+ ON TOUR: Fiji - far away but easy to reach

John Bell in the January TNU reported on Fiji Airways. He found time during his short visit for a stopover at the tiny resort of Oarsman’s Bay. It is something different.  This is his report.

The Pacific state of Fiji consists of 330 islands and nearly one million people sprinkled over an area of 7,000 square miles some five hours flying time from Melbourne and Sydney, ten hours Singapore and Los Angeles. It is essentially 24 hours of air travel from London. Given that geography it is amazing that anyone goes there at all but last year, in a record, a small part of it attracted over a million visitors.

Of course Captain Cook, on his way to New Zealand in 1774 passed through these islands and the local tribes found many a foreign visitor to be ‘quite tasty’ – although that was before the Methodist missionaries arrived to tame the excesses of the Fijian diet. But the British influence is still ever present. Yes there is white bread and baked beans causing diabetic havoc in the typical Fijian diet and the Union Flag nestles in the corner of the Fijian Blue Ensign reflecting the colour of the ever present Pacific Ocean.  The British also left parts of their history as well. The waters surrounding the largest island of Viti Levu are named for Captain Bligh – he of Mutiny on the Bounty fame – who, following that mutiny, sailed these seas on a remarkable voyage in a small boat and somehow returned to England.

But, of course, it is in plantations that the British left their biggest crop when, unhappy with the lack of labour for their newly planted sugar cane, they imported thousands of indentured labourers from the Indian sub-continent so causing the local population to be split almost 50 – 50 between Indians and the Fijian tribes. Later this split caused endless upheaval which would both damage the newly independent nation economically and politically. So, with the British sovereigns head now removed from the coinage who flies the flag for Fiji now? There is the famous Fiji water which somehow appears on British supermarket shelves 12,000 miles away and then the rugby team of course – bringing the Fijian shouted greeting of Bula, Bula to all parts of the world

So, is it all this history and tradition which now brings those million or so visitors to these shores mainly from Australia and New Zealand? Of course not, it is the sand and sea that is the attraction and most of these ‘tourists’ don’t know and don’t care about what has gone before.

Rather unusually and, for such a small place, the main airport is nearly 200km from the capital city of Suva. Built by the Americans during World War II they chose the town of Nadi, not for its beautiful beaches or night life, but because it was difficult to find enough flat land on this mountainous island to build the required runway

Nadi is not the prettiest town so has not developed as a seaside resort. The nearby Wailoaloa Beach where new hotels have sprung up is not a bay with golden beaches. In fact the developers were so pushed for somewhere to build a resort that they decided to create their own island on an area of mangrove swamp a few kilometres outside town and it is to here that most of the tourists come.

Over 25 years or so it is on this man-made island now named Denarau that the big hotels Hilton, Sheraton, Sofitel, Club Wyndam have all sprung up and all with big water parks as the man-made beach is no better than Nadi’s natural beaches.

Here you will also find the obligatory restaurants, golf course and, at Port Denarau, the usual tat that follows the tourist trade. In fact, the only truly Fijian tradition you will trip over here is the friendly hotel doorman and the Bula shuttle bus which circles the island but never goes to nearby Nadi through the island’s own security post.But that all changes at 08:45 every morning when the sound of a ship’s horn is heard and there is a rush to get on the Yasawa Flyer, one of the fast catamarans of Awesome Adventures which leave for the nearby Mamanuca Islands and, in our case, starts the five-hour, rather expensive, voyage to the more distant Yasawa Islands.

The Flyer (air-conditioned ship and carrying upwards of 260 passengers on its three decks and in a first-class lounge) enters the island chain to be greeted by a spear carrying warrior in traditional dress, perhaps to remind the passengers that this land, like most land in Fiji, is owned by the traditional tribes and traditions and tribal law must be upheld.

Never enter a Fijian village uninvited, always remove your hat, ladies should cover their legs and do not forget the traditional gift or sevusevu of powdered kava root which the Chief expects.

For hours the Flyer continues up the island chain depositing passengers and luggage into tiny boats which service the 30 or so small resorts that cling to the side of steep slopes ending in the golden beaches for which the Yasawas are famous.

At the end of the run (and the Flyer is like an expensive bus) it is time for us to step, with care, into such a small boat and head for one single beach running for a mile or so in front of the Oarsman’s Bay Resort. No pier here – just step off the local boat and you are wading up that beach into the arms of a group of singing, guitar playing, Fijians.

Is this the staff sent out as part of their daily duties? No. The difference with Oarsman’s Bay is that this resort is owned by the local tribe and their Chief Ratu Manasa – whom you may bump into – is the boss. With locally made but 5-star chalets – called bures – to sleep in here your British pound, Euro or Dollar will not be repatriated to a foreign land but stays on this island of Nocula to help house, keep healthy and educate the local people whilst you stetch out and admire the stunning view.

What is more this idea is catching on so we can go (by small boat of course) and visit a retired teacher who, after baking cakes for visitors, has built a homestead with six of her own small bures which you can now book on booking.com! All this on an island with no roads and no shops.

But we should move quickly – local rumour has it that the One & Only chain is about to develop a 7-star resort, just around the corner and on the same island, so will tourism come to destroy what the locals have tried to preserve.

Perhaps the discussion starts here?  

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READERS' COMMENT

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Sheila Hope, Luton

Good one John. It is not as far as it seems. Now on my wish list.