| hemis22:02 UTC16 Nov 2013 | Fiji Islands: November 2013
Visas are free for most nationalities but you need to show your return/onward ticket out of the country.
Within my 15 days on Fiji I spent my time mainly on the main island “Viti Levu”, made a short trip to the small island of Mana in the Mamanuca Group and a multi day trip to Ovalu, off the east coast.
Viti Levu:
Namaka / Nadi: I have stayed with a local Indian-Fijan Family and celebrated the Indian Diwali Festival with them. Got stuffed with fine foods and plenty of Indian sweets and can’t therefore give you any accommodation option
Garden of the Sleeping Giant: Go for a visit of the beautiful Sleeping Giant Garden, full of a huge variety of orchids and some walking trails. Entry for adults is F$ 16, kids up to 15 years of age pay F$8. If the weather looks rainy you will be provided with an umbrella and upon come back you’ll get some fruit juice. They also rent the gardens for functions like birthday and wedding parties. The price per head is F$ 20 per head. Call 921 21 25 or 905 06 87. Opening hours are Mo – Sat 09.00 – 17.00, Sun 09.00 – 12.00.
To get there you can either go on a tour, hire a taxi in Nadi or take any local bus / minibus to the junction of the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, F$1, around ½ h. Cross the road and follow the natural road for about 2km until you see a sign, where you turn left. The garden is 5 minutes up on the side road.
Back on the natural road, turn left (to the right you walk back to the main road) and walk another 30 minutes to reach 2 hot springs. Both have a mud pool and a hot water pool and both charge now F$ 15 for adults! I walked up to have a look at the place but couldn’t see a clue to sit in a hot spring at an already really hot and humid country. But in rainy weather it might be worth the effort. Instead of soaking I got invited into a local house, drank cava with the family clan and played an outdoor game with the local kids.
Navilawa: The village chief is Philimoni, cell 993 94 74. The modern looking small village has a beautiful setting and has about 150 people including some + 20 kids in school-age who are going to a boarding school. There is a lodge right at the beginning of the village, which costs F$ 35 per night and person. In total there are 6 beds, 1x4 and 1x 2 (with one double-bed). The place is very good value as you are most likely to have the whole house for yourself. There is a shower, a flushing toilette and a kitchen inside fi you are self-catering. If you wish the villagers to cook for you add F$ 15 for 3 basic meals. If you just want to come for visit during the day, the day-fee to visit the village is F$ 21.50 including a village tour and refreshments. In the village there is a small shop where you could buy basic items such as biscuits, cans and noodle-packs but it would be best to come up to the village with these items already in your backpack. The villagers can offer hikes or horse-riding (F$ 15 per person) into the beautiful surrounding mountains for a couple of hours. There is also an old cave nearby where people have taken refuge during cyclone season.
How to get there: Call driver Api Nambo from the hot springs. Cell 996 26 15. He will drive you one way for F$ 40 (in a 4x4 vehicle, 20km inland from tank junction on the main road, where the sign for the stoney creek resort is) to Nawilava. To get to tank junction, just sit in any bus or minibus going from Nadi towards Lautoka, F$1 and tell the driver where you want to get off. If you want to go even cheaper and like to hike, be at the junction at 8am and wait for the public bus going to Korobembe. From Korobembe, 13km inland from the main road, walk for 7km until you reach the village. After 3km there is a gold plant on your left as you follow the beautiful river bed through lush vegetation. For the return bus, be at 5.15pm back in Korobembe and get off at the main road from where you can flag down a bus or a minibus to either Nadi or Lautoka. Recommended.
Navala:
No visit to Fiji is complete without an overnight stay in the last traditional village in the Fiji Islands which has a spectacular setting in the foothills of the mountains. Highly recommended. Entry fee to the village has risen to F$ 25. This should include a village tour and refreshments but not necessarily. In total there are over 100 “bure”, traditional buildings, in the village. On the upper side there is a soccer/rugby ground and behind the local school, grade 1-8 and next to it a catholic church.
How to get there: From the town of Ba (the next town from Lautoka on the Kings Highway) there are busses at 11.00am, 4.15pm and 5.15pm. Fare is F$3 and the bus takes about 1h 15 min to rustle up to the village (on some section you think you could walk faster...). From Navala there is a bus at 06.00am, 08.00am and at 1.45pm which brings you back to Ba, from where you have connections to Lautoka and Nadi. Riding the bus trough the beautiful country side , often with plenty of cheerful school kids on the way home, is extremely enjoyable.
