Journey to the end of the earth - Part Two - Taveuni

The morning after the men's fishing competition, I woke up too early again, so I went upstairs, got myself a cup of coffee and headed out to the back of the boat to see if any of the crew were fishing.  There wasn't much going on and it was still dark apart from the light from the full moon still shimmering on the water, but it wasn't long before Head Chef Koro came out to start fishing and let me have one of his lines.   I fished for about an hour and a half, staying even after Koro disappeared to oversee breakfast, but there wasn't much biting, the fish were probably all still hiding from the moon.  So I gave up and left the line with one of the crew with just enough time to get showered and changed and have breakfast ready for our transfer to the shore. 

Our fully air conditioned bus!

 Tourism Policeman who joined us for the day to keep us safe

Welcome to Taveuni - green writing bottom left says 'Bar Open Sundays 10am - 1pm'!

There was a bus waiting for us on Taveuni when we disembarked the tenders, the bus was to be our vehicle for the day to take us all round the island to our various stops.  It was a typical, air-conditioned Fijian bus...the kind which doesn't have glass in the windows, only blinds which can be pulled down in case of rain.  As usual, I'd been one of the first to shore, so we hovered beside the bus and took a few photos (above) while we waited until everyone was with us.  Then we piled onto the bus, full of excitement for what the day had in store.  When we were all on board, the engine started, we edged forward onto the road, then something happened, the engine was still running but we were going nowhere.  We were asked to get off the bus so that the crew could push the bus backwards, out of the road while the driver attended to the problem.  I didn't hear  what was going on but the next thing I saw was the driver waving the gear stick in the air.  A couple of attempts to get the bus going were fruitless and in the end a second bus was called for.  These things happen everywhere, and especially in Fiji, and no-one really cared, actually we all thought it rather funny and it added to the true Fiji experience.   In no time at all, the second bus arrived, we piled on again and a huge cheer went up as the engine started and the bus pulled away.   

Photos of the stained glass taken by James and Denise

Our first stop was only a short distance up the road, the Wairiki Catholic Mission, a church with beautiful stained glass windows which, local legend says, came from a cathedral which was demolished during the french revolution.  Supposedly the glass was intended for a number of churches throughout the pacific but somehow it all ended up at Wairiki.  It was quite strange to see such a traditional church here on this tropical island, complete with its beautiful windows and bell tower.  But something I didn't expect, there were no pews - churchgoers sit on the floor because that way, they can fit more people in, or so I was told.

Behind the mission was a school.  We were invited to go and have a look at the classrooms and watch through the doors and windows as the children had their lessons.  Once again, very well turned out, immaculate children learning and a way which is now considered old fashioned, repeating by rote their times tables and spelling.  We did cause a bit of a disturbance, but it was great to see the children as interested in us as we were in them, coming to the windows where they could to have their photos taken.   And the last stop on the school visit was the dormitories where the boarders who are from families living too far away to travel daily stayed.  It certainly made me think twice before I complain again about my own boarding school experience...at least I had a mattress on my bed.

After the mission it was back on the bus and up the hill to the 180th Meridian, the International Date Line.  In fact, the International Date Line has been moved for the convenience of the islanders but you can still stand on the spot where the 180th Meridian intersects the island and for a moment, have one foot in today and one in yesterday, or is it, one foot in today and one in tomorrow......I'll leave you to work that one out!  

Crew members standing on the 180th Meridian

Then onwards again for our morning tea stop - yes, it appeared it was time for them to feed us again.  We stopped at the bus depot in Waiyevo for a traditional Fijian experience representing the strong indian influence on the Fijian culture.  Inside the depot where buses would normally be worked on, a table had been set up with a selection of sweet and savoury treats and sweet hot tea for us to try, surprisingly very refreshing even on a hot and humid day.  

Morning Tea - Fijian-Indian Style, served in the bus depot

After we'd eaten we were encouraged to explore the village, to have a look in some of the shops for souvenirs and admire the fruits and vegetables at the market stalls.  I  found a little clothes shop which sold sarongs so I purchased two at a very good price and then in another shop, picked up a souvenir T-shirt of the Tagamaucia flower, a beautiful rare flower which is unique to Taveuni.  Legend has it that there once was a princess who was about to be married to a man chosen by her family, but she was in love with another man.  So in desperation, she fled into the mountains to escape the marriage.  She reached the volcanic lake high in the mountains where she fell asleep and while sleeping she cried.  Her tears ran down her cheeks and turned into flowers and those flowers became the Tagamaucia.  

Fruit and veg stalls by the side of the road - giant pineapples!

I stopped and chatted to some of the ladies with market stalls along the side of the road selling fruit and vegetables.  It all looked so inviting, if we weren't on a trip which fed us almost every hour, I might have been inclined to buy something, the pineapples were huge and the small, hot chillis bright and colourful.  I understood at that point why this island is known as the 'Garden Island' of Fiji.  In fact, as a volcanic island with a central ridge of up to 900m the island acts as a barrier for the warm moist wind coming off the sea and the windward side of the island can get up to 1000cm of rain per year.  The soil is rich and red and such that its ideal for agriculture which accounts for the fact that everywhere you looked there were trees, bushes and other green plants both natural and farmed.  

