December 6, Thursday

December 6, Thursday

My excursion today is titled “The Jewel of Fiji, day tour”.  It is an excursion up the Navua River to a small community where we will experience Fijian culture, have lunch and continue on up-river to a waterfall where we will be able to swim.   It is the ONLY excursion available at this end of the island.  There were a lot of brochures at the tourist desk in the hotel, but when I enquired about them I was told they were all on the Nadi side or you had to fly to get to them.

A young man came to pick me up at 9 am in the hotel lobby, as planned.  We drove about 40 minutes back up the coast to the town of Navua, 11 km from Pacific Harbour.   From there I met with the rest of the group who were on the excursion that day, all from different regions of Australia.  We were 14 people, including three cute little blond girls.  We got into two long canoes and motored up the river for about 20 minutes to the village.

Starting off on the Navua River. 

Some hills in the distance
 
 The water is very brown

Beautiful reflections on the water

 I've got the front seat

We approach the village

 The second boat beside us in with the rest of the group.

 Arriving at the village

At the village we were welcomed by a fierce looking warrior and escorted to the Community Meeting Hall for a traditional welcome ceremony.

 Looking back down at the river

 Inside the Communal Meeting House, the ladies are there first to greet us

The oldest lady we saw today.  Don't think she spoke English. 

The men prepare the kava drink

And a man from the community (he operated one of the canoes) explains the ceremony to us.   {Hall built of wood, but walls are woven bamboo, as are parts of the ceiling.}

As with the Maoris in Rotorua, one of the men from our group was chosen as our “chief” to partake in the welcoming ceremonies.  We got to drink Kava a local concoction made from the root of the kava plant.   There is no alcohol content in it, but “it is a sedative and anesthetic properties numbing drink”.  We got to taste a diluted version and could still feel the numbing effects on our tongues and lips.  The local men drink it in copious amounts and “zonk out”.

The Community Meeting Hall.  Although it may look like its made of stucco, the walls are simpy woven bamboo maps.  We learn that the community was first established by a European named John Humphrey Danford in the early 1800s. 

We then got to tour their small community. First the pre-school where the little children attend for 2 hours each day; kind of like organized day care. The youngest one today was 2, and since regular school was out, there were older children attending to welcome us and help the little ones with their songs.

The kids are singing and jumping in this shot.  That's the liveliest they got. They were singing a song that said "two little eyes, two little ears, one nose, one mouth....." and when they got to two little feet they all jumped.  SO CUTE !

 We then visited the “women’s hut”, where the ladies were weaving mats out of bamboo leaves.  One lady was doing some Tapa painting.  Traditionally the cut-out was made out of a leaf, but today they use used X-rays to cut them out; these last a lot longer and can be re-used over and over again.

 Lady who does the ink stencil drawings.  The ink is made from plants, the mats are made from plants as well.

 Ladies weaving floor mats.  They can last from 5 to 7 years, since people remove their shoes before entering their houses.

There were two young ladies there as well, stripping leaves to make baskets and brooms. They sliced the green parts away from the middle spine. 

The spine of the leaf is very stiff and is used to make brooms.

We then visited the “men’s hut”.   This man is de-husking a coconut with this speak like instrument.  He'd better not miss because he could lose his hand.

This young man showed us how to produce coconut shavings.  Delicious.

We were then led to the area where our meal was cooking underground, and were provided with more information about the community and how they lived.

 Starting to uncover the underground oven

 The fish and meat have been wrapped in foil, so tradition meets modern convenience.

 One of the huts in the village

This young man stepped into the sun, to check the position of the sun, then checked his shadow and told us what time it was.  He was within 20 minutes of the correct time!  Good enough for me, and good enough for their village life.

 The buffet lunch we were served was delicious and included taro root as well as taro leaves cooked in coconut milk; two things I had never eaten before.  The Taro root had been roasted underground like a potato.  It had a bready consistency but did not have much of a taste to it.  The taro leaves were like eating spinach cooked in coconut milk and delicious.  There was salad, a curry dish, fish also cooked in coconut milk and some fresh pineapple.

After lunch, the ladies and the men entertained us, alternately, with their traditional dances.   Then the ladies brought out all the items they had for sale.  Most were not hand-made and were the same items I had seen in the stores.  I had brought a limited amount of money with me and purchased a few items to help support the community.

 First the men dance.  Some of them look like war dances.

 but the two youngest are having a lot of fun with this other dance

 Then the women performed their very sedate dance.

 but they too cracked a few smiles on a livelier number.

 We then had the opportunity to purchase some of their crafts.  Many of the items were the same that I had seen in shops in Suva however.  Some also looked like they had been mass produced.  Still, it is income for their community.  I purchased a few items.

We were treated to a traditional farewell song, and then got back in the motorized canoes for our trip up-river.

We had each been given a plastic bag to put our things in since we had been advised that we would get wet on the way up through the rapids.  We had also been told to bring a change of clothing.  I decided to remove my shirt and pants and ride the boat in my swimsuit.  Everyone was wearing life jackets.  It proved to be a great decision on my part since it rained during our 40 minute ride up-river.   No filming, no photos; both cameras were safe in my plastic bag along with my clothes.  

We reached the area where we were leaving the canoe towalk along a small stream to the waterfall.  My camera was acting up again, but luckily, by the time we reached the waterfall, it decided to cooperate and I was able to snap a few pictures before going in for a swim.

 Arriving at the waterfall

 
 Crystal clear water in the natural pool below

We stayed at the falls for about ½ hour. Some of the men tried climbing the rocks beside the waterfall, but it was almost impossible to do and they had to give it up. One of our guides made it a short way up but even he had to give up.    When it was time to walk back to the canoes, my camera agreed to open and I was able to snap a few shots.   

 Walking back along the creek, from the water fall to the river

 One of the boat men made a crown for the oldest of the three girls.  Isn't she a cutie!  She felt like a Fijian princess with that crown.

 Check out the water from the stream, crystal clear, meeting the brown river water.

 As we go back down the river we pass some cows cooling off in the water

We went back down the river a short distance, then transferred on to a raft, or "bilibili" as they are called here.   We were only on the raft for a short distance and our guide was working hard to pole us down the river and steer us through some rocky areas.  

My camera’s battery gave out while we were on the raft and I had to wait until we were back in the canoe to change it for my second battery.  Bad luck though, with all the humidity the camera would not cooperate and I wasn’t able to take any more pictures.

Our return trip downriver was a lot faster and much rougher.  I was alone on the front seat and when we went through the rapids I got SOAKED.  Really good decision to just stay in my swimsuit and have the cameras safely in the plastic bag.   We made it back to Navua; I said good-bye to the rest of the group and got in the vehicle for my return trip to the Novotel at Sami Bay.

It was a GREAT day and I loved every minute of it.