Levuka ~ Fiji’s Old Colonial Capital

Locals say if you haven’t visited Levuka and Lovoni Village then you haven’t been to Fiji. The history is amazing, sad, and a very moving fight for survival. 
Epi’s tour took us on a fantastic day trek from Levuka Town to Lovoni Village, through the jungle, over a mountain, and down into the crater. On the way he explained his story which is remarkably humble and the reason he knows so much about how to survive with the food and medicines provided by the jungle. Once we were at the top of the mountain the view into the crater of the extinct volcano was stunning. The volcano is said to have been extinct for 40,000 years, Lovoni being in the crater means that it is one of the only safe villages from hurricanes or cyclones.

Climbing an extinct volcano

Looking into the crater village of Lovoni

We had a fabulous lunch at Epi’s families house in lovoni, it was delicious range of vegetables and fish which is the diet of their ancestors before chickens etc were introduced. After lunch and tea Epi then explained the history of Fiji from the first landing times, when the first people came to Fiji, how Ovalau Island was populated with lovoni being fiji’s first village, colonial settlement, and the survival of the lovoni people. I would recommend this trip to everyone who visits Fiji and especially ovalau Island. It was the best day on Ovalau and one of my favourite days during the island hop.

Delicious traditional lunch

Church in Lovoni Village

We stayed in ovalau for 5 nights but I think 3 would have sufficed. It is a sleepy island where there isn’t much to do in the evenings. We spent most nights eating in and going to the bar of the ovalau holiday resort. The manager David was a great host who wore many hats as he was also the cook and pretty much worked 24/7… What I didn’t expect was that we would be ambushed by a New Zealander bogan! The company that was fixing the roads on ovalau Hiways, had booked out some cabins at the resort so it was 5 nights of bogan. Offensive language, obvious sexist, fighting, real fighting fists and all, drunk every night and chain smoking.

Anyway, levuka town was very cute and now a world heritage site. It looks as though cowboys should be walking down the main street with its colonial architecture and coconut trees lol. It used to be a bustling trade town with many restaurants, pubs, hotels etc but only the Royal Hotel remains.
I would suggest to check out the Deed of Succession where Britain gave back Fiji to the Fijians, on Fiji Day there is a reenactment which would be very interesting, maybe we’ll come back one day for that. We also took a walk to 18th century gothic Catholic Church on the cliff, it is quite eery purched up on the headland and it has the tombs of the first priests of levuka.

Deed of Cession

A bit further down is St Johns College which is also another out of place but cool building. Unfortunately inside is just used as storage and we weren’t able to go in.

One of the grounds workers Emosi at our resort heard we were hoping to go to the waterfall nearby, it would be virtually impossible to go without anyone who knew the way since there is no real track, so he took us. It is passport his village and he does a lot of his own farming out on the mountain. It was difficult and at times I had to be pulled up steep parts or when the footing was dodgy but it was worth it for the view and seeing all the casava, kava, banana and paw paw plants. Emosi even picked some mandarins and paw paw for us, I’ve never liked paw paw but this was no ordinary paw paw, it was delicious, must be the volcanic earth?! It isn’t a big waterfall but it’s very pretty, the view is fantastic and you can see the reef very clearly.

It was an amazing couple of weeks and I can’t wait to explore more islands of this amazing country in the future.

Vinaka vakalevu,

Loloma Levu xx

Taveuni, The Garden Island

Rather exhausted after the 14 hr overnight boat ride, I could not wait to get off. It was mid afternoon when we caught the first glimps of Taveuni. It was beautiful, lush, greenary, rich vegetation and then I was happy we travelled by boat for the sea to land view.

We stayed in the Beverlys camping which was amazing, it is run by a Fijian family and consisted in a few places to pitch your tent or hire one of theirs, there is also 1 private cabin and 1 dorm room if camping isn’t quite your thing. I’ve never been one to camp but here in Taveuni it was awesome, right on the beach, bedding provided and kitchen and with everything you need, the bathrooms were fine and its a small site so everything is very close. There isn’t anything commercial about this place, completely untouched and beautiful. I loved breakfasts on the deck overlooking the sea.

