FIJI 1998
Thursday, November 5: Shuttle Express picked up at 1 PM.
Uneventful flight but read quite a bit. Finished the book with
42 pages. At Honolulu airport I read another 27 pages from another
book with larger print. Air New Zealand left at 12:30. Very
nice plane, the best seats I have ever had.
Saturday, November 7: Lost day at the international dateline. Landed 6:00 when it was still dark so saw nothing. Easy to get through customs (we didn't tell them that we were bringing in food).
Got a taxi for $15, but paid $18 to the nice guy who gave us some sightseeing. Checked in to Cathay Hotel, nice but basic place. Asked about transport out to the Yasawas.
Very friendly people.
Walked to downtown and to the market. Lots more cars out now, it was so quiet earlier. Found a small Indian snack restaurant and had breakfast. Drank the water.
Strolled around a bit downtown to the water (dirty). A man (Fijian) came up to us and gave us very nice wooden carving … Inscribed our name, then wanted a donation. When this turned out to be $10 p.p. we declined. So he took the gift back.
Back at hotel. We changed our plans to go out to Waya today.
Picked up at 11. The owner, Adi, drove us around to several places to her home, picked up lots of food for the island etc. etc. Her boat finally left 1:15.
It first went out to Mona (a long detour) to pick up two more passengers (1 ½ hours). Then north to Waya in fairly strong wind and lots of waves. I got quite wet. It was amazing how much gas their 75 HP engine used. They had to stop several times to add more gas to fuel containers. Finally arrived 5:00. There were about 10 other tourists there, including a Swedish woman. It seemed like everybody was out traveling 4 months or more and had no jobs. Surain changed our camp to a dorm room (the private were all taken). Went swimming. There were some people far out snorkeling. Then put the kayak together. The others were curious but not overly interested.
Dinner at 6 about 7:30. Nice singing outside, the village had
a visit from Jehovah's witnesses that went to a new village every
Saturday. Dinner was food but not too interesting. Both of us
had slept a bit on the boat ride out and were a bit tired., but
lasted for a while. Chatted mostly with a British couple. Filled
a bit water.
Sunday, November 8: Sunrise at 6+, and I got up then. Started arranging everything that I was too tired to do yesterday and started organizing the kayak better.
Breakfast at 8, uninteresting bread, tea, jam and an ana's. Filled more water but only got some because the tank had been shut off. Filled the rest with regular tap water, to which I added iodine.
Carried all our stuff down to the water and started filling it up. It seemed like most of the tourists were either sitting in the shade or lying in their bed reading.
One woman helped us get going - the only one who seemed interest enough.
Sunday, November 15: Wake up before sunrise as usual. Breakfast at 8 is also quite good.
Take the kayak out to Blue Lagoon Island. A part is private. Snorkel where the tourists have been dropped off. A bit murky, first not impressed but then we find quite a few soft corals that we haven't seen before.
Continue past W side of Turtle Island, where the resort is. Talk to two tourists there out snorkeling, that have "never stayed at a nicer place".
Continue across Turtle and Blue Lagoon. The wind picks up to about 8 knots, against us of course. We struggle hard to get back in time, but are 15 minutes late for mealtime.
Good lunch, but with most of the others we sign up for vegetarians dinner.
John and Daria take out the kayak again, now in windier conditions. After that we take a walk on the beach to where one tourist found good snorkeling, but we are not impressed.
John and Daria buy us beer and cake in the afternoon, and then we break the kayak apart and put it into the bags.
Dinner is fish, pretty good (Surain didn't like it). Pay our bill. Hilda from Norway tells us that she saw David hit his wife hard with a stick so she can't walk at the moment. Also, one day when there were only 6 guests David just sat there sulking being dead quiet.
6 nm.
Sunday: 9
Monday: 13
Tuesday: 12.5
Wednesday: 9
Thursday: 5
Friday: 1
Saturday: 9
Sunday: 6
65 nautical miles (75 land miles)
Monday, November 16: Very stormy during the night, and quite a bit of rain. Get up at 6:15 at day-break to finish packing.