You can stay either at Bulou’s Eco Lodge, phone 628 12 24, ca. 1km away from the village. Dormitories including meals are F$ 75, bungalows are F$ 180 or you can opt (like me) to sleep in the village itself. This is more rustic but you will sleep in an actual family-bure. Upon arriving in the village ask for Alevina, she lives in the “Sauelau Bure” which basically next door to the bure of the village chief and the headman’s bure (at the start and on the lower side of the village towards the river). Cost is just F$ 30 including basic meals. Bring some snacks from town. Water is available via a pipe from a nearby source. Alevina doesn’t have a phone and there is no cell connection in the village at present but she has a functioning flushing toilette, some 35m down a track! You will likely end up in the family bed, with kids, parents and grandparents sleeping on the floor but don’t worry – everybody will be much more used to do that than you
What to do: Swim with the kids in the muddy river in the afternoon, watch the youth playing rugby in the evenings and visit the local school in the morning. Plus take plenty pictures of the beautiful bures and the friendly inhabitants. You can also opt to hike in the surrounding mountains. If you would like to donate school material to the school (grades 1-8), they currently look for picture/reading books, library books, stationaries, coloring books, board games, atlases and dictionaries. Give them to director Luke or even better give them to a suitable class. The school has at present 157 kids (with 23 of them staying in dormitories as they come from 4 even remoter villages over the hills)
Mana Island – Mamanuca Group near Nadi:
Be aware that many Fijan islands where badly hit by a cyclone in December 2012 and some resorts have just as recently opened as Nov. 1st, others are already open for months while Funky Fish Beach Resort on Malolo Island is still closed. The cyclone damaged both, the infrastructure on the islands as well as the coral reef which is being revitalized. Call before you go.
On the island there are 4 places to stay. 2 Backpackers and 2 upmarket resorts.
Ratu Kini Backpackers and Dive Resort: Tui Tabu is the director. Cell 999 13 48. Email: tkabu@connect.com.fj. The place is run by a sympathetic manager Trevor from NZ. There is a 5star Padi Dive shop on site. Dorms are hot and sticky as they are in a building behind the main restaurant-dive-shop building and cost F$ 32 including breakfast or F$ 66 with an excellent food-plan (including lunch and dinner). There is also a restaurant and a bar from where you can choose à la carte. Singles and doubles are also available. A number of paying attractions are arranged, such as snorkeling, hand reel and trawling (fishing), half day or full day island hopping with 2 stops at different islands where you can sit in different resorts and enjoy a drink before going for a snorkeling on the nearby sand bar, there are sunset cruises and a trip to Monuriki Island, the location of the film “Cast Away” with Tom Hanks. The Backpacker place has its own boat which brings you from Nadi to Mana in around 45 Minutes. Prices are F$ 75 one way or F$ 140 return with a free pick-up in / around Nadi.
Mana Bay Lagoon: Cell 92 92 337 and 92 19 951, the manager is Jitan. Dorms including all meals are F$ 65. Single rooms are F$ 100, doubles are F$ 140 and one double is en-suite for F$ 340. There is a small restaurant plus a bar on site where you can choose your dishes and drinks. They have their own transfer boat from Nadi which is called the Mana Flyer. 1 way F$ 75, ca. 45 min. including a free pick-up from Nadi area. They also have a dive site. They have similar day tours like the ones mentioned above.
Tadrai Island Resort: www.tadrai.com / Email: rm@tadrai.com / cell: +679 999 35 68. This exclusive and truly beautiful place is run by sympathetic manager Jack Stark. Tadrai is kids-free and has just 5 villas on the beach, each with a stylish outdoor bathroom, bathtube and its own little fresh water swimming pool. Prices are for doubles or singles F$ 3’000 per night, inclusive all food and drinks. Steak or Lobster – you choose. The beautiful common freshwater swimming pool is nicer to look at if the water is calm and seemingly continues with the sea, just in front. Helicopter Transfers from Nadi are F$ 1’500 (per helicopter) but you can also come on a public boat, on the boat with one of the backpacker hostels or on a chartered boat. If you arrive by boat there is a free pick-up from the main jetty on the other side of the island.
Mana Island Resort: They cover a huge portion on the island and the mini-Berlin wall (which one LP writer wrote) is still in place. I didn’t appreciate this, if you want to stay check www.manafiji.com . Prices range from F$ 320 upwards.
