Zoe Harrison Travel Web Site

Traveling from LA to Fiji we passed over both the equator and the International Date Line. This meant that we left on Thursday evening and arrived on Saturday morning. totally missing out Friday the 8th of October (yet we only traveled for 10 hours). Thus we are not traveling for a year... but only 364 days - I want a refund!

Fiji 9th-19th October

We arrived at Nadi international airport and greeted by lots of travel agents trying to get you to go with them to secluded islands full of other travelers. For Jason s contribution to planning of our round the world trip he had taken on Fiji (10 days out of a year). And it was nice to have a break.

He decided we were going to do something different and headed for Suva, the capital city. We hadn¡¯t read much about the local population so were surprised to find that Fiji s population is pretty much half of Indian decent and the other half indigenous Fijians. So while the food and culture is varied and amazing, there has been huge racial tension between the two groups in recent years resulting in Fiji being thrown out of the Commonwealth in 1994 and a violent coup in 2000 (the Indian Prime Minister was kidnapped for 30 days). There seems to be political swings between ensuring a democracy and positive discrimination between the two groups... so much for the idyllic islands in the South Pacific! However, all is calm at the moment so after a night in Suva we made our way by plane (15 minutes) to the Island of Ovalau, and to the old capital Levuka

Levuka 10th-16th October

The old capital hasn t changed much since 1864, except now there are less boat loads of sailors, rampant drunkenness and prostitution, which made it famous. We stayed in the Royal Hotel, the oldest hotel in Fiji - a little quirky but a true throw back to the days of the Great British Empire, with a snooker table, bowling greens, private clubs (strictly for guests) and staff to wait on your every need (all for 5 quid a night each).

Fiji day is celebrated on the 11th of October each year to commemorate the handing over of Fiji to Great Britain in 1874 and then back to Fiji in 1974 by Prince Charles. The local islanders re-enact these events every year on Fiji day with local chiefs and the English dignitary, very interesting as no doubt we scared the living daylights out of the locals with guns and cannons before they willingly gave control to Queen Victoria.

PADI Advanced Open Water Course

We booked to do our Advanced Open Water Course with Ovalau Dive Centre Ovalau Dive Centre - (www.owlfiji.com) which involved 6 technical dives, we choose Fish ID, Peak Buoyancy, Deep Diving, Multi Level Diving and Navigation. The weather was colder with rain and wind made the diving conditions difficult but we both passed and can now dive deeper and more sites than before. On our last dive, we came face to face with 3 Reef Sharks...proper sharks...that bite! Not like the nurse sharks in Belize! It was incredibly unnerving to see these creatures circling us with their beedy little eyes watching our every move. Later on we saw a yellow banded coral snake that is the most deadly snake in the world. And lion fish which can cause a bit of a damage too.

On the last day of diving Charlie, our boat man, went fishing and caught several groupers and coral trout so invited us to his house for dinner. Charlie has lived in England for 15 years and is married to Damon Hills sister (!) but has returned to Fiji to look after his mother. A really nice guy and an excellent cook he gave us an insight into real Fijian life. After dinner we couldn t refuse a round or two of Kava. No not the bubbly wine type. Kava is the local drink, made from plant roots, it has mild hallucination effects and is seen as a treatment for depression. It tastes a bit of medicine... a mixture of wood and liquorice. A few friends of his joined us and after the 9th bowl we were both very relaxed!. Kava proved it s worth on the walk home...I was convinced I saw men dressed up in fancy dress trees and Jason thought he saw tribesmen digging holes in the road. Maybe it was all real, who knows!!

The next day we had a trip to Lovoni, a small village in the volcano crater at the centre of the island. This tribe is known as the strongest tribe in Fiji as they have never lost in a war and only been beaten by the trickery of the King of Fiji in 1871. On our trek to the village our guide, Epi, showed us the natural medicines and foods of the forest. With 66% of Fijians being self sufficient (unemployed in other words) people live off the land and it s quite possible to collect coconuts, ginger, yams, watercress, fish and other things all without too much effort. When we reached the village ( a few hours later) Epi s wife and family had prepared a traditional meal for us.

Nadi 17th -19th October

We made the trip back to Suva and on to Nadi to a small beach resort for some R&R and a bit more diving, this time with the very professional Aqua Blue Dive Centre - (www.aquabluefiji.com) and with much nicer weather. The two sites, The Wall and The Fish market, showed some more beautiful coral and even more varieties of fish. Some of the pictures on the Fiji photo page will hopefully give you an idea of why diving has become a bit of an obsession! (pictures courtesy of Paul who we met in Levuka. Thanks Paul!)