place we are staying at near Lautoka is called Saweni Beach Apartments. Compared to some of our recent accommodations this place was pretty nice. We had our own kitchen with a full size fridge. There are four twin size beds, but we never had to share the room. Of note every night frogs the size of your fist would come out. They were everywhere outside the hotel. Each evening while walking back to our room from the TV lounge area we risked stepping on frogs. The lighting outside was non-existent. But rest easy all your SPCA fanatics. Not one frog perished under the soles of our feet.
The area around Lautoka and our hotel is almost all sugar cane fields. The largest sugar cane factory in the South Pacific is in Lautoka. Harvest time is June to December. So it was very active all along the roads and the narrow gauge railroad with trucks and railroad cars hard at work hauling sugar cane to the mill. Harvesting is still very labor intensive in Fiji and the workers only get paid $6 Fijian ($3 USD) a day and two meals. First the workers burn the fields to get rid of the sharp stiff dry leaves on the stalks. The sugar cane is so moist that the fire doesn't damage it. Just about the only thing left standing when the fire dies are cane stalks. The next day the workers cut the cane and load it into truck beds or train cars.
It is very normal to see fields ablaze all over the countryside day and night. In fact one night as Karen and I were getting ready for bed we could smell a nearby field burning. Nothing to be alarmed about until we could clearly hear the snap, crackle and pop of the blazing fire. The workers were burning the field right next to our window (about 100 meters away). The burning didn't last very long but it did get quite warm. We did briefly consider packing our bags in case an emergency evacuation was necessary but it wasn't. The fire stayed in the field and died down with no problems.
One day we took a tour of the local Fijian distillery. It is right next to the sugar mill. They use the molasses to produce the alcohol for rum and their other products. It was a very small operation. In fact the tour was given to us privately by one the office accountants who used to be a salesman. No free samples at the end of the tour. I was very disappointed.
Comments About The Six Months
This closes the chapter of our story for bluewater sailing and beautiful South Pacific Islands. The next part of our journey will begin in Brisbane, Australia where we will be exploring land by a van.As expected during the past six months we have gained a wealth of knowledge. Much of what we learned relates to long-term living on a sailboat, understanding different cultures, and most importantly learning more about ourselves and each other. We have had our ups and downs, but we are a stronger loving couple in the end. We have had fun sharing our travels with you. Hopefully, you have enjoyed reading about them and will continue to enjoy them through Oz and NZ.
We thought this would be a good time to highlight some of the things we learned during the past 6 months.
- Be very suspicious of any sailing resume from an Italian named Dario. When we met him over the Internet, he said he had 22 years of sailing experience with 3 Atlantic crossing and 1 Pacific crossing under his belt. Well he must have spent all of that time at anchor and partying because it became quickly apparent that none of that time was utilized for maintenance or learning maintenance skills.
- Beautiful Polynesian women are a thing of the past. Most all of the girls and women we saw were overweight. They seem to enjoy Western food a little too much and Cheetos even more.
- If you ask an islander for directions they will give them to you whether they know the correct answer or not. In fact, most of them can't read a map.
- Even though we have been taught how to get the coconut out of the husk it still takes us forever to dehusk it.
- French Polynesia is 2 to 3 times more expensive than home.
- The people of the Society Islands within French Polynesia are tired of tourists and as a result are very rude to them.
- Sailing downwind wing and wing for 21 days in a boat with 5 foot freeboard can really test your ability to avoid seasickness.
- We can take a shower using less than 1 liter of fresh water, but prefer not to do it again.
- Hot water is highly overrated. For that matter so is refrigeration and air conditioning.
- We do not even want to admit how many days we can wear the same piece of clothing. Going "into town" was usually one event that prompted a fresh pair of underwear and a cold shower.
- Swimming with a really big shark hundreds of miles from shore is really, really scary.
- Some of the nicest people in the world are yachties and islanders (of course Society Islanders excluded).
- Some of the strangest people in the world are single-handed sailors.
- The night sky is most beautiful when viewed from the middle of the ocean.
- Now I know why the crew of the Bounty mutinied. Captain Bligh made way too much fuss over taking breadfruit trees to the Caribbean. Breadfruit is not all that.
- Boat life can be healthier than the working life. Without even trying I went from 220 lbs. to 175 lbs. Hopefully I won't gain too much of it back in Oz and NZ. Karen lost 10 lbs. She says it was all her muscle due to lack of regular exercise. (In case you were wondering how we weighed ourselves, we used the scale at the airport check-in counters in Samoa and Fiji.)