Southern Taveuni Villages and a Blowhole

Yesterday we went on a cultural walk through a few of the southern most villages in Taveuni... Vuna, Kanacea and Navakawau. It is absolutely amazing to see first hand how the indigenous people of Fiji live. Suli (a local guide from Kanacea) translated for us and told us stories about the land, its people and the history of Taveuni.

Just north of Vuna there is a gigantic Baka Tree which offers unbelievable shade from the burning hot sun, and is also shelter in the rain! This picture only shows a small part of the tree - I think you'd need a helicopter to get a photo of the whole thing!

We also came across a black sand beach where the locals had two cow carcasses layed out on the sand. They were cutting it up into pieces and using it as bait to catch a shark that had become stuck in the shallow waters in front of the coral reef at low tide. We didn't see them catch the shark because we had to get going, but it was interesting to see them out in the water with spears and a circling shark - you wouldn't have seen me out in that water!!

After a short drive south through the biggest copra plantation I have ever seen, we arrived in Vuna, where we were required to go to the chief's house to offer a sevusevu (gift) in order to be welcomed and gain official permission to enter the village. In Vuna's case, the chief died 3 years ago and they are yet to appoint a new chief, so we spoke to the chief's representatives - a couple of older ladies in a modest house - and offered them gifts of kava. After their welcome, the ladies showed us how to weave their traditional mats from Pandanas Trees, and we told them we'd love to buy one from them - will definitely put an order in and pick it up when we can.

In Vuna, we were invited into one of the houses (pictured) to have a piece of homemade custard pie with the family. Apparently the villagers are trying to raise money for the Primary School so we gave them a small donation to show our appreciation of their hospitality.

Each house is home to 10-20 people who sleep on woven mats on the floor. Some houses don't have windows or doors, and there is no flyscreen to keep out the mosquitos, but they seem to be the happiest and friendliest people we have ever met!! Nappies are hard to come by so most of the little babies run around with no pants on. Most of the houses don't have toilets but some of them have small corrugated iron rooms with old Milo tins!! Other people just use the rainforest.

In Taveuni, most families make their minimal income from sales of woven mats and masi (tapa) cloth paintings, dalo (known as taro in most Pacific nations), kava (pictured), fishing and other vegetable crops. Land is handed down through the family generations and most of the villagers will live their entire lives in these types of family homes with minimal contact with the outside world.

We were amazed to see a couple of brand new water tanks in the village and were shocked when we heard the new Military Government (who seem to get only negative publicity in Australia) were the ones who donated the tanks! We've actually heard a few really positive stories from the local people about the new government, even if they don't agree with the way in which President Bainamarama is going about it. As usual, the Australian media only publishes the 'controversial' news to gain sales - nobody wants to read 'good' stories right? I am still undecided about my feelings towards the government, so I've decided to try to find out more about it before I take on any sort of opinion about it!

We had a picnic lunch (tuna pasta and coconut cake) at the blowhole on the south cape of Taveuni. It is similar to the one in Kiama NSW but the rock is all volcanic. The view was absolutely breathtaking from up there and we couldn't help to think about Jessica Watson being out in the deep ocean all by herself - what an adventure she must be having - she's a lot braver than I'll ever be that's for sure!

Safety isn't an issue in Taveuni. Everyone seems to know each other, and even the Policemen have told us they get quite bored sitting in their post for years without actually doing anything!! Luckily for them they have a good gym they can use :)

Tomorrow is Prize Giving day at Naselesele Primary school so Tyla and I will be heading over for that. It's also the start of the Northern Fiji Rugby 7's tournament which is being held in Wairiki until Saturday, so we hope to make it over there for that too!

'Paradise' in Taveuni

After an hour's drive from the Qeleni landing, we finally made it down to the south of Taveuni for our stay at Paradise Resort.

We were greeted with lei's, fresh coconuts to drink and foot massages on arrival!
We then had a delicious dinner which included bananas wrapped in bacon, dipped in fresh chilli chutney - yum! Very keen to cook it at home when we get back :)
The resort is owned by Australians, Allan and Terri Gorton who have 2 adopted Fijian kids, Jessica and Thomas.

Tyla loved hanging out with the kids - not sure if she remembered them from one of the Naselesele Mekes a few months ago, but that is where I met Terri. Their place is gorgeous - 10 waterfront bures all with thatched rooves and beautiful outdoor showers with volcanic rock gardens.
The snorkelling was absolutely amazing - Tyla even had a go, but I still can't manage to get her to breathe through the snorkel. She's happy just holding her breath and looking at the fish through her goggles though. Apparently they have resident Lion Fish at the resort, but we couldn't find them! We saw a long thin clear looking fish though - I must research it to find out what it was!?

I learned how to make a basket out of coconut leaves later in the day and then the staff performed a Meke after our 'Fiji Night' Lovo which was great.
The staff really included us all, especially Tyla, and some of the local village kids performed. After the meke we had a traditional kava ceremony and danced the night away. The Fijian's dedicated a song called 'Isa Lei' to us because we were leaving the next day - wow... their voices are absolutely amazing and they all sing such gorgeous harmonies!

Missed the boat!

