Fiji



What a way to end our trip away, with a relaxing few days on a tropical island in the pacific, and to top it all off grandma and grandpa came along too!

I wonder how much business this place does?

Some local housing in Fiji.

Near the end of our stay we went to Natadola Beach on the Coral coast of Fiji where this guy rode up on his horse with a young foal in tow. Immediately he started taking the kids for rides along the beach. By this time we knew the Fijian way of just doing something THEN asking for the amount of money they think. So after taking 3 children for a ride he decided that he should be paid $50FJ. Unfortunately for him we only had $7FJ so he had to settle for that. I think the phrase, "Not happy Jan!"was highly appropriate at that time.



Horseriding at Natadola Beach



Paige at Natadola Beach.

Ash ends his ride at Natadola.

The other aspect of the beach was that it had small but fun waves to play in. Even Paige grabbed a few waves, until dad unfortunately launched her too far and she fell off the front - another N.H.J. moment.

Paige rides a wave



Oops! Paige falls off the wave!



Grandma and grandpa enjoy Natadola Beach.

Megan and Paige with a not fresh coconut.

One of the trips that Jill and I were able to do while the kids stayed with grandma and grandpa was to visit the garden of the Sleeping Giant where there were hundreds of orchids and other wonderful tropical plants and flowers. This was a great treat for Ian, not so much for Jill as she had to wait so long.

A happy boy at the Garden of the Sleeping Giant.

One the many great things about Fiji was how friendly it was everywhere we went. Even their police stations welcome you!

Where else but Fiji would a police station welcome you?

The beach house was truly that - on the beach. the only shame was that we couldn't swim at this beach because it was too murky. The outlook was beautiful and the kids loved the hammock.

View from the house.

Ash tried getting fresh coconuts from the trees which occupied him for quite some time.

Ash seeking a coconut.

Saweni Beach house in Fiji.

Dad and I generously volunteered to do the cooking which naturally started with wine tasting, progressed through further wine testing and ended with wine qualification-ing.

Dad and Grandpa in cooking mode.

Dinner in the house.

Not far from the entrance to the 'resort' we would drive along a dirt road for a couple of kilometres to get to the main road and bitumen. Along the dirt road we saw cows and goats and plenty of people walking - even the occasional taxi.

Goats on railway near entrance to resort.

Lautoka was the nearest "big city" and an interesting place to visit. Being the only white faces there, we attracted plenty of attention.

Posing in Lautoka.



Lautoka municipal market.

The markets were a mystery for the most part. It wasn't just a matter of trying to determine what things were, it was also how do you use them?

What the....?

The plant root that is used to make Kava.



Traffic in Lautoka.


While this chap was shining dad's shoes for $1FJ (about 50c AUS), a couple other guys suddenly showed up and started chatting. In no time at all they had carved the kids names on some wood carvings and asked for money for them. Because Jill had had a similar set from when she visited some 30+ years ago, it was hard to say no.

Shoe shine for grandpa.

There were a lot of stray dogs that simply scavenged for food to survive. We took this little cutey and fed it while we were there. Megan and the dog were firm friends.

Megan with her new friend.

Leopard orchid at Gardens of the Sleeping Giant.

Light through palm.

The effects of Tamarind.

We all went for a trip to a nearby island for a day. On the island we snorkeled using some old equipment which leaked and paddled in a canoe that filled with water

Our Captain Cook boat for our island trip.

Kava ceremony.

Megan tries kava.

Megans opinion on kava.

Ash tries kava.

Jill braves the kava.

Two beautiful girls.

Our thoughtful boy.

Boat from the island.

Our own little tropical island for a day.

Looking for fish in the glass bottom boat.

Grandma and Paige on the glass bottomed boat.



Paige gets cuddles with grandpa.



Beach of the island.

Lunch is being cooked.

Lunch, island style.

Happily fed natives.

Grandpa on his tropical island.

Grandma on her tropical island.

Tropical flowers.

All smiles for the camera.

Paige's favourite crew member.

The boat awaits.

The admiration was mutual with these two.

Coconut breaking demonstration.