Wait at the restaurant for our 7:00 breakfast, which arrives 7:30. But boat leaves at 8:20 with us and Hilda and Kjell and 2 Brit's. It has 120 HP and is much faster than the other boat, we are back in Lautoka after 2 ½ hours. Cloudy sky all the time but no rain.
Exchange money (took ½ hour) so we can pay for the boat ride. Have a quick lunch so we can make the 1:00 express bus to Suva.
But an Indian convinced us to take taxi instead for $35 (the bus would have been $15 p.p. but would have include smokers).
An Indian woman goes with us. She gives us lots of information about Suva and earthquakes rumbling in Kandavu and offers to take us to some sights if she is not working. Get her phone number. Stop in Sigatoka for tea and great Indian snacks.
The hotel in Suva South Sea is quite nice. The Indian restaurant for dinner is excellent but the coffee is instant.
Surain mends my wounds. Do some shopping in the afternoon.
Tuesday, November 17: Have cornflakes and tea for breakfast. Head out and visit the tourist bureau, who don't think that the volcano will be a problem in Kandavu, but should get more info next week.
Buy tickets to Taveuni. More shopping and have Indian lunch. I don't feel good, So walk home.
Lie in bed rest of day and have a little Indian dinner at hotel, not doing too well.
Surain changes the plane ticket to the next day.
Wednesday, November 18: Feel better in morning but not quite well. Papaya for breakfast.
Have dhal for lunch at museum and then go through museum.
Buy more post cards and a lava-lava.
Dinner with Lars and Kajsa at Chinese place, which is not very
interesting. Nor are we very impressed by the Australian white
wine.
Thursday, November 19: Up early and have mangos. Then take our pre-arranged taxi to the airport - long way - half an hour. My stomach is still funny.
Walk to the campground from the airport. Beautiful sunshine here (clouds all the time in Suva).
Walk past airport to small town. Have Indian lunch, which is OK only and overpriced.
Nice campground near water with cooking facilities. Good dinner from Mrs. Harry (we fetched it and eat it at the campground).
Chat with Chris, American who has been here five months.
I start taking antibiotic.
Friday, November 20: Have fruit for breakfast - orange and pineapple plus free banana and mango. Take the twice daily bus to Bouma, the waterfalls. Long and dusty ride. Buy some biscuits.
Walk up with Swiss Alan (who hasn't been in Switzerland for a year, been int'l Red Cross, but is soon heading back) to the first fall. Beautiful high falls and nice to swim there.
Walk half hour up to the second falls, also very nice. Eat the biscuits for lunch. I eat the most - finally hungry after several days.
Catch the bus back. Read in the afternoon and have dinner from Mrs. Harry again.
Play cards.
Nice sky but hard to see due to too many treas.
Saturday, November 21: Got up at daybreak. Fruit for breakfast again. Lazy day. Read, arrange air tickets, have good lunch at Coconut Garden (run by woman from Vermont). Read and swim in the afternoon.
Dinner at Coconut Garden - very good fish with coconut. Talk
to couple from Wallingford, then to British couple, who have been
out to the Lau group. In bed 10.
Sunday, November 22: A bit hard to sleep due to all coffee yesterday. Heavy rain for a while, then it is clear again.
Have late brunch, cheese omelet to be fairly empty when we go diving.
Couldn't dive - couldn't pass the medical form. So went snorkeling instead. Corals weren't very interesting mostly, but lots of fish. Amazed when the guy found live conch and similar shells on the bottom.
Dinner from Mrs. Harry. Played cards at night.
Monday, November 23: Up early and started packing. Mango, banana, orange and papaya for breakfast.
Walked to airport about 9 but no room so couldn't rebook our flight.
Walked to store and bought a phone card. After some trials Surain managed to call Kandavu and make reservations and the doctor in Lami to get an appointment to go scuba diving.