Taveuni is called the garden island and it’s very much true. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much greenary, flora and faurna! Coconut, cassava, banana, pawpaw trees everywhere, just to name a few. It is also home to this massive lemon which you peel away the outer layer then also peel the lemon skin to just eat the juicey parts and it’s delicious! 

 Our first morning we ventured by bus to the bouma falls. The bus ride in itself is stunning, going through lots of villages until you get to bouma. The waterfalls consist of 3 falls, one at the base 10 mins into the hike, the 2nd about 30 mins later and the 4th about another 40 ish mins depending on your speed. The sign says 1hr 10 mins to the 3rd from the 2nd but we did it much quicker. They are all so beautiful and you can swim in them if you want to. We were running low on time so unfortunately we didn’t fit in a swim. The hike is beautiful, further and further you go up the view just takes your breath away. 

Some people weren’t bothered with going to the 3rd waterfall but I would recommend it, who knows when you’ll be in Taveuni again if ever, you may as well see all 3. My only complaint was that the bus time table doesn’t leave much time to get to all 3 and have a swim. I think this is why people wouldn’t bother with the 3rd fall. The bus gets you there after 11 am and then comes back around 2pm, if you miss the bus like we nearly did, you would either have to get a costly taxi or hitch back. Our campsite friends hitched back but it took awhile and quite a lot of walking between hitches.  

 We’ve done a bit of snorkelling in the mamanucas and on the coral coast but never experiences anything like the rainbow reef. It is rated the 3rd best in the world, so many different species of fish, soft and hard coral, it’s just amazing!  The current was very strong so you just have to go with it and skim the reef around the drop off. Snorkelling was great but if you can afford it, definitely do the scuba diving, we’ll be doing that next time! We did get to see a reef shark which was exciting and not scary at all. As a bonus we also saw 2 dolphins on the way to the rainbow reef yay, absolutely gorgeous! The team at Taveuni Ocean Sports were so nice and knowledgable. I would definitely recommend to do the introductory scuba with them and it costs around 250 FJD, the snorkelling is around $100 FJD. We were taken to 2 dive locations but there are more than 40 dive spots, all I’m sure as amazing as the other in different ways.  

   After the snorkelling we were starving so we ventured into town. There isn’t much in the way of restaurants but we heard one place made nice curry. The restaurant Diners Paradise is quite a standard curry house so we thought we knew what to expect, but unlike the curry restaurants on the mainland where potatoe is used to make the plate look more wholesome, this place had no sign of potato and plates were full of the main ingredient of your choice. I ordered the fish curry with roti and jay had the lamb curry with rice. Both were absolutely amazing and the best curry we’d had in Fiji or maybe ever and between $8-9 FJD each.  

 That evening Jay and I made a bonfire on the beach. It was so much fun but quite a lot of hard work to keep it going. It was a test run for the next night which was our last night in Taveuni, so that was a success and a lil couple fun time yay.

Our last day was perfect just like all the other days on Taveuni. We hitched and walked to the natural watersides, and again had our breath taken away. The rock formations create a natural waterslide and much more fun and beautiful than wet and wild haha. The rocks are so smooth it doesn’t hurt at all, only time you could get hurt is slipping while walking to the top. I had a minor slip but was fine to keep going. The water is fresh and there are deep pools as well, just like it the water parks. After a fewslides we were joined by some kids who come everyday. Their slide skills were amazing, running to the top like slipping isn’t an option, then running and sliding down on their feet, not bums like us haha! It was amazing, so fearless. Then they were jumping into the deep pool from the 2-3 metre rock, backflips and everything. Jay also jumped although it wasn’t as confident as the kids haha.   

 That evening we had dins up at the backpacker resort which is stunning, murruva for our last night.  During our trip, Jay played volleyball up there and I went on the free wifi. They also do kava sessions which we went to one on the second night, it was quite fun. 

As its our last night a few people gathered together for our bonfire, including Doe from Activities team at Maruva who brought his guitar, singing skills and also the highlight, fire dancing! Also our two camp site buddies Liz and Jasmin, then 3 other guys jay got to know from volleyball. It was a perfect way to end the trip and next time we’ll stay for longer as there is still so much to see on Taveuni, up on the shore and under da sea (lil mermaid)  

   Next stop, the old colonial town of Levuka!

Loloma Levu

X

Miami the city that keeps the roof blazin!

