Feejee Experience

Around the World 2003-2005

Feejee Experience

Nov. 12th to Nov. 15th, 2003.

I wanted too see and experience a bit of Fiji's biggest island, Viti Levu. Since I had heard some good things about Feejee Experience from some of the other travelers, I decided to book the Hula Hoop Pass.

For more information on Feejee Experience, check out http://www.feejeeexperience.com.

Day One

Events of the day:

Body surfing and rugby at a beautiful sandy beach followed by a BBQ
Village Tour
Sandboarding some costal dunes.

The pictures below are from the village tour.

This is Davita our Feejee Experience guide. He was always very interesting and informative.

This is Daniel and a few village kids. During our first village stop and it quickly became apparent that the kids loved Daniel. In every village we visited, the kids would naturally swam to him.

This is Anne-Lue from France and a few of the kids.

Two girls in their school uniform.

The village kids just before we leave.

Day Two -- Jungle Trek.

This was my favorite day. We went on a three hour jungle trek. It was raining slightly when we started up a mucky track thick with gooey red/orange clay. By the time we reached the top of the next hill, the sun came out making the air hot and sticky. It was a relief to enter the jungle. Everything was wet and slick, but the thick canopy provided a welcome relief from the sun.

After many hills we ended up in a cool clear stream. We walked the stream bed for about 40 minutes before taking to the hill again. Before too long, we ended up hiking down into a steep river canyon. The ropes tied along the path were needed to keep from plummeting into the river below. Once we reached the bottom, we climbed into inner tubes and floated down the river. We stopped at a waterfall cascading down the canyon wall. After jumping from the lower part of the falls, we boarded long boats for the journey back to the bus.

Swamp pool.

Group photo in stream while waiting for everyone else to catch up.

More members of our group hiking in the stream. The guy in blue is not me. I took the picture.

Day Three -- Village Stop

The first stop of the day was a village visit and a formal kava ceremony. When visiting a village in Fiji, it is custom to bring kava and present it to the chief. Kava, the ground up root of a pepper plant, has special traditional significance. It is ceremoniously mixed with water and served at all special events and occasions. During the ceremony, each person is presented with a bowl of kava in order of rank, starting with the Chief on down. The presentation involves a series of claps and the shouting of "Bula!" before the whole bowl is drained in one go. It has a chalky water consistency, taste, and texture that will leave your tongue and lips a bit numb after a few bowls. After a few rounds of kava, the villagers started playing music and show us some of the local dances.

During the rest of the day, we explored a large cave, visited a school, and kayaked to Nananu-I-Ra, the evening's lodging.

This is the road we took on the way to the village. You should have see the little wooden bridges we crossed. Our bus driver was without fear.

Day Four -- Hot Pools

After spending a leisurely morning on Nananu-i-ra Island we took the bus to the town of BA for a late lunch at an Indian restaurant. The tables setup on the roof top provided us with a view of the town. A hard working blue collar town made up mostly of Indians brought over by the British to work in the sugar cane fields. During the meal, black ash from the burning sugar cane would drift onto the table. Apparently it is a common practice to burn the fields prior to harvest. On the way to the hot pools we passed many burning fields.

The hot pools provided a relaxing end to the Feejee Experience.

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