Tivua Island

On Sunday we took a short cruise that was part of the “Fiji Stopover” package that we booked. After a two hour bus ride, including stops at other resorts and a change to a bigger bus, we arrived at the harbour. There we boarded a motorized sailing vessel for a one hour ride out to their private island for a day of miscellaneous activity, including sunburning. We tried to be careful, but still got a little bit red. The crew also serenaded us with Fijian music as we were boarding, on the island, and again on the way back. They harmonize beautifully. They put up a couple of small sails, just for show, and motored out to the island, anchored offshore, and transferred to the island by smaller boats.

On the island, there were numerous activities, like kayaking, snorkeling, etc. We went on a reef tour in a glass bottom boat and went swimming. There was a BBQ lunch of fish, chicken and lamb sausage, salads, and fruit, and an open bar.

One of the guys showed how to open a coconut with a stake and a karate chop. He also performed a Kava ceremony. Kava is made from a dried root that is pounded into a powder, then mixed with water. It is quite the big deal here. It is kind of like being “Screeched in” in Newfoundland. There are lots of “Bula’s” throughout. I didn’t rush to the front of the line. It smelled to me like one of those male bravado things, where this stuff is so bad that you have to have lots of clapping and cheering to do it and congratulations if you can manage. If you don’t drink it all in one gulp and smile, you have to do it again from a bigger cup. No thanks!

The wind was pretty light on the way out, but had become quite brisk by the time we headed back. The rough water made for an interesting ride back to the ship, docking alongside, and transferring people back aboard. They put up some more sails this time to take advantage of the brisk wind. A rain storm blew up on the way. With only a tarp overhead and the rain blowing sideways, we all got wet. We had a pretty good list on all the way and, one time, a gust coincided with a course correction to cause about a 30 degree tilt to the deck. The bench we were sitting on started sliding to the low side of the ship where the deck was just above the water. Many of the less adventurous passengers were getting pretty anxious, but we experienced prairie sailors took it all in stride, having a wealth of sailing experience under Captain Doug off Vancouver Island this past summer.

The bus rides were interesting. There is a “National Maximum Speed Limit 80 KMPH” posted frequently, but it seems to be only a guideline. The road winds up and down and around hills; there is livestock everywhere, horses, cows, goats, pigs and dogs, sometimes tethered, oftentimes not; other traffic is often hardly moving; and there are several speed bumps as you go through each village. They are often posted for 20 kmph, and they mean it. Sometimes you have to virtually stop. So the drivers go like stink to make up time between obstacles.

The terrain is very hilly and not suited to large scale agriculture. No market for Accutrak here, unless we can steer oxen. There is quite a bit of sugar cane south of Nadi, but along the coast where we are, it is mostly subsistence farming and tourism. There is a large pine forest south of Nadi. Apparently, they imported the pines from India many years ago to use as a source of building materials.

We had another excellent supper and took in the resort’s entertainment before retiring. They had a selection of dances and music from various South Seas islands.