A week on Viti Levu

View from my hammock
see all photos »

I arrived at Nadi airport late afternoon. I needed to catch a bus along the Pacific road to where i'd be staying. The ride would take 2 to 3 hours. It took me 2 to 3 hours of waiting before the bus turned up, but the ride was worth it through the lush countryside before sunset. I was staying halfway between Nadi and Suva in a backpacker resort on the Coral coast.

The location was stunning. The accommodation was nestled between palm trees and lush sprawling undergrowth. The beach faced Southwest and from 'my' hammock i got to see some blazing sunsets. The resort had been used for a British tv show, and it was easy to see why. The snorkeling was ok, but it takes some swimming (or a boat) to get out to the better reef, where you get to see sharks if you're lucky or unlucky depending on your point of view. The currents out by the reef edge can be strong, which took a surfer by suprise while i was out there (he was rescued by a German girl surfing at the same time).

Fijian cup semi final at Singatoka
see all photos »

I visited the local village where i was invited into a local woman's house who had just finished church. I was taken to look around the church before meeting more of the local women lying around with their and their children's children. They lay down on their sides rather than sit, probably to get away from the heat. The room was full of beaming smiles and everyone seems to smile at each other or wave from accross the street.

At the weekend a few of us went to the nearest town, Sigatoka, for the rugby semi final of the Fijian cup. The standard of rugby was extremely high according to the English expert next to me. On my other side my giant forever smiling driver constantly offered me food or pointed out the things that seemed to make him permanently happy.

It was the rainy season and the weather could be a little unpredictable. One night a storm hit with winds that bent the palm trees sideways. It really didn't matter if it rained due to the warmth and humidity anyway rain looks great from underwater.

At the end of the week i headed back to Nadi to take a boat out to the outlying Yasawa islands.