Less than 24 hours after arriving I am staying in a traditional village. It happened by chance and was a quick lesson into the strange traditional village customs in Fiji.
| I had slept in Nadi as it was near the airport, but it wasn't very interesting so I decided to go North to stay at a national park. On the bus I read that the bus to the village seemed to have a high tourist price so I suddenly decided to take a local bus to the back of the park and walk up from there.
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| I got of my bus at the junction but found I had just missed the bus, so I hitch hiked. I was lucky to get a ride with a pick up taxi who was going right up to Navalawi village in the highlands, that's when I realised why the other bus was expensive; the road was a steep and rough track.
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I had read that in a Fijian village a stranger can't just walk in he has to be introduced to the headman first. I was lucky Ahmena my driver introduced me. After a lot of introductions I explained my plan was to walk up the mountain path into the park. But they said it was impossible alone and the next day there would be a guided walk from the other end. But also he claimed it was too late to go back so I should stay with them.
unphoto imagine : the village
traditional but not entirely; simple 3m X 2m one room huts but zinc sheets have replaced thatched roofs
bare footed almost negro guys returning from nearby plots machetes in hand
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unphoto imagine : the village
women wait until we men have finished eating before they eat.
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| I saw the village and drank kava (like sacred Fijian coffee) with them
unphoto imagine : the kava ceremony
we sit in a circle I am handed a 300ml bowl of gourd I say Mbula, drink it down in one, clap 3 times and pass the bowl on.
it's supposed to be a narcotic
to me it tasted like weak, cold coffee with an aspirin in it, there was no buzz
I learnt later, that they drink 100 cups in a night
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And learnt a few things about their culture : the concept of space can be more restrictive in non western culture. Just by entering the area you invading. Wheras in England you can walk through a forest, into a village and through the park no-one would be bothered cos you're not disturbing them. Also you're not allowed to do anything to upstage the chief, wear a hat or shoes in the village, carry a bag over their shoulder etc
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Sat - Lautoka
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| The walks are organized by the New Zealand aid agency to help the villages I was surprised to find the price is $250 for 3 days . I cannot believe the villagers get all the money I guess it's absorbed by all the middlemen. And I knew I could do the walk in one day. So I went to Lautoka - market, strange Indian Movie with an Indian Lord in a tartan suit, left as the fight at the local disco got underway.
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Sun - around the north side of the island "the Kings Rd"
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| - took the bus around the north side of the island "the Kings Rd". I stopped of at a few towns on the way: Bu and ?, but cos it was Sunday most things were closed. There were few buses also so I walked along the road for an hour, then met an Indian man who invited me into his house. He explained he had been farming sugar cane on land leased from native Fijians, but was unable to negotiate a new lease so had chosen to squat on public land and do some fishing instead. His house was simple but good.
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| Tavalu - asked some native boys about hotel and ended up staying at their house, kava again evangelical church service
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