FIJI DAY15/16

Well here I am writing about the conclusion of our holiday six weeks after the event. For me the exercise has lost its gloss but finish I must.

Friday 31 Aug was our last full day on Naigani and we were determined to make the most of it. We rose before dawn to wait for Toka the fisherman to come at the appointed time of 6.00am to take us out deep sea fishing, the trawling with heavy gear stuff that we'd never done before. At the shore in the dark Paul from Christchurch was waiting with his young son. Toka came from the direction of the village loaded with fuel containers. He'd started the generators at the rear of the resort on his way. It was daylight by the time we took off, heading east towards Ovalau Is.

As the sun rose

Lib and Paul, Naigani in the background

 

Toka took us on big circuit around in the deep water. We didn't catch anything though I had a big strike at one point. Breakfast was still on when we returned, then we returned to our bure to pack a picnic and a bag and the camera wrapped in plastic bags for another trip around the island, this time stopping for a snorkel at Picnic Beach, and intended photography at Cannibal Caves. It was the perfect day, sunny, no wind, flat water. The paddle to Picnic Beach was easy. Lib, in front of the kayak, pointed the camera blind over her shoulder and took a photo of me in the back. Strangely it came out well.

But you can see clouds building

Our snorkel at Picnic Beach was memorable, by now I was quite proficient and we stayed close and shared the experience. We devoured our picnic hungrily and said our goodbye to this magical place.



The bush behind the beach
 

As we were leaving the wind picked up. We paddled in the direction of Sacred Bay. The round the island cruise boat, which we waved to a few minutes earlier as it passed, came back in our direction.On the boat was Weiss, Illianna from the restaurant, and a villager at the helm and four passengers- Nobby and Ray from Sth Australia and their wives. Weiss asked us did we want to come on board as the sea was rough ahead and they could tow our kayak back. We said no we were OK but the boatman said it was too rough and I could see he wasn't joking, so knowing that he knew better than us we boarded and he tied our kayak to a rope. We were so glad we did, the trip around the south of the island and past the village was really rough going and a bit scary even in the motor boat so it would have been dreadful in a kayak.

Saturday 1 Sep after our last meal in the restaurant we packed in our bure and went to the boat loading area. It was overcast windy day. Some staff gathered to farewell us with a traditional song and we departed Naigani about 10.30.



We will remember these people with fondness

Our man and driver was not there to meet us as he said he was but another Indian fellow with a van was so we had room to give Mark and Tracy a lift to Suva. They were intending to catch a public bus but were glad of a free ride in comfort for the 80km or so. We said goodbye to them in Suva where our driver left us for an hour to have lunch. An hour or so out of Suva, our driver Vinnit who took us Nadi to Natovi two weeks earlier met us and we transfered to his Forester for the trip back to the Novatel Hotel where we had our final night.

Next day we took a cab to Port Denarue, a very upmarket resort area with a boat harbour with many expensive yachts and cruise boats. It was worth seeing but not to our taste so we didn't linger after a lunch and some shopping and caught public buses back to Nadi and the Novatel, where our bags were in the store room.

Our flight was at 6.00pm. We managed to get a bottle of water on board with us. It was uneventful and totally boring except for the spectacular lights of the big city of of Melbourne as we descended on a perfectly clear night. The cold air was a shock leaving the plane but there was something welcoming about it. Gord and Rob picked us up, it was well after midnight when we arrived home much to the delight of Snow and Pip.

BULA VINAKA