Planning a Trip to Fiji

One of the only moans I have about the resort is that there are colonies of ants everywhere, although there is very little that can be done about it as it's simply a fact of life on the Islands. I don't know where they all come from - all I have to do is put my chocolate bar down by the sink for 30 seconds and when I go back to it it's swarming with ants. Most of my food seems to end up getting flushed straight down the toilet - cut out the middle man, so to speak! I asked at reception if they could do anything about the infestation, and when I got back to my room this evening somebody had clearly made a half-hearted effort with a can of bug spray and left the half empty can on the dressing table. Apart from the ants, I'm having a great time. The entertainment at the Naviti is fairly good, usually consisting of an evening display of Polynesian Hula-dancing followed by a disco until the early hours - but looking through The Naviti Sandpiper , our daily guide to what's on, it seems they still manage to throw in the odd surreal event for good measure: INTERNATIONAL FROG RACES: IN THE LOUNGE AT 8.30PM. FROGS FROM AROUND THE WORLD COMPETE FOR THE ULTIMATE CROWN Now, my question is this: Just who makes this Crown and how small are the tools? Actually, the Sandpiper has been an invaluable tool during my stay. It drew my attention to a wedding in the lounge this evening between a Mr Clark and Ms James, which was a traditional local ceremony which was both enjoyable and informative to watch. Both bride and groom were dressed in Fijian ceremonial costumes and local tribesmen were on hand to shout loudly and wave sticks around and generally scare us all to death. One moment we were all sitting around whispering to each other about how romantic it was and how we'd like to have an island wedding like this one day, the next we were leaping backwards in fear of our lives as traditional Fijian warriors appeared out of nowhere and started marching towards the bride and groom. I wondered briefly if they knew they're not permitted to cut people's heads off and stick them on spikes anymore.

You can read my full travel journals at www.offexploring.com/globalwanderer and www.offexploring.com/globalwanderer2

dont go to the toilet at the market!! its ruthless i had a little boy watching me from a hole and its dirty!! also watch ur purse hold on to it tight!

This is the "capital" of the Kadavu Island group with the small airport! I could only guess, but I would say that there are not more than 1000 people living there. You have 2 shops, one school, one post office, 2 harbours, thats all! If you need anything else than noodles, chicken and rice for living, bring it from the main island!

Tonight, I wanted to see The Magic of the South Seas, a show which takes place twice weekly at the Sheraton Fiji. It is hosted by a local witchdoctor by the name of Tupa'I Bruno, and as the in-flight magazine on the plane had given over nearly five pages to the show I thought it must be worth seeing. The Sheraton resort is bloody huge, as you would expect from an international chain like themselves, and just a tad on the lavish side. I was treated like a visiting dignitary by the staff from the moment I got out of the taxi, which had entered the resort across a bridge which I took to indicate that the resort was on its own island. As it was a while before the show started, I decided to have dinner in the Foyer restaurant, if for no other reason than that I would be able to tell people I had dined at the Sheraton. There were a lot of designer shops dotted around the lobby of the hotel, selling the most expensive jewellery and watches you can imagine. Out of interest, I enquired as to how much the rooms were. The receptionist handed me the current price list, looking me carefully up and down and mentioning that they could probably do something to cut the prices down if I was on a budget. I didn't quite know how to take this. The least expensive rooms in the place started at F$495 a night - about £180, and went up to more lavish rooms at a mere £400 a night. I told them I would have to think it over, and went outside to laugh loudly into the night. The show started at 8.00PM in the Sheraton Pavilion, a huge circus tent that had been erected behind the hotel. Tupa'I Bruno apparently used to work in the circus before going on to spend many years manufacturing tents for travelling shows. He has, in recent years, become an official Witchdoctor in Samoa and travelled the Polynesian Triangle performing his unique blend of magic and dance. On his travels, he has even been thrown out of countries for practising "The Black Arts", and for the time being it seems he has got fed up travelling and taken root at the Sheraton Fiji Resort. Like all showmen, I don't think it'll be too long before he moves on elsewhere. Bruno is a funny little man, totally different on stage from what you might expect of a witchdoctor and world class magician. From the fliers and other advertising material, I had been rather under the impression that he was a big menacing character with fire coming out of his nose and a bone through his neck. The photos show him standing over the charred remains of human bodies, waving magic wands around in the air and dancing about in the middle of burning buildings - more or less what you would expect from a witchdoctor, in fact! In reality, however, Bruno is difficult to describe. He is a small, chunky man with a bald head and squinty little eyes. Actually, he's quite easy to describe, isn't he? Bruno rushes around the stage in more the manner of a clown or a dandy than a serious entertainer, making camp Carry On Matron style oooh sounds at everything - whether its a female dancer appearing on stage with a grass skirt hanging suggestively from her waist, or a member of the audience being cut in half with a chainsaw. Perhaps this is his circus background showing through. Only about 50% of the show was actually what I would term magic. There was plenty of juggling and fire-walking, and the rest of the show was really more about beautiful Polynesian dancing girls with very little on and tattooed men performing tribal dancing displays. He also had a sixteen year old girl called Princess Zula as part of the act, supposedly from the entirely fictitious island of Bula-Bula - "Hello Hello" in Fijian. She climbed to the top of a high rope and performed incredible acrobatics on tight-ropes and high gantries as the audience covered their eyes and hoped she didn't fall to her death. It was every bit as entertaining as any other circus act and there's no denying Princess Zula probably has a future in the business, but it really wasn't magic - and what magic we did get was pretty second rate. There were no big illusions as such, just a lot of Bruno inviting people from the audience to pick cards or have knives thrown at them. A couple of the Hawaiian Hula-girls got levitated or cut in half in novel ways, but Bruno was largely let down by his equipment and the audience was badly positioned so that we kept catching glimpses of how the tricks were being done as he darted around the back. It's a shame. The show has a lot of potential, but I have to say I spent most of my time watching a half hearted attempt at an obvious trick and wondering when the girls in the grass skirts were coming back on! The taxi driver spent most of the journey back to the Naviti trying to persuade me to pay him to take me to a local nightclub where presumably he was getting a commission. He attempted to sell me on the idea with the promise "Fiji girls, they like western men. You'll have a very happy night, I promise."

