On our way back from Australia (after having visited Nepal), we had a free stopover for four days in Fiji. Here is a summary and some photos from this visit. The photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.
We arrived at about 6:00 PM and it was already dark, so our first objective was to find a place to stay. This took some effort. There is no tourist information booth at the airport. There were, however, plenty of hotel shuttle buses waiting to take the pre-booked passengers to their resorts. There was also one travel agent willing to find us a place to stay, for a fee.
After several phone calls, our travel agent booked us in "The Grand Melanesian Hotel" near the airport. This turned out to be a mediocre place with air conditioning, but OK for one night. It should be noted that May to August are the peak tourist months in Fiji. This is the winter in Fiji, which means temperatures are tolerable. A high proportion of visitors to Fiji are from Australia and New Zealand. They come during this time to escape their winter. SARS and global terroristm don't seem to have deterred tourism to the South Pacific. Our plane from Sydney was full. The Boeing 747 we took back to Los Angeles (that had recently been leased from Singapore Airlines) was also full.
The next morning we got up to see where we'd landed. The photo above on the right shows the road and shopping center near our hotel.
We then organized everything for our road trip. We booked a hotel for our last night (where we could leave our excess luggage for a couple of days), and organized a rental car, the blue Toyota Tercel shown in the photo on the left.
From about 1870 to 1970, Fiji was a British colony. So, the southern part of the road around the island (Viti Levu) is called the Queens Road and the northern part of the road around the island is called the Kings Road. We first set off on the Queens road over hills and past beaches with names like Coral Beach. Our destination that day was the town of Suva, the national capital with a population of about 140,000. The photo at the left also shows the bed and breakfast we stayed at in Suva. This was about a three hour drive from Nadi.
The photo at the right shows the downtown area of Suva. As you can see, at least some of the population can afford cars.
From Suva, we headed north along the Kings Road. Apparently, the King hadn't rated as well as the Queen, because 56km of his road were still unpaved and in difficult shape. They were working to improve this road, but judging from the rate of progress being made the day we drove through and the overgrowth on the parts they had regraded, it could be a long while before they are finished. Nevertheless, the villages were quaint and the people friendly, waving as we drove through. About halfway through this section of road, our car had a flat tire, which was pointed out by some locals, who helped put the spare on. We felt better when we got back to pavement again.
When the British colonized Fiji in 1870, they decided to promote the development of agriculture, especially sugar cane. Since the native Fijians were not interested in working on the sugar plantations, the British brought over indentured servants from India. As a result, Fiji's population is now about half native Fijians of Polynesian descent and half of Indian descent, with a small number of Chinese thrown in. The Polynesian and Fijian cultures don't mix well. For example, the cow is sacred to most of the Indians, who are of Hindu origin. The Fijians believe that for big celebrations, like weddings, one needs to kill a cow for the feast. Also, 83% of the land is still owned by Fijians. This has meant that most Indians have gone into trade and industry, which makes the Fijians jealous because the Indians are now wealthier. So, about every decade or so there is a coup in which the native Fijians take control. However, in day to day life, the two groups seem to get along OK and work and shop in the same places.
The photo on the right shows a Hindu temple in Nadi. We also saw Muslim temples for the Indian Muslims that had been brought over. Most of the Polynesian Fijians have been converted by missionaries and are quite religious. We saw Mormon, Seventh Day Adventist, Methodist, Presbyterian and Catholic schools and churches. It was recommended to us to visit one of these church services, but unfortunately, we weren't there on a Sunday.
The last hotel we stayed in (shown on the left) was the best. It is called the Raffles Gateway and is located at the entrance to the airport. We wish we would have known about this hotel and made a booking before we got to the island. It was moderately priced (about $30 US/night for a room with air conditioning) and had great service. If you ever need to go to Fiji, their web address is www.rafflesgateway.com and their email address is hari@rafflesgroup.com.fj.
Before we knew it, our short stopover was finished. We packed up all of our luggage and headed home. We hope you've enjoyed our update.
Jean and Bert
This page was last updated on 1 June 2003.