Got to the marina this morning and our boat was pulling out on it's way to Taveuni without us!!! My fault though - forgot to change the time on the alarm to daylight savings time... grrr... So anyways, it's been pouring all day, so we headed to the gym for a bit and we're having a nice relaxing day at home before catching the 5pm boat this avo :) Even watched 'Once Were Warriors', a sad but interesting Maori movie I haven't seen for about 15 years. Also doing loads of craft and watching christmas movies with Tyla.
By the way, I'm still waiting for my 2pm farm ride to come and pick us up from last Tuesday! I wish I was on Fiji time like everyone else over here :)

Fijian People, Schools and Paradise

Tyla gave out her presents to her two favourite taxi drivers yesterday and they were both really glad to see her. Here is a picture of Tyla with Inoke (who drives the orange taxi).

She gave him a kangaroo holding a boomerang. Sake (who drives the aqua taxi) got a koala with an Aussie bandana... When we saw him later in the day he had his kangaroo hanging from the mirror in the taxi so Tyla was very happy with herself :)
On the way bag to the landing at Matei we passed the natural spring where we went swimming last time, and a couple of ladies from the village were washing their clothes there. They remembered Tyla so they were more than happy to pose for the photo she wanted to take of them. Ty's become quite the photographer! Very different ways of doing washing than back in Oz!

After grabbing an ice block at Bhula Bai, we sat at the landing waiting for the boat. Some people from a village in Qamea called Vuanicau (pronunced voo-ah-ni-tha-oo) arrived to go shopping. I got talking to them and it turns out they run a school of about 100 students over there. The principal has invited Tyla and I to come and watch their dress rehearsals next week - can't wait! It'll be great to experience the culture of another school on an even more remote island. Their school holds the licence held by Malcolm Forbes from when he built a school on Laucala back in the days when he owned the island. From all reports he was a god-like figure over here and did everything he could to help the local people (unlike the current owner). In the 2000 coup, the military invaded Laucala and the school was closed down. I'm pretty sure Mr Forbes had died before then but Im going to ask some people today to find out more about it. So anyways, Vuanicau Public School holds the old Forbes-Laucala school licence and relies on donations from the Fijian government to provide for their kids. I hope they're not holding their breath for funds because I'm pretty sure they'll be waiting a while for their current government to help them out?? I wish I could find out more about the current regime, but it's kind of like an unspoken topic over here. Apparently he has the Fijian's best interests at heart. I'd actually love to meet him and have a chat about it!
Apart from that, tomorrow morning we're heading down to the south end of Taveuni for a holiday at 'Paradise'. Can't wait!

Pencil Giving and Smiles

Yesterday was the day Tyla and I gave out all the pencils and things we've been collecting back in Australia for Naselesele Primary School. I've included a photo of it all :)
The teachers were so amazed and grateful and offered us gifts of fruit to show their appreciation. We also gave them lots of printed photos from the school and a couple of meke's (traditional Fijian dances) that we attended last time we were here and they were overwhelmed. Apparently it costs $3 in Taveuni for 1 photo print! So to get about 200 prints was amazing for them.
The Head Teacher, Makarita, was in Suva yesterday doing a training course, so I haven't seen her yet but I'm sure we'll catch up next week. Next week is prize giving day so Kalera, Siiad and Maria (the teachers) said they will be able to give all the kids new pencils for next year, rather than just the 3 prize winners from each class. It's so amazing to think that some kids never have a new pencil to work with... we definitely take things for granted in Australia!!!

Tyla took this photo of some of the kids in her class. When our taxi arrived at the school, the kids ran over calling out Tyla's name! She jumped out and there were hugs all round - just like we never left! It was great to see everyone again and it's a great feeling to know that such a small gift of pencils, craft things and photos will make such a difference to a group of people.
So everyone, if you're reading this, donate something to your local school or some other people in need and you'll really get a buzz out of it. Every little bit helps!

Ika Vaka Lolo

Here is a pic of the awesome dish I had in Nadi the other night. Ika (fish), Vaka (Very), Lolo (Coconut Milk). In other words, fish cooked in lots of coconut milk. It has a sweet curry flavour and loads of yummy vegies - a traditional Fijian meal not to be missed! They usually serve it with cassava but I asked for hot chips instead (for Tyla).

Our trip, luggage and boat ride

Tyla and I arrived in Nadi safely and as usual, were the first through customs but then had to wait for our bags to come out on the carousel. Of course they were the last ones off!

Our trip to our hotel was fun. Our taxi had to drive along the sand and sometimes in the water to get to the Beachside Resort.

We had a nice night chatting to some other tourists and watching the porter double up as the guitarist and singer... and then he was there in the morning to check us out - talk about a jack of all trades!

Our bags were over the 15kg domestic limit (by 5kg each) so I showed them the pencils and craft things we have for Naselesele school and they gladly let us go through. Can't wait to take all the stuff we've collected over to the school!! We'll hopefully get over there by the end of this week.

Was great to see Ru waiting for us at the airport!

Luckily the boat was waiting for us at Qeleni, so we jumped on that, only to realise one of the 150 horsepower engines had flooded, so we were running on only one of them. Took us what seemed like forever to get to Qamea but just as we were approaching Matagi, another boat came and picked us up - was fun swapping boats in the middle of the ocean!

So here we are and loving it. Doing lots of swimming and even going to the gym.

I think the Fijians are really happy to see Tyla back. She brings a bit more life to the place! Suzanne from the farm is picking us up at 2pm this avo to take us to her house for Ty to play with the kids and maybe have a swim at the beach. Should be fun!