independant sea kayaking around fiji

Hey,
I'm heading to Fiji for a week or two in october. Have yet to learn much except it seems everyone is scared to camp outside of hostels...is there a real reason for this? I'm most interested in hiring a sea kayak and camping/exploring for a week with my boyfriend. We want to discover some of fiji on our own. We have both spent years travelling and working as adventure guides, kayaking, rafting, hiking and climbing; so we are not trying to get in over our heads. We can find no info on the possibility of this. Does anyone have some information for a couple of independant travellers?

It's not an issue of fear. all land in Fiji is owned by someone, very few "national parks" to camp in without getting permission.

I'm most interested in hiring a sea kayak

You'll have a difficult time renting kayaks independent of a tour operator or resort-haven't seen anyone do it yet.

Is it common to negotiate with locals/ villages to stay in or around their area? And how do they get around (ie would it be feasible in theory to try and hire a canoe or tinnie if they're a common form of transport)?

The idea of someone sleeping on the ground while people sleep inside is foreign to Fijians-outside of resorts.

Yes you could certainly do it but it would involve a certain amount of palaver as they would need to determine who actually controlled that patch of ground, what if anything was to be paid and to whom, what arrangements for using whatever toilet, blah, blah, blah, blah....

It might be 10 minutes it might be all afternoon around the Kava bowl-Kava which you have supplied of course.

Interisland transport involves fiberglass boats powered usually by 40hp Yamaha engines and you would never be able to pry one away from a villager not in a thousand years.

Your best bet is a small resort bare bones resort that has kayaks for day trips.

Sorry to be such a wet blanket but Fiji is a poor place and tourism has only managed to progress to a certain level, that coupled with unique social conditions mean what you're after is difficult to do.

Of course people do independent kayak trips-from their own feathercrafts or other folding units they have flown in.