Welcome to Miami, benvenidos a Miami! 

It’s always great when you can start with a Will Smith lyric! 

Forget your English and I hope you know some Spanish as its the first language  in Miami, no wonder with such a massive Cuban population. Unfortunately I think Celiya and I were a few months too early as the transport authority hasn’t opend up direct routes to Cuba yet. Oh well next time I’ll check out this amazingly notorious island which is probably like stepping back in time 50 years or so!

We stayed right in South beach and loved the Art Deco architecture. It reminded me a lot of my aunt and uncles house in London which is Art Deco… You should check it out! The weather was awesome and quite similar to Fiji only a lil less humid. We ditched our cold clothes and got to sport some of our new buys from NYC 🙂 also went a lil crazy with the flash tatoos haha but hey, it’s fun!  

  

The second day we ventured out to lil Havana which is the Latin/Cuban quarter as well as the wealthy area. The wealthy area houses are made out of coral, since Miami is a massive coral reef but over centuries has eroded. One house is actually built on top of an extinct reef, it looks interesting but not my style and would def not buy it for over 1 mill. Little Havana is a complete contrast, much more humble homes which range from 60k to 400k, quite colourful 1 level (bungalow). I don’t think we saw any of the 60k houses, probably more like a shed! 

house built on a reef

 The Main Street had a Cuban vibe and since it was around 3pm I think a lot of places were closed due to siesta? We managed to get a pinacolada with fresh pineapple juice served in a pineapple yay.  Then onto the Biscayne bay cruise 🙂  

     The mansions were amazing, esp Will Smiths house, Jennifer Lopez, who lives on same street as ex Mark Anthony  but in a much bigger house, and same island as ex P.diddy lol (awkward). Alicia Keys house was stunning and you couldn’t miss her yacht docked out the front. Famous deceased mobster Al Capone house is there as well as Frank Sinatra’s. There were heaps but I believe it’s their holiday house as most looked rather quiet and empty.  

 Unlike New York we realised there wasn’t really that much to see in Miami and if you weren’t into beach days you could possibly come for 3-4 days and be happy. However, I can never turn down a beach day so we spread out sightseeing inbetween beach days yay! Water is warm and there were a few waves to make it fun. That is one thing most beaches in Fiji lack, not that I’m a surfer lol. 

It was Memorial Day long weekend so lots of holiday makers and good vibes. People watching at its best, so many cool and confusing fashion trends, girls with their hair done, nails done, everything did (sorry I love a song quote *Drake-fancy*), to go to the beach where it will get ruined! Lol  

 I was doin my thang floating on the waves  and nearly floated into this black guy who said and I quote “ya’ll gettin ya float on” in a happy tone and big smile! It was an exciting and funny moment haha.

I’m in love with this cocktail fusion, pinacolada and strawberry daiquiri! Best daytime summer drank, so refreshing! Really enjoyed the range of Cuban food here in Miami and the 2 for 1 cocktails in giant glasses! Another drink I’m having withdrawals from is Starbucks bottled frappicinos in coffee, mocha and mocha coconut (my fav) flavours! I would enjoy 1 or 2 of these a day in th morning or on the beach. 

 
  More sightseeing took us to Vizcaya museum mansion. It is probably most famous as the house used in Bad Boys 2, where Mike and Marcus go in as “pest control”. It was stunning early 1900’s owned and built buy English aristocrat. The grounds go for ages and so well kept. There were ppl having their wedding shots done, fashion shots and I think the house was setting up for a function, maybe an evening wedding? Amazing but extremely costly location. 

   Although we had to get 3 forms of transport  it was actually very easy and cheap, just buy a day pass. The city monorail is free! It was also a cool way to see Downtown Miami. 
Now not like NY wasn’t enough, the shopping spree continued into Collins ave, South Beach. Got excited in Victorias Secret, more Zara purchases (each store has something diff), club Monaco amoung others. By the time we got to Lincoln rd Mall, I’d reached my shopping spree limit. Too bad apart from 1 jumper everything is summer clothes so as of June 18th it won’t be worn.

  Saturday we went to the Everglades to see the alligators. That was pretty cool but with a delayed rain season the water level was very low. I hope they get rain soon so no more fish etc die. They are still having to repair a lot of damage that has been done to the ecosystem from previous years, including draining water, dumping toxic waste and endangered species. Sad face 😦 Celiya was recovering from a migraine so we postponed our night out dancing to Sunday, which would prob be the better of the nights as it was the long weekend yay.