We almost had to be rounded up to get back on the bus for the next leg of the journey which took about 45 minutes, to a small beach where lunch would be served.  Again, it was lovely to eat on the beach, sitting in the sand with a plate of salads and chicken and local root vegetables - oh and a beer, listening to a local group of singers serenade us with some popular songs.  A few of the crew members had met us at the lunch stop having gone on ahead to prepare, but we were all supposed to get back on the bus heading onwards around the northern tip of the island.  Unfortunately, there wasn't room on the bus or in the lockers for the eski/chillybin/coolbox so we had to leave barman Suli behind guarding the beer waiting for a taxi to take him back to the boat which had moved to a new location ready to pick us up at the end of the day.

It was an hours drive to our next stop, first on a tarmac road, then on a dirt track for the rest of the journey.  Once we hit the dirt track, it got quite dusty in the bus without windows and the dust was getting in my eyes so I made the mistake and closed them....and dropped off.  How I managed to sleep on the bumpy ride, I don't know, the beer with my lunch probably helped, along with the 4.30am wake up, but if I did sleep while the bus was rocking and rolling, all I can say is that I must have needed it.  Our last stop for the day was Bouma, a village which turned down an offer of a lucrative logging deal in favour of a F$60,000 grant from New Zealand to allow them to develop tourism to their glorious waterfall.  Instead of allowing a logging company to destroy their forests, they have used the grant to improve access to the falls and provide better facilities for visitors.  Our first stop at Bouma was the falls, so from the bus, we walked the short distance along a beautiful grassy path to where we could hear the water of the falls crashing into the pool below.  It was so warm we wasted no time in stripping down to our togs/bathers and getting in the cool water.  Certainly the coolest water we would be experiencing on this trip but it was very refreshing.  

Bouma Falls

Some of the crew joined us and in no time were up on the ledge over the pool jumping into the water below.  We watched for a while then some of the passengers decided to give it a go.  I wanted to have a go too and although a bit nervous, I climbed up the rocks in the company of John who said he'd go with me for moral support.  Well when I got up there it was higher than I'd thought and the distance you needed to jump out from the rock to avoid the shallower water directly below was further than I had expected to so after John went ahead and jumped, and after a spot of dithering on my part, I decided to give it a miss and went back down the hard way.  In all honesty, I'm not sure what I was thinking, I was always the one who would hold up the queue for the high diving board at the HMS Collingwood pool when I was young, dithering for ages before sometimes chickening out, so why I thought this would be any different I don't know.  But I suppose I normally take the approach that you have to do these things when you're in a new place.  Not this time though!

It seemed I had to be dragged out of the pool,  I could have stayed there a while longer, and I was the last of the passengers to arrive back where the bus was parked, next to a covered eating area and arena filled with local people preparing to entertain us with traditional dress and song.  While the school children sang and danced for us, a traditional Fijian Fijian afternoon tea was served to us, cakes and deserts not surprisingly made mainly from all the good parts of coconut.  Lemon tea was served with the food, I'm not sure exactly how it was made but like the tea we had been served that morning, it was tasty and very refreshing. 

Traditionally, visitors who are entertained as we were, present fabric to the group as a thank you gift.  The way this is done is that the ladies of the visiting group tie each piece of fabric together to make a long strip which is then carried out to the singers and laid on the ground around them.  I was pleased to be asked to participate in this ritual, along with most of the female passengers and we did this as the group sang Isa Lei, the farewell song to us.  Someone thoughtfully sent a hat round for a cash collection from the passengers to leave with the community for school materials and then it was time to say our goodbyes.

My underwater camera had steamed up in the heat but here we're presenting the fabric to the performers - I was somewhere near the front of the snake.

We boarded the bus again for the last time, bound for the beach where the tenders were waiting for us to ferry us back to the Mystique Princess where it was time to prepare for pre-dinner cocktails, hors d'oeuves and then dinner!  After dinner, Alan Roxbrugh presented to us about the history of the Lau Group of islands, of which Vanua Balavu is one.

One of the many delicious cocktails we all enjoyed!

And this was only the end of day three, by this stage, we had done so much and had bonded really well with our fellow passengers, it was hard to believe that we had another three whole days to go.  After dinner, Captain Saula lifted the anchor and we commenced our overnight passage towards Vanua Balavu, the newest stop on the Historic and Cultural Cruise itinerary.  Timing was of the essence because we had to reach the gap in the reef in daylight so that the captain and crew could bring us safely inside.

We all went to bed knowing that as the sun came up, we would be seeing islands that very few people let alone tourists would have been lucky enough to have seen before.

To be continued...