Nandi / Port Denarau: Captain Cook Cruises – www.captaincook.com.fj / reservations@captaincook.com.fj /land line + 679 6701 823. They offer a variety of cruises from day cruises to dinner cruises and right up to a 4 day stay on a small luxury cruise-ship. I had a look at their day cruise to Tivua Island. Normally they go on a roughly 50 year old schooner (a double mast sailing ship) who belonged last to the governor-general of Fiji in the old colonial days. There were around 60 people on board and the ship was pretty full. Coffee and water on the ship has to be paid for but on the island the lunch BBQ, including alcoholic beverages are included in the price of F$ 185 per person. Start is at 10am and you’ll be back by 5pm, unfortunately. 1-2 hours more on the island would be greatly appreciated. Once there - you will go for a snorkeling just off the island ( a ten minutes’ walk around) where you will see dead and some live coral, blue sea stars and plenty of colorful fish. BBQ was good and after that you can go for a relaxing hour, another snorkeling session, grab a sea-kayak and paddle to the schooner or take a trip on a glass-bottom boat to the small reef in front of the island. Dives and massages are available at an additional cost (dives F$ 150 – 1 tank). Be aware that some of the snorkeling equipment is below average, if you have your own, bring it along. Security on board as well as while snorkeling is good (snorkeling is in 2 groups – one for beginners and the other one for advanced snorkelers, both with a guide). Recommended.
Near Sigatoka at Korotogo on the Sunset strip:
The Kula Eco Park is a fantastic place to while away 1-2h. In Fiji they are most famous for the breeding program of a highly endangered iguana type and you get to handle 2 different kinds of iguanas (crested and banded) plus some boa constrictors. Apart from that there is a long shaded boardwalk which leeds you through open cages with birds flying around, sea turtles (including feeding), flying foxes and so on plus tanks with live coral. The place is very suitable for a pick-nick and kids will love it. Prices for foreigners are F$ 30 for adults and F$ 15 for kids, there is a family price as well. If you want to help the park, don’t drive with the taxi up to the entry as they have to pay the driver a 15% commission in addition to the price you pay. Get off at the main road from where it is a 300m walk up to the gate, straight away. Open daily. Recommended.
Tubakula Beach Bungalows, just across the road is one of the best value places in all of Fiji. Dorms go for just F$ 26 and if you are the first person who checks in, ask the lady for the single room inside the dorm with a double bed (it goes for the same price). In the dorm there are hot water showers, a kitchen with fridge and freezer plus a stuff and cutlery etc. Out there is a small swimming pool in a beautiful lawn with plenty of coconut trees, right at the beach. To one side is a friendly small village with a small shop whose inhabitants will be happy to chat to you or you can play volley ball with them but be aware that some of the players play in Fiji’s National team.
Suva:
Some travelers and expats say Fiji’s capital can be dangerous, especially at night but I found smiles and friendly people where ever I went. I stayed at the South Seas Private Hotel just above Albert Park, a twenty minute walk from the bus station. The old hotel has singles for F$ 35 and Dorms for F$ 20. There is no breakfast or restaurant but a kitchen for guests to use. Among the things to see is the Fiji Museum, the walk along the sea-shore, the Suva Municipal Market and the University of the South Pacific but I also went to see the Youth Prison or rather the Rehabilitation Center for under 18 year olds. The small facility for boys and girls is out in the green not far from the Fiji Museum and is parted. Girls were outsourced to a church-program and are therefore better off. But the rehab center for boys instead of having them in a prison cell is pretty advanced for a developing country.
Cloth donation and more: If you would like to donate some clothes (T-shirts, shorts, flip flops, underwear, long trousers, shirts – according to priority) of you or 2nd hand clothes and flip flops (look for sizes M and L) at the markets around town. Please bring them directly to the rehab. It’s a 8 minutes’ walk from the South Seas Private Hotel. Go up Ratu Cakobau Rd which leads up from Albert Park to the South Sea … Hotel and turn right into Domain Rd, just a bit higher than the South Sea … Hotel. Walk down until you see a small road going to the left (Imthurn Rd or similar). Take this and just before it ends at a house, there is the Obrien Rd to the right. Walk it up to the last house and donate the cloths to Mr. Clement the man in charge or Mr. JR, a social worker. This way the cloth get directly to the right place but you won’t see the kids most probably. For being sure to see them and talk to the cheerful pack (7 at the time I was there but 22 just a few months earlier) you need to call the welfare department in Suva Thoorak, (approx. F$ 4 by taxi from the Fiji Museum). Landline is 331 55 74. Ask for Ela, the woman in charge or the head of the department. I have all names and cell numbers of the people in charge but as they are confidential – I can’t disclose them. The small rehab center’s land line number is 331 28 36. I talked to the kids for some time (a smiley bunch of 15 – 17 year olds, all in for burglary (some innocent – others guilty) and they wished to play volley ball and had already a net – so I donated them a ball. Be aware that this is the only youth prison / rehab center in the whole country and I believe Fiiji is surprisingly forward in the way they treat their young offenders. The problem is that the kids often arrive here directly from the police station on the main island or from other islands in the clothes they wear at that moment and have no spare cloth. That’s why your donation is very much appreciated.