We decided to give the celebrity clubs a miss with their long lines, expensive cover charge crap and only to see the likes of Young Jeezy lol. We checked out tropical mango which was mainly a Latin club which also played R&B, perfect! I found my salsa skills are a bit rusty but was also thrown when a girl dragged me to dance salsa lol. After that brief weirdness celi and I found our groove and celi was also celebrating Cavs win or mainly her BronBrons win haha. It was a great night and now I can’t wait to get back into salsa and Zumba 🙂 

Our last day was a late start for obvious reasons, but we enjoyed our final day in Miami on the beach. We ended the evening with cocktails and Cuban food at De Rodrigues, in the Hilton which was delicious and well worth the splurge! 

   

  

 Another note, do not visit samba sushi in Lincoln Rd Mall, food is expensive, tiny and tasteless and the staff were rude. That was our only crappy food experience. 

Thanks Miami for turning up the Heat lol *pun intended

Xx

New York, concret jungle where dreams are made of!!

New York was the first stop for myself and Celiya, very tired after the overnight flight from LA not to mention the overnight flight from Fiji as well. We made our way to the apartment in the Hells Kitchen district. After settling into the apartment we ventured uptown 86th street to cross Central Park over to the East side for the MET. Central Park was lovely and lots of school excursions, basketball and baseball games being played, along with people taking rides in the horse and carriage. The MET was really cool but take note that $25 per adult to get in is optional, it’s a donation only so we paid much less as was everyone else. 
We saw the Chinese Through the looking glass exhibition which was amazing, beautiful dresses. you may remember they big yellow dress Rihanna wore to the MET gala this year, it was by designer Guo Pei and Celiya and I agree she should have worn this one instead.

  
There was also lots of other things to see like Egyptian artefacts, African, even Fijian yay! Along with a lot more. It’s worth the trip it’s cheap and take a walk through Central Park as well.

   
 We had an early night since we were extremely tired and also after nearly falling asleep towards the end of the MET trip and Celiya having power naps on the subway haha

Wednesday we were feeling much more fresh and ready to go! We caught up with my friend alexia and had lunch in the stylish West Village and shopping in Soho. Great to catch up since it had been 2 yrs since we last saw one another. Also this marked the beginning of my US shopping spree haha. 

We spent Thursday checking out the city via Hudson River cruise, then onto 9/11 memorial which was sad but very nice park and tastefully done. We wanted to climb the Statue of Liberty but unfortunately it was booking out until August! So some advise, book online at least 3 months in advance esp for the spring/summer months. Wall Street was pretty cool a lot of Mike Ross and Harvey Spector types but not as sawve in real life haha. We did make use of the street food and got a delicious hot dog (really!!) we searched for ages for the famous Bull, I know it from Hitch movie where Will tells the douche bag he won’t help him then th douche gets kneed in th balls by Eva Mendez lol. Really there were too many ppl taking pics with it and not getting the pic and getting out but standing in front for ages adding diff family members, multiple poses argh annoying! 

   
  

  

 The first time I went to New York I didn’t get to see a Broadway show so this was a top priority and we loved Aladdin. The Genie was awesome, you couldnt get a better one and he’s rightfully won a tony award for his performance, as has the entire show. I’m so glad I saw this as its a childhood fav.

  
We thought for a Friday afternoon, what more appropriate than to do a sex and the city tour. It was a lot of fun and I didn’t realise it was mainly filmed in west village and not upper east side. We stopped where the girls take Charlotte to buy her “rabbit” haha. We were supprised how small Steve and Aidens bar is in real life but enjoyed a cosmopolitan of course! Also it’s not called Scout. We checked out the restaurant where Big and Carrie had their rehearsal dins, so nice and we were surprised it is affordable, so I’ll be making a reservation next time! 

   
     We went up the Empire State building which had hardly any queues yay. The view is great and you can see how huge Central Park is. Afterwards we did some 5th ave shopping and research. I now know what shoe size I am in Valentino, dolce & gabbana and Louboutins yay, now I just need to get paid again so I can buy online haha. 