You can read my full travel journals at www.offexploring.com/globalwanderer and www.offexploring.com/globalwanderer2

My room at the Naviti is amazing. The glass doors open around two entire sides, and I have a view out onto the mountains across the hotel gardens. I can sit out on my own patio and chat to the neighbours, or I can hand feed the strange little birds that come hopping across the lawn from every direction at the slightest smell of food. They stand at my feet, look up at me and make the feathers on their neck stand up like a mane. Then they warble until I feed them. It's really cool - except that if they were several feet taller I'd run like crap because they'd look almost entirely like the raptors from Jurassic Park. On the other side of the corridor, the rooms look out onto a long white sandy beach lined with palm trees and lines of vines laid down to the sea. There is even a little grounded boat to one end of the beach, to give the resort that "deserted island" look. The hotel has a big pool in the gardens, although the closeness of the sea makes it a bit redundant. For youngsters, there is a huge adventure playground out in the grounds, and the bars have family entertainment every night which ensures that there is never any chance of getting bored here. In fact, there is very little reason to leave the resort except to go to the shops - and there are shops on site so you could probably get away with not even doing that. The people here are incredibly friendly, too, almost to the point of overkill. Every single member of staff - Receptionists, Barmen, Clerks and Gardeners, Guards and Cleaners - constantly stop whatever they are doing and greet me with a friendly "Bula" and an extended hand wherever I go. The barman, who sees himself as a self elected tour guide for the resort, explained all the facilities to me, told me when happy hour is in the bar, and when the nightly show starts. He even gave me a big dopey looking yellow flower to stick behind my left ear. Apparently, this is a local custom - a flower behind your left ear means "I'm single - please come and get me", and a flower behind the right ear means "I'm married. Hand's off." Presumably, a flower in both ears means "I'm seriously confused or looking for a bit on the side!" I like this tradition - I can imagine it going down well in Nightclubs back home! Another thing I appreciate about the Naviti is the fact that everything I do gets charged back to my room - even at the bar. In fact, it is impossible to buy anything with cash in the resort except in the shop, so there's no need to carry any. The Naviti is part of the Warwick Hotel chain and also has a sister hotel called The Warwick, and I can even go there on the free shuttle bus and use the facilities and charge it all back to my room here. Life should always be this easy!

You can read my full travel journals at www.offexploring.com/globalwanderer and www.offexploring.com/globalwanderer2

Enjoy yourself and enjoy the customs of each place you visit.
They will be different than yours, you will learn something new everyday and your world will open up and broaden your ideas. We are just a speck in this world.

lovely island. everything u want there! go for the snorkeling trips that musket cove resort offer. they r awsum!

born and bred here, got suva in the bone. avoid the city if you are a tourist, full of dirt and dust and is unbearable in the sunny season and less so in the wet season. singh's curry is the best restaurant in town. some good night spots - avoid purple haze.

great place but don't stay there long there are so many islands to see and so much diving to do get out there and enjoy fiji islands. island life!!!

Try and get an air conditioned room if you can. The air is very stuffy. The water is fantastic for swimming. Much nicer beaches than on the mainland. But, be aware that there is really no option for any shopping!

It is a lovely place but good to know before you go that food and booze are really expensive.