In case you have time and a program or skills to offer to the youth (who might attend a school or a vocational training while here) or you would like to donate some money for a bail out (the average cost is F$ 1’000 – 2’000 / USD 500 – 1’000 but as most families are poor - they can’t afford this much of money) you definitely have to make an appointment with the director of the department.
Ovalu Island Levuka:
How to get there: Go to the Patterson Brothers Shipping Company, land line 331 56 44. They are just below the Centenary Church, in a shopping complex in the city-center, about a 5 minutes’ walk from the bus station. Open Mo – Fr 08.30 – 16.30, Sat 08.30 – 12.00. The price is F$ 35 per way and includes the bus-ferry-bus ride (5-6h) from Suva to Levuka. No trip on Wed and Sun. The bus leaves at 13.30 from the bus station. Going back from Levuka to Suva, busses pick you up at your hotel at 04.30am and you will reach Suva around 08.30. Inquire about return trips on most days of the week. Buy your ticket in person up to 1 hour ahead of the departure. Both bus rides are about 1.5h and the ferry take about 45 min across to Ovalu Island.
Levuka is a small town with an wild west atmosphere (buildings, no cowboys or guns) and was declared Unesco world heritage in 2013. It’s a small and pleasant little town (if you overlook /oversmell the stench from the nearby fish-fabric) with plenty of friendly people. Stay at the Royal Hotel (the countries’ oldest hotel, singles F$ 35 up) or at the New Mavida Lodge, singles F$ 60 – 80, dorms F$ 25. The Patterson’s Brothers office is in between from where it is a 2 minutes’ walk to either of the 2 places. Roam around Levuka and take in the old architecture but the Ovalu Club is closed for renovation at the moment. 5 km to the north of Levuka is the Bishop’s Mausoleum/Tomb/Grave. Taxis, F$8 or catch the morning bus around 7.10am or a pick-up any time they pass to reach the place. The Tomb is to the right side of the road, a 2 minutes’ walk. Immediately to the left on the road a small footpath leads up a little hill in the bush. After a 5 minutes’ walk you will find an old church in ruins which is atmospheric. The handy man who lives just before the church and works in the nearby secondary school has the key to the tomb but there isn’t really a great deal to see apart from a stone, mentioning the bishop’s name etc. 300m up the road you’ll reach a catholic church and behind is a vast secondary school campus including a boarding school. Kids come from all over Fiji but most come from the area of Suva. Other parents work as expats overseas and the recommended school has a good number from other Pacific Islands such as PNG, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa, Nauru, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Samoa and Tonga. I heard a good singing lessons and played table tennis with them on the worst table I have ever seen ;-)
Yassava Island Group:
I would do anything to avoid the Awsome Adventures Fiji overpriced Katamarans . They apparently went up 50% of the published LP fares from 2012 and you can’t leave the boat if you don’t have a booked place to sleep. Well for mass tourism that might be the way but not for intrepid travelers. On my last day in Fiji I heard from a local in Lautoka, that there should be a public ferry from Lautoka to most of the islands villages on Friday and Saturday for just F$ 30 – 50. It goes back to Lautoka on Wednesday and Thursday. Departure times are in early morning around 05.00 – 06.00 am. That means you would have to sleep over in Lautoka, about an hours drive north of Nadi. The boat’s name is Sulua. Please double-check this information and post more information if you take it.
Enjoy Fiji,
Roger
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| watsoff17:23 UTC22 Dec 2013 | Good report OP.
I spent 5 weeks in Fiji this year and was not asked to show my return ticket; this was my 15th visit and I've never had to produce an onward ticket. But, for the first time ever, I was supposed to indicate where I was staying on the landing card. I had not pre-booked accommodation, have never done so in all my visits there, but this time the immigration officer was not overly receptive and insisted I needed to confirm where I was staying. In fact, this was the first cool reception I've ever received in Fiji. He eventually jotted down my email address, which of course I did not check the whole time I was there. Then set off to my favourite hotel in Nadi only to find it no longer in operation.
A big disappointment for me, this time around, was to find that mostly all my old favourite budget hotels have been closed down, particularly in Nadi. Fiji is aiming at more at high-end tourism these days.
My favourite hotel in Suva, these days anyway, is the South Seas Private Hotel. I used to flip between the SSPH and the old Tanoa House, but Tanoa House is no longer, more's the pity. I loved that old place, it was definitely on the top of my favourites list. The SSPH often gets some rather eccentric clients, which can be a load of fun. I also like Tubukula cottages, but not the beach so much.
Are there no more private water taxis to and from Ovalau and the Natovi jetty? They only cost a couple of dollars more than the ferry (at that time anyway) and are a bit faster. I took the ferry over but a water taxi back, as the water taxi left Levuka at a more sane time of the morning. The ferry left at a ridiculously early time and I like sleep. Maybe the ferry schedule has changed now, though.
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