   
   

 Sat night we met up with alexia again at Catch in the Meatpacking district. Celiya and I are still dreaming of the delicious chips we had there as well as our meals. I suggest the mussels, amazing!! We made a reservation however I don’t think it meant anything since we had to wait about an hr anyway. I can imagine this is standard in this popular nighttime district. Afterwards we went up to the rooftop bar which was playing good music with a dance floor. I would suggest eating at the club/bar you want to spend the night at, as we didn’t have to pay a cover charge or line up again. Or this could have been since we were three girls? 

  
Sunday was a lazy day but we went to ripplies and time square. We actually go to Times Square everyday since we’re so clo but we had a better look around this time. Always amazes me how many ppl go to New York for new year to watch the ball drop! It isn’t even that big or long of a drop haha. 
We took a long day trip to Washington which was rushed but very good and informative. It actually reminded me a lot of Canberra, with a lot of greenary, roundabouts, wide avenues and well positioned monuments. I know i shouldn’t find something funny at a war memorial but the “freedom is not free” just reminded me on Team America! 

  

  

  
Food of New York, it’s amazing however, our first dinner in NY was maccas lol, but there after we made sure to make use of all the cuisens at our doorstep. Each night we tired something diff, Mexican, Ethiopian (a must try), Turkish, seafood just to name a few. We had a local bakery which made a delicious assortment of paninis which we would grab for lunch or dins sometimes to save a lil money. Of course a cocktail is required with every meal, try to go with the cuisen so if the food is spicy, make sure the cocktail is as well hehe.

   Next stop and post Miami!! 

Xx

Oh my Seoul, Street Food, Street Art, Street Entertainment & Cosmetic Surgery

Seoul, Korea!

Cosmetic Surgery, 1 eye lid or 2? Delicious Street food! Street Art… Good times

After Japan we flew to Seoul, Korea. Just want to shout out to Korean Air, they have a great selection of new and old movies.

I thought Japan was cold, turns out Korea is still in winter mode. It was quite rainy as well but we managed huddling under an umbrella. Our first stop was the Palace which was very cool. It was a shame it was quite foggy as we were surrounded with mountains which you could only vaguely make out. The colourful architecture was great and they had guards in traditional dress, which you could take pics with but you’ll be told off if you accidentally touch/bump them

.

The furniture is similar to what we had seen in Japan, low lying tables and sitting cushions on the floor. I must say it does create a lot more space and looks very tidy. Giving me more ideas for future pad hehe

The grounds were stunning, even in the wintery weather. We had a lot of fun *trying* to take arty pics with the surroundings. There was only a tiny bit of Cherry Blossom but can imagine later in spring it would look amazing at this palace!

Afterwards, we found somewhere to have lunch. This was quite a trendy area, lots of cool shops and cafés. The place we went to was small but the food was very yummy and it was cute how you wrote your review on a post-it note or simply that you had been there and the date.

We searched for quite some time for the Traditional “village” which is actually just a street with a few houses in it in their traditional forms. It was quite cute but we thought it would be an actual village, google images made it look much better than what it was haha.

Korea Tower and 3D museum was really fun, I recommend to do both and to go in the afternoon so you can also stay up the tower to watch the sun go down and all the city lights come on. It is amazing the density of this city but it is quite usual for a lot of countries other than Australia! Makes Sydney look like a country town and Canberra a village! The 3D museum has karaoke booth with awesome selection of songs, like usual I did my rendition of Yeah by Usher haha

Louise and I found Korea is much better at making coffees than Japan and I really enjoyed the barley Tea, very earthy but nice flavor. I loved the street food, on the first night after a disappointing and expensive meal in Udong I wished we’d just walked around spending equivalent to $1-3 AUD on all diff kinds of food from street vendors. Also all the hustle and bustle adds to the fun and making sure we’re not separated… luckily I was wearing a very noticeable red jacket just in case.

The next day we went to the street art area, it was very cool and not too crowded as we were there early, well, before lunch on a Saturday morning anyway! There are a lot of stairs which reminded me how unfit I am, but I’m working on it now hehe.

Afterwards we went and had some delicious hot pot and being full didn’t stop me from getting more street food. There was also a lot of street clothing vendors. Hats and Socks were the most sold items, the slogans on the hats were quite funny and I’m not sure if they realise that most of them weren’t quite right ie) Pervert in big block letters on a flat cap!

