Fiji

A year after our wedding, Guy took me on a belated honeymoon to Fiji. Now that we live in Queensland, the Pacific Ocean and its myriad of islands is more accessible than from Western Australia.

A brief history of Fiji

The original inhabitants called their home Viti. The story goes that Captain Cook asked the Tongans the name of the island to their west. Their reply "Feegee"is the Tongan pronunction of Viti. According to oral tradition, the indigenous Fijians of today are descendants of the chief Lutunasobasoba and those who arrived with him on the Kauitoni canoe. This, according to Fijian mythology, was the canoe which sailed from the ancient homeland in the west, carrying the ancestor gods Lutunasobasoba and Degai.

We knew that Fiji had been a British dependancy before independence in 1970. But why British? We were told whilst in Wananavu, that prior to 1874, the islands were independent. Both America and Britain wished to gain power in Fiji and matters came to a head when the American embassy was set on fire. The Americans claimed that the Fijians had done this and asked for a large amount of money in recompense. As the Chief could not pay this exhorbitant amount, he spoke to the British Embassy. They offered to pay the money if Fiji would become part of the British Empire. (I have tried to research this story without success. But it's colourful!)

Fiji's links with British were severed in September 1987 when Fiji was declared a republic, after the second coup of that year. New constitutions followed in 1990, 1997 and 1998, resulting in Mahendra Chaudry becoming Fiji's first Indian Prime Minister and Fiji re-entering the commonwealth. Rebel leader George Speight wanted to see Fiji governed by indigenous Fijians and held the government hostage in Suva for 52 days before a new interim government was formed. Peaceful since 2001, Fiji is now governed democractically with Laisenia Qarase as the current Prime Minister.

We used www.lastminute.com.au to book our week's holiday. Prices were lower than usual because it was the wet season in Fiji. Not only wet, but Cyclone Yasi had just passed Fiji on its way to ravage the north of Australia. Still cyclone season, we trusted in our good fortune to ensure good weather during our time in Fiji.

Online, we selected Wananavu Resort ... www.wananavu.com ... in a package deal which included flying to Nadi with Pacific Blue, transfers, and a garden view bure. Interestingly, Nadi is pronounced Nandi, which makes for frequent spelling errors.

Wananavu Resort is about three hours from Nadi airport on the northwest coast of Viti Levu, near Raki Raki. We were collected from the airport by a personable young man in a 4WD and were soon on our way. I made comparisons with the Queensland coast and with Mauritius - high volcanic hills, field upon field of sugar cane, and humidity settling heavily over us as we drove along the road. Roads in Fiji are not well maintained and whilst the road itself was bitumen, it was full of potholes and made for a slow journey.

We passed through many towns on the way, including the second largest city in Fiji - Lautoka - second only to the capital, Suva. Lautoka is home to the sugar mill which has been operating here since 1903. It is also a port, both commercial and tourist, with yachts and cruise ships fighting for berths alongside the vessels which carry sugar and wood chips overseas.

As we headed north, I thought that this part of Fiji resembled some mythical deep sea creature risen from the oceans, the high spine of the Nakauvadra Range as the backbone and the foam of the shore hiding the lower parts of the in the deep blue of the Pacific. Researching later, I found that the range is believed to be the home of the great snake-god Degei, creator of all the islands.

The last little village of Rakiraki flew past and we headed towards the ocean and Wananavu Resort.

Here we were greeted at reception and immediately upgraded to a ocean view bure, whilst a refreshing fruit juice was offered to us with the welcoming "Bula".

We made our way down the winding path through beautiful flower gardens and were delighted with our accommodation. Attached to one other bure in a duplex style, the bure was designed in typical Fijian fashion with fabric lining the rafters and a large queen size bed dominating the room.

A balcony at the front looked over palm trees to the blue of the ocean. We just knew we were going to have a wonderful time here!

The weather was warmer than Queensland at this time of year but a refreshing sea breeze blew in from the ocean, cooling us down as we sat on our verandah, recuperating after the long drive to Wananavu.

Soon, I was anxious to go exploring, so we headed down the hill towards the beach.

We found a lagoon where the dive boats were located, plus a tennis court and a small cafe.

The water was such an amazing colour - almost as if it had been dyed. But the fish swimming around the jetty didn't seem to mind - all they were thinking of was the 4pm feed.

 

Walking out to the artificial groyne, we grinned at each other when we saw how clear the water was.

"Good vis!" Guy exclaimed, thinking of the diving we would do in the next few days.