Travels around the world – Fiji

I arrived in Fiji very late at night and had no idea of where I was staying, I was greeted by a taxi driver who asked if I was looking for somewhere to stay and he took me off to the weirdest hostel I have stayed at ever! There were about 3 rooms and in my room there were only 2 beds. I felt uncomfortable from the moment I got there until the moment I left (at the earliest opportunity the following morning). I made my way into the town and found out where all the buses left from as I had to travel to Suva to get to my destination. I have been told to go to Leleuvia; this was one of the islands that the backpackers head to so it sounded reasonable enough to me. The buses are little more than mini vans with seats and even though they are not very comfortable the heat and the fact that I’d had very little sleep made me nod off. Every so often I was awoken by the sudden stop of the bus because there was something in the road, a herd of cows, a dog, children playing or another vehicle. The roads themselves had changed in the time I had slept. They had gone from main roads with proper flat top covering to little more than dirt tracks with shacks at the side of them where people lived or sat selling their goods. About half way through the journey (2 -3 hours) we stopped at a Market. It was a huge place with thousands of people roaming around. They sold lots of things I had never seen before and could not identify what I did recognise were the coconuts with the tops cut off and the straws placed inside. I played it safe and got a bottle of water. After several hours on the bus I was happy to find that Suva is quite a large town with proper roads. So, my next mission was to get to Leleuvia. I had been told that the ferry goes from a place called Emosi’s ferry terminal so all I had to do was find that. I asked at a few shops and they had no idea what I was talking about. I did think this a little odd, why would you not know where a ferry terminal was?  I didn't let it bother me, surely there would be a signpost to it so I decided to cross the road to look at the signs over by the sea wall. Now, I may have mentioned before that it is a small world, particularly when you are travelling; I needed no further proof of this! As I crossed the road I saw a girl I had met in Brisbane, Amanda. We had a chat and I told her where I was trying to go and as luck would have it she was on her way there to collect her bags as she had just returned from Leleuvia. So, off we went to arrange my ferry. It turns out that the ferry goes over twice a week and I had just missed one but they were planning on going over to the island with some supplies and I could get a ride over with the delivery. I agreed and arranged to meet them the following morning, they gave me the address and then they told me that they had a hostel I could stay in for the night so all was working out well so far. My second night in Fiji saw me staying in another weird hostel. The dorm room was laid out like a hospital ward with single beds running the whole length of the room and back down the other side. There must have been 20 beds in the room but I was the only person staying that night as it had only opened a few days before. After I had settled in I decided to go for a walk and some food. I ended up in a little restaurant with a plate of Curried Goat in front of me. I really enjoyed the taste of the curry but I was a little put off by the amount of bones I was finding but this all adds to the experience and it is the traditional way of serving the dish by all accounts. The following morning I got a taxi to go and meet my boat over to the island. I had been told that the delivery they were making was a load of wood as they were building a few additional buildings over there. I got out of the taxi expecting to find some kind of port or terminal but in front of me was a small wooden jetty, the jetty was just built on a water inlet and reminded me of the kind of place where you would see a speedboat chase in a James Bond movie. I was clearly in the wrong place and turned back to the taxi but he was already half way down the road, it was then that I heard someone calling my name. and turned to find the guy who was driving the boat. I was guided to the steps of the jetty so I could get my first glimpse of the boat that was taking me out into the sea and over to the Island. In my mind I got half way down the steps and started to walk back up them but my body actually carried on and examined the vessel. It was little more than a canoe with an outboard motor on the back, the wood had been lain along the boat so my seat was right at the front, I would have a good view of the whole journey.

My "Ferry" to Leleuvia

Undaunted I climbed aboard and off we went. As it happens the journey over wasn't too bad. The sea was quite calm and it was a smooth ride but I never really forgot that I was on a big ocean in a small boat. After a few minutes there was nothing to see but open water. All of the islands are quite low lying so you don’t see them until they are really close. I sat and enjoyed the trip and took it for what it was, a unique experience. I wasn't even that phased when I turned to chat to the guy who was in charge of the boat and saw that he was reading a newspaper instead of actively driving the boat. It wasn't long before we were at Leleuvia and negotiating the reef. It took a couple of attempts to get close enough to make it onto the beach but once we were in grabbing distance there were a few people in the water guiding us in.
The idea of living on an island in the middle of nowhere is one of life’s romantic ideals, in actual fact it is pretty boring. There is nothing to do and all day to do it in. I did explore the island and found it took about 20 minutes to completely walk around the island but you could make the journey longer if the tide was out. Still it was nice to be able to lie on the beach with a book and not have loads of people around. There were only about 10-15 people on the island at any one time. Oddly enough one of the girls on the island had been in the same Hostel as me in Auckland but, as I had come to realise, it is a small world.
One thing you have to accept in this type of environment is the wildlife. As well as there being noisy creatures around at night and all types of insects intent on biting you there are occasions when you find your group has a special guest. On Leleuvia these guests were Sea Snakes.

Sea snake gatecrashing the party.

Nothing breaks a group up quicker than the appearance of a snake. They were never huge creatures, maybe about 4 -5 feet long and kitted out in black and White stripes. We asked the people in charge of the island about then and it turns out that although they are highly poisonous the chances of being bitten were really slim as the venom is found in the teeth at the back of the snake’s mouth and their mouth is really small. Having said that, avoiding them is probably for the best.
The last night on Leleuvia was a celebration of all things Fijian. They were showing us their tribal dances, taught us a few words of Fijian and we had the chance to try the ceremonial drink “Kava”.
 It is served in Coconuts shells and passed from person to person around a circle, you clap hands before you take the drink and after you pass it on. It looks like watered down milk and is supposed to have hallucinogenic properties but to me it just made my lips a little numb and I felt no other effect. It was a good night though. The Fijians were playing guitars or banging on a drum and singing away so they really gave us a good ending to our visit. The following day saw us all leaving the island and taking the long trip to Nadi ready for the next step of the adventure.