The other thing I noticed was the highly advertised cosmetic surgery. It’s actually quite sad how acceptable and even encouraged to change the structure of your face! It’s so “normal” that people walk around right after having surgery, have lunch, go back to the office etc. I guess for the more simple surgeries like widening your eyes by removing part of the eyelid!

On a happier note, Seoul’s free wifi was awesome! Pretty much had wifi everywhere which was great for google map directions.

Back in Fiji now so…

Vinaka vakalevu

Loloma levu xx

Living like a local ~ Fijian hospitality

Bula Bula,

Since living in Fiji and receiving mostly great hospitality from its locals, I thought I should write about it.

Most people here are very friendly, you either say bula to someone you’re walking past, give your best bula smile or comment on how hot it is hehe.

Something which isn’t really noticed or cared about in Australia is knowing your neighbours. Maybe just to the point where you can ask them to take out the bin on dustbin day if they are away, collect their mail or water their garden. In Fiji, you are regularly invited to join them for Kava or share a meal. My neighbours which were (before moving) a family of four and have on the occasion prepared Cassava Pudding for dessert and gave me a portion to taste, it was delicious and went fantastic with vanilla icecream! A few weeks later a delicious Fijian beef, cassava and chili salad plate was shared. I’m a massive chili fan and it was right on point! At first I thought it was strange and wasn’t sure if it would be rude to accept it, Jay assured me it’s completely normal. That same night was Jay’s birthday where I made a lamb stew and chocolate slice, so I returned the favour and shared a plate with them, yay!

Each day I walk to the Treasure House Childrens Home, I pass a car wash business where the staff always greet me with big greetings such as “bula, good morning, yadra, you look nice” haha. The owner approached me when I was on my walk home for lunch and asked my name and where it was I walk to most days. He then invited me to have Kava with them one day, a bit reluctant of their intentions I asked if Jay could come as well, he said of course. Later that evening when I was walking home (again) they came running up to street level and shared one cup of Kava with no intentions of kidnapping me haha. The next day when Jay was walking with me, they also said Bula Bro to him.

I got chatting with a girl while waiting at the bus stop, she was on her way to work in Port Denaru. She had seen me around and like most people enquired how I spent my time in Fiji. Anyway, she ended up paying for my bus fare (.70 cents) as she needed to break a note, I offered her the money after but she insisted it was fine. .70 cents may not sound like much but Fijians are paid a considerable amount less than Australians. If you’ve stopped to think about how cheap Fiji is, well for a tourist on holiday from Australia, yes it is. However, if you’re earning Fijian dollar, the living costs, food, housing, petrol etc are not equivalent. I was very grateful for my free bus ride on that hot and humid day!

So if anything like this happens while you’re living in Fiji or on holiday, accept the invite and return the favour in any way possible.

Vinaka vakalevu,

Loloma levu xx

Try Time! Sporting events in Fiji

Bula!

Not sure if you’ve heard but Fiji is Rugby crazy! Union and 7’s Rugby being most favored but League also has a large following.

I was lucky enough to see the Rugby League Grand Final at Churchill Stadium in Lautoka September last year, between Makoi Bulldogs and Lautoka. The atmosphere was great, lots of singing and ladies running down with their team flags when a try was scored! There were some kids about 10 yo, who were singing right near us and playing percussion, fantastic!

I found the entertainment around us an invited distraction but I did watch a lot of the game. It was a fast game and most of it they were within a couple of points of each other. I was going for the Makoi Bulldogs, they are one of the Suva teams who won the GF last year. Jay follows this team as Makoi is where he’s from in Suva. Guess I should follow the boyfee since I wasn’t really fussed either way. Unfortunately in extra time Lautoka City scored and converted a try putting them 1 point in front. Jay and the other Makoi fans celebrations were a bit premature but as the goal was kicked and full time whistle was blown, the gates were opened and kids ran out onto the field to congratulate Lautoka City. It looked really cool, kids adults etc all running onto the field with excitement hehe. Even though Makoi didn’t win, it was a good game and I enjoyed it.

