A: 'Cos you're bound tae!!!
Without doubt one of the most beautiful places we have ever been fortunate enough to visit.
The islanders are the most happy folk you’ll meet, always a quick smile and a greeted ‘Bula!’. Always enjoying life and with a great love of rugby and an even greater love of music. Groups of men in brightly patterned shirts and the traditional sulu carrying guitars and ukuleles roam around the resorts and beaches terrorising tourists with their close-harmony singing…
At every opportunity there’s a song. Welcoming songs, farewell songs, thank you songs, songs just about the joy of living. And everyone’s at it! The resort musicians, the cooks, the waiting staff, heads of departments, there’s no time but now for a quick verse or two.
We met a fabulous Aus family on our boat cruise, up for a laugh and a beer at any time Chris, Jenn, Katy, Mitch, Andrew & Matt - you’re out there and named! Great at recounting stories, they tell of an evening here when, after a few beers and some beautiful lines from the locals, the guys were invited to respond in kind.
“What an earth did you sing then?” I enquire.
“Oh mate, it was like a bunch of old cats wailing.”
“I reckon we did a chorus of Waltzing Matilda, or something.”
“And the vote from Fiji, for Australia?”
“Erm. Nul points.” But in all likelihood, polite appreciation.
If they're not singing, then they're dancing, or preparing kava, a narcotic drink made from mixing the powdered root of the pepper plant (piper methysticum) with water and results in a numb feeling around the mouth, lips and tongue and a sense of relaxation (and a rather unpleasant taste sensation too!)
Or there's a lovo; digging a pit then placing hot coals, meats wrapped in banana leaves, sacking then covering with earth and leaving to cook and tenderise for several hours before the pit is unearthed, revealing cooked, tender and delicious food.
The holiday in an holiday had three parts!
Part 1. Outrigger Beach Resort, (SW corner of main island).
Part 2. Blue Lagoon Cruise (to fabulous sun-drenched islands and anchorage offshore each night).
Part 3. Musket Cove Resort (Malolo Islands)
Each was an exotic and relaxing time to spend our days. The highlights of each was; Part 1 warm and friendly staff welcoming us to the traditional dwelling, or bure,
A local bus trip to Sigatoka - a luxury coach with vernacular air-con (no windows, or doors) and a high-tech system for alerting the driver when your stop had arrived (string running down the length of the bus, attached to a bicycle bell).
Sigatoka (self-styled 'Rugby Town') has two notable distinctions. It produced five of the seven starting players to win Fiji's first ever gold medal at the Rio Olympics in Rugby 7s - boy, are they local heroes! And also to have a railway bridge which collapsed after a 2009 typhoon and, well, no-body bothered to rebuild it.
Part 2. Well, just amazing islands, beaches, caves, snorkelling, water sports.
We are invited by the Chief and Elders of the village of Tamasua to a traditional feast (eaten cross-legged on the floor). At these events, protocol dictates the wearing of traditional dress and best-behaved manners.
A walk over the hills to Lo's tea room was thirsty work quaked by a highly refreshing lemon leaf tea and gooey chocolate brownies.
Part 3. Musket Cove was a quieter place, but again with beautiful bures, a tranquil beach and more amazing sights.
And if, at the end of a luxury break, then rafting;
Snorkelling:
Relaxing in a hammock;
Golfing;
Drinking cocktails:
....was not enough for us - then we could always admire the sunsets....
Thank you, Fiji
Have to add in post-script FSH (Fundamental Schoolboy Howler) ⌗1 on our last full day at Musket Cove. Resort has a reasonably stocked supermarket for the guests and yachties moored at the marina. So we decide to create a simple lunch of salad with paw-paw, a pear and - oh for a bit of a kick - one of those little red chillies.
Man oh man! That was akin to turning the Vesuvius Volume up to ⌗11. Even D, who likes a pretty fiery curry now and then, was literally reduced to tears. We took a shot of me after…
