UP TO SPEED

Jeepers, I'm getting very slack with this blogging thing. I'm mainly being incredibly lazy, but I have been busy and this negates any ability to complete decent blogging. I was speaking to my housemates and realised that even if this is my main communication with family and friends, I really need to keep blogging to keep a record of my time here. When I look back on my experiences, I'd like to have a good record of what went on. It's the seemingly insignificant things that are the most important, but they are the ones that I tend to forget. You blink and the moment's passed. Before you know it, the next moment's taken over and all the amazing moments with their individual nuances become generalised into one comment: "Oh yeah, Fiji was OK." And just like that, the detail is forgotten.

So anyway, the following is a pictorial representation of all the cool places I visited over December and January! I had 7 weeks of school holidays to kill, so I thought I'd see as much of Fiji as I could:



Levuka - Fiji's old capital on an island to the east of Viti Levu called "Ovalau". It's a little town that's rich in history, slow-going with spectacular reef and ocean views. To get there, you take a bus from the Suva bus stand, which then takes you to a landing (??lotovi landing?) which then takes you on a ferry, which then takes you to Ovalau Island from Viti Levu. Then when you get to Ovalau Island, you re-board the bus which takes you around the island to Levuka!

View from the peak that overlooks the township:



A war memorial...



The colonial-style township:



Crime free town? Not now...



Taveuni - and island that sits to the east of Vanua Levu in the north. It is an island which has been affectionately dubbed as "The Garden Island". This is due to the wide range of flora and bird life that inhabits the island. The national flower of Fiji, the "Tagimaucia" (Tung-i-mouthia) grows only on this island, at a certain altitude in specific conditions, near water sources such as the mountain lake on Taveuni at a specific time of year. The 180degree meridian line/international date line also passes through the western part of Taveuni.

Sunset between Taveuni and Vanua Levu. The Island in the picture is the east side of Vanua Levu.



The rare and unique tagimoucia...



Bird life...



What day is it again?



Koroyanitu National Park - on the west side of Viti Levu between Nadi and Lautoka is Koroyanitu National Heritage Park. It sits behind Abaca ("Ambatha") Village and the park has craggy cliff faces, jungle and waterfalls that loom over the village. From the mountains, you can see breath-taking views of cliff-faced peaks that frame a perfect view out towards the west coast and islands that are dotted along Viti Levu.







Then there was Volivoli resort which is near a small town in Viti Levu's north called Rakiraki. This was where we welcomed in the new year.





We then headed up North to Vanua Levu to a sleepy little town called Savusavu. The locals call Savusavu "Paradise", and it doesn't fall short of its reputation. Savusavu is home to the pearl farms, hot springs, marinas that welcome in yachts from around the world, stunning off-the-beach snorkelling and a picturesque bay. There aren't any stereotypical beaches, but everything else is superb enough to make up for it.

Split rock:



View from above of Savusavu bay:



The oysters at the pearl farm:



I then visited a friend and fellow volunteer in a town called Labasa, which is in the north of Vanua Levu.



We then headed down the main tourist track and visited a resort near Sigatoka and then further onto the Mamanuca group to South Sea Island. This is pretty much all I saw:



The coral coast, Mamanucas and Yasawas are the typical tourist destinations of Fiji. I am in two minds about these parts of Fiji as I feel like it takes away from the real Fiji. However, resorts and small island holidays have become part of Fiji, so really, is it so far removed from the truth? Either way, it employs a large amount of locals and for the vast majority of sunburnt, sun-seartching, island holiday seekers, it works.

I think I should apply for a job with Fiji tourism now =D

And before I leave this post, courtesy must go to my three travelling buddies, Robin, Bec and Lucie for providing me with some of the lovely photos that you've seen!

ONE PLASTIC

Happy New Year! First of all, an apology once again for sporadic posts. I've been touring Fiji for the past month or so. My goodness this country is absolutely stunning!

Anyway, I was on a round tour of Samabula on a mission to buy bread and milk this morning for breakfast. Whilst doing my milk/break run, I came up with some inspiration about this next topic.

So in Australia, we've been brought to obsession with the "green bag". Plastic bags have become a mortal sin and the person who requests for more is whole heartedly deserving of a deathly scowl. Check out assistants are trained to refuse or limit their use of plastic bags, while some companies have decided to charge money for the use of the wretched inventions. Such is the national mission to save your plastic bags, save the world. Towards a greener environment. Stop killing the dolphins. And all that...

Not in Fiji.

In Fiji, there seems to be an obsession with "plastic". You say "plastic bag" here and everyone looks at you with a raised eyebrow, or in most cases, two raised eyebrows (this one being the "I-know-you-said-something-but-I-have-no-idea-what-you're-talking-about" eyebrow raise). So now, I bring you the top 5 personal examples of plastic bag usage in Fiji:

IN FIFTH POSITION..........

SUVA MARKET:
Onions and potatoes, along with other amazing Indian spices and kava, are sold in the upper level of the market in Suva. I came here the other day to buy a bag of onions and a bag of potatoes. I purchased both of these items from one stall. The onions went in one bag, the potatoes in another which to me, is logical.

THEN both bags went into a third plastic bag.

IN FOURTH POSITION...........

Cost-U-Less:
The overseas import store where you can get everything from tofu to olives, cheaper chocolate and storage solutions. Kind of like cost-co or some other bulk-buy import store. I purchased tofu and washing powder.

At the checkout, the tofu went into one bag, and the washing powder in another separate bag.

IN THIRD POSITION.............

Supermarket in Nadi:
I purchased 2 packets of biscuits, a carton of UHT milk and a small bottle of sprite. I was expecting all of the aforementioned items to be placed into one bag, and maybe the sprite left out for immediate consumption.

I received: one bag for 2 biscuits, one bag for the milk and one bag for the sprite.

IN SECOND POSITION.............

The bookshop near the bus station in Suva:
I purchased a ball of twine. One single ball of twine. I had my Aussie green shopping bags with me at the time. Thinking ahead at the register, I told the lady "no plastic" whilst handing her over the twine and the cash. She responded with an eyebrow raise. She processed the transaction and I watched as her hand reached towards the pile of plastic bags on the counter. I repeated: "NO plastic". She looked at me and replied, "Yes, you have one plastic" and handed me my single ball of twine in a plastic bag along with my change.

BUT this one, in my opinion, takes the cake.

FIRST POSITION:

I went to buy some milk. Just milk. Nothing else. I did have a loaf of bread with me, but that was from a different shop. I placed the milk on the counter with the money. The transaction was processed and I took my milk and change and proceeded to walk out of the shop. I don't think I looked unbalanced or like I was struggling with my minimal shopping. However, as I proceeded to exit the shop, and in fact I was probably outside the shop at this point, the shop lady called out after me: "Excuse me, Ma'am! You have one plastic?!"