RestlessNatives.net NativeGuide to
FIJI
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George visited Fiji briefly in August 1994. We will post Fiji photos on this page when we can, but don't expect them anytime soon -- they're in storage somewhere.
The airline that I flew to New Zealand in the summer of 1994 let me choose a couple of stopovers for a minimal cost. I chose to stop in Fiji and Hawaii for a few days each. Of course, this barely counts as travelling in Fiji, but we're including this page on our website in the hope that we'll get back to Fiji eventually and have something more to add here.
Since my photos from Fiji are unfortunately inaccessible at the moment, you'll have to take my word for it that it's a country of beautiful tropical islands. There are two large, mountainous islands surrounded by hundreds of smaller islands in various shapes and sizes. I flew into the small, open-air airport in Nadi (pronounced Nandi), which is situated on the west coast of the largest island, Viti Levu. (Useless fact: the islands were originally called Viti by their inhabitants, but the Europeans called them by their Tongan name, Fiji. Personally, I think this is probably a good thing since Viti sounds like a pasta and Fiji sounds like a beautiful tropical island.)
Every person that I spoke to about Nadi said that it was an absolute pit, not worth spending any time in at all. Since I only had a few days, I didn't risk confirming this for myself; instead, I got out to a small island as soon as possible. It's also worth noting that, aside from the sun and surf activities, the interior of Fiji is reputed to have some excellent hiking, cultural tours, scenery, etc. But I had just come from winter in New Zealand, and I was ready for a little time on the beach.
Finding an island to visit was made very easy by the fact that I was accosted by travel agents as soon as I came through customs at the airport. I was greeted with a big smile and a hearty "Bula!" - Fijian for aloha - and as soon as I let on that I had arrived without any plans, I was whisked into a small office and briefed on the multitude of possibilites for a traveller such as myself. The resorts seemed to come one to an island and generally catered to a specific target audience. There were islands for young people, old people, newlyweds, backpackers, singles, you name it. I ended up booking a bed at one of the nice, cheap backpacker islands (I did spring for my own room though).
The first leg of the trip out to the island (which began almost immediately) was a drive along the coast, which gave me a glimpse of sugar cane workers and the tiny trains that haul their loads of sugarcane, as well as the small villages in this area. Before too long, we reached a certain coastal town and made our way to the dock. The boat ride out to the island didn't last too long, but did provide a decent view of the coastline and the mountainous interior behind it. We soon arrived at a tiny island - and I do mean tiny. The various buildings of the resort just barely manage to fit themselves onto it and still leave a fringe of pleasant beach. Luckily, the typical island-style buildings are pretty unobtrusive.
I got in pretty late on the first day, so I didn't really see much other than my room until the next morning (the room, incidentally, was small, breezy, and comfortable). At the risk of exposing myself as a complete idiot, I should tell you that I skimped a little on the sunscreen at first, on the theory that I only had a few days to get some sun before returning to Michigan. Bad idea. I was already a little burned by lunchtime on the first day, having underestimated the power of the tropical sun. That hampered my beach activities a little bit, but I refused to stay out of the sun, on the theory that I was not going to waste the few days in Fiji that I had left. Bad idea. I was very sunburned when I left the island, which made for a very painful flight to Hawaii.
The first thing that I tried was the snorkelling. The rental equipment was horrible -- it seemed like I was inhaling a gallon of water for every fish that I saw. So I gave it up and returned the equipment to the shop, including the remaining bits of the snorkel mouthpiece. After lunch, I gave the jet-ski/sea-doo a try, although - as with most places where I've rented a jet-ski - the area you're allowed to use the thing in is so limited that it's hard to have much fun. If I had been a certified diver at the time, I might have also signed up for the shark-feeding dives. Maybe it's a good thing I wasn't certified.
Meals are included in the price on this island, so at lunchtime they just set up a buffet and ring a big bell to let everyone know to come and get it. I think that's the only time I've ever actually been called to a meal with a bell. The food was what I think of as typical island food - pork, rice, fruit, that kind of thing - and it wasn't bad. I ran into the other North American at the resort while eating lunch, who turned out to be booked on my flight to Hawaii, so I was hanging around with a Canadian for the rest of my stay. Hockey might have come up in conversation once or twice.
There's not a lot to do in the evenings on a tiny tropical island, so I spent my time hanging out at the bar with everyone else. The staff are a friendly bunch, and try to get everyone involved in the drinking games, sing-a-longs and dances. They even did a Fijian version of what I saw much later in the US as the "Macarena." I swear I would have sat it out if I'd known.
I think the thing that I enjoyed most was the sunset cruise on the island's large catamaran. The scenery was nice, and the hors d'oeuvres were mighty tasty too. I had no idea that bacon wrapped around banana slices would taste so good. I also ran into the one and only inhabitant of Luxembourg (or was it Lichtenstein?) that I've ever met. I can only hope that someday I'll meet the other half of their population.
When it was time to leave, the resort staff showed me the total on the tab that I'd been running for the last few days. After recovering from my heart attack, I gave them my wallet and started my trip back to Nadi.
So, my visit to Fiji was a good (if short) beach holiday. The people I met were all very friendly, which is something that Fiji has a reputation for (despite the fact that cannibalism used to be practiced in Fiji). They also lived up to their reputation for running on "Fiji time," which is a nice way of saying that things get done when it's convenient, not when they're supposed to or when you want them to. But that's generally okay in a place like Fiji; it doesn't take long to get into a pretty relaxed frame of mind.
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