It was easy to get there from Nadi, just a 30 min bus ride which pretty much stops right at the gates and costs $2 each way, bus runs regularly but if you’re in a hurry get a mini-van. I think mini-van is $2-3, it’s not for the faint hearted, they go quite fast and overtake sometimes without the best judgment. The game was only $6, if there’s room you can sit under shelter in the grandstands but if you’re late, shade could be an issue as there’s not many trees.

If you have time while you’re here on holidays, ask a local about seeing a sporting event. It is a great cultural experience even if sports aren’t really your thing.

I’m looking forward to the Union season starting sometime this year!

Vinaka Vakalevu,

Loloma Levu

Hidden gem aka Saweni Beach!

Bula Gang,

I am back in paradise aka Fiji after spending some quality time at home with my family and friends! Last year I mainly blogged about my time volunteering at the Treasure House, but I also got up to some cool things in my free time. If you are traveling to Fiji, these might be worth knowing.

I discovered a hidden gem! People mainly go to the most common beach Wailoaloa but if you are after something a lil more beautiful and peaceful, check out Saweni Beach. It is between Nadi and Lautoka and virtually secluded. When I was there I felt like Mahsa, Jay and myself had our own private beach. It has white/yellow sand unlike Wailoaloa where the sand is more brown and powdery. It is lined with coconut trees and the water is very calm and also cooler than the general Fijian waters. This made for a much more refreshing swim on a hot and sunny day. Only thing it lacks is a coral reef to snorkel hehe.

Getting there is easy if you have a car, it is about ½ way between Nadi and Lautoka, you take a left turn which is sign posted Saweni Beach and also Orchid Resort.

If you are more adventurous and/or on a budget, take the local bus. More often than not, you’ll get a bus which plays loud music from the radio 2Day FM. Which mainly plays reggae and general hit music, makes you feel like dancing.

Bus options are either no windows or closed with A/C, I prefer no windows and enjoy the fresh island breeze. Bus’ come very regularly and it should only costs $1.50 FJD each way. The walk to the beach is via a dirt road for about 1.5 km, at midday it was boiling so once we got to the beach it was straight into the water!

I would suggest bringing a packed lunch since there’s not any restaurants. Luckily for us, Jay can climb a coconut tree and we enjoyed fresh coconut juice & the flesh inside yum yum!

I’m looking forward to the next time I go to Saweni Beach Yay!

Vinaka Vakalevu

Loloma Levu x

Taken from under a coconut tree

Freshly Picked

Fresh Fijian Food – Kokoda

Bula!

I’ve been in Fiji living for nearly a month now and have been meaning to write my first post! It’s taken a cool and cloudy day for me to start and yes, surprisingly Fiji can be a little fresh at times, not just the food! There has been a welcomed arrival of cooler weather and rain since it has reached drought status for 4+ months.

We all know when the topic gets onto weather, the conversation is taking a downward turn, so I’ll change the subject fast kind (islander slang for quickly)!

Since it’s a fresh kind of day, I’ll talk about the food Fijian traditional cuisine! Kokoda (pronounced: Kokonda) is a dish where the fish is marinated in lemon & vinegar for a few hours. Then coriander, chili, coconut milk, tomato and cucumber is added to the fish. It is also served with casava, which is a root crop similar to a potato. As you can probably imagine, coconuts are used in basically every meal here. When I moved into my apartment (semi furnished) there was a wooden board with a metal fork-like scraper which I had no idea what its use was, until I had Kokoda cooked for me by a local Chef.

Kokoda is an important dish which is served at special occasions, such as weddings. Strongest flavours being coconut and lemon, giving the fresh cool feeling and then a kick of chili, just fabulous. The fish is cut up into little cubes and the texture is soft. Perfect for those with sensitive teeth, false teeth or no teeth at all haha!  One of my best friends back at home missed the “teenage braises boat”, so she’s in her 20’s suffering and watching what she eats in fear of her braises breaking, Kokoda would be perfect for her and anyone else in this condition! hehe

I hope you enjoy the pics & post! 🙂

Vinaka vakalevu, (thank you very much)

Loloma levu (much love)

Fijian name Sakalo

Root crop similar to a potato

Coconut scraping in action

My turn, it’s harder than it looks 😛

Once all the milk is squeezed out, you throw away the coconut shavings.

The traditional Fijian dish Kokoda with Casava