Continued walking to the next little village. Sat for a while in the heat and then walked back to Coconut Grove, where we eventually got some lunch and spoke with the couple from Seattle, and with Stella and Ron from Britain.
Walked to the store that sells Kava and bought 5 packages for $10.
Read at the airport for a while. Then plane arrived and was almost empty. Faster than the other one.
Hopped into a taxi to our old hotel South Seas, and got the same room.
Excellent dinner - tali - at Hare Kristna. Had espresso at
a different place afterwards. A little hard to sleep, but not
too bad.
Tuesday, November 24: Our 20th anniversary.
Had corn flakes and packed up and took a taxi to the doctor in Lami. He looked at Surain very carefully, doing lots of neuro tests what she had been through after her stroke. After ½ hour he told her he didn't think it would be safe diving. Never had time to examine me.
Took a shared taxi back to Suva. Bought some onions, eggplant, ginger and garlic.
Taxi picked us up and took us to the airport, where we had some Indian treats for lunch. Had to pay $40 in overweight (total 80 kilos, 40 allowed). Plane almost empty. Picked up by truck and then boat out to Matava , about one hour at low tide, but the boat could get through with lots of local knowledge.
Nice resort, much better then the previous ones with towels, 24 volt light.
Assembled the kayak with several people quite interested. Five other people here, Meg and Mike from Australia newlyweds, … from Britain, who had lived 3 ½ years in Brunei as an architect, and … and … from California. The three later dive, the Australian snorkel.
Good food and we had wine to celebrate. The cook had made cake for us to celebrate.
Some mosquitoes, better with Swedish myggstift. Talked for a
couple of hours before going to bed. Weak coffee, some sleep
problems.
Monday, November 30: This is the best campground we have had. Start packing up the kayak but don't get too many visitors. I donate three T-shirts and the shirt to the nice man who gave us fish, leaving me with just one T-shirt from the States.
The boys bring us coconuts to drink and then to eat flesh - wonderful.
The 12-4 (?) ferry Guirawa arrives a little before 3 and leaves 3:25. We sit on the top with sun protection. The ferry rocks a lot despite moderate sea (14-16) knots.
It finally arrives 5 hours later in Suva at 8:15. We are surprised how much stuff there is in that little ferry. Take a taxi to South Seas.
Make our own dinner and then shower and soon crash.
Tuesday, December 1: Nice day with sun most of the time
in Suva. Rinse everything in fresh water and have excellent Indian
lunch and talk to Alice, who will arrange something for tomorrow.
Wednesday, December 2: Went with Alice to old Indian temple near Nausori, with a friend driving us. Nice temple about 200 years old (before the Indians came here).
Back at hotel about lunch time, but agreed to meet Alice early the next morning.
Didn't do much in the afternoon. Made our own dinner.
Talked to Alice in the evening. She would pick us up 12:30.
Thursday, December 3: Alice came 11:30, just as we were back from early lunch. She had to go to a sudden wedding, but would pick us up for dinner at 6.
Read during day.
She picked us up 6:45. She couldn't get her friend, so she came by running taxi.
Good dinner - she stayed at her aunts extra little house, since she was moving to California in a few months.
Interesting to talk to her. She was quite critical how Indians were treated in Fiji, and said that many were leaving. She had little hope for a fair election (next spring).
She had some kava, and had here neighbors mix it. We
tasted it, but soon gave the rest to her neighbor (obviously Fijians).
Friday, December 4: Taxi picked us up at 9:45 and then also a Danish couple for the Naboua river trip. Very friendly Indian guy driving the taxi, also quite informative.
Tour started 11 on long canoe-like power boat, and takes about an hour to small, unimpressive water fall. But the ride is quite nice, and a few small rapids. I don't swim due to all my wounds.
William talks about problem with river rights. They are dredging lower river, creating problems with river lever and fish upriver.
Go to the village, bet kava, food (OK but not too exciting) singing and some dancing. Then go down on the bili-bili, a bamboo raft.
Have fish dinner at nice motor inn. Then play cards afterwards.