A brief overview of the place
being the largest city in the south pacific and being home to 40% of the countries population, Suva has a brilliant atmosphere that is made up of the culturally diverse people and the wonderful colonial buildings.
What I did there.
As there is so much to see in Fiji and I couldn’t make my mind up, I and a few friends booked to do an excursion with the ship. Our first stop was a simple traditional village an hour away from the ship. We were welcomed in by being given flower necklaces and 3 firm pats on the head. making our way through the collection of small houses we and eventually came to an opening where directed on to a large grass lawn and invited to sit. Just as out bums reached the ground were struck with loud chanting and then about 20 Fijian men ran in front of us wearing grass skirts and began dancing. The dance was incredible. They should make an excursive video using that dance, what with all the jumping and hip action.
After watching the drop of men dance for a good half an hour (which was an incredible amount of time) we were all on voted to join. I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to make a tit of myself so I was the first to get up and start vigorously waving my arms in the air. After a while, they managed to get all of us to join in, and we all tried ever so hard to follow the steps but, in the end, we just started dancing our own dance. jerking out hips frantically from side to side and moving our feet back and forward trying to keep up with the pros. I must say the Fijian music had a very infectious beat.
With a crowd full of laughter, smiles and all trying to catch our breath, we were directed to a large shelter to have lunch which was a chicken, couscous, salad, and a large tuna fish. a very basic but fresh lunch which we all could get enough of.
We were all invited to try a tea that they only made in that village. a large man sat cross-legged in front of a cauldron using a large label to scoop out the fluorescent green liquid. as I brought the cup to my lips the pungent smell of earthy …. hit me. as I took a sip of the bitter liquid I forced smile on my face. he smiled back to reveal his 3 missing teeth which turned my fake smile into a genuine one which he thought was caused by the tea.
After leaving the village full and happy we were then taken to Colo-I- Suva Forest Park. a beautiful place made up of lush greenery…
we walked for about 10 minutes until we cam too and lagoon in the middle of the trees. there were about 8 local people there enjoying the rope swing and jumping off into the cool water.
we punched out things on the rocks, got into out swimwear and jumped into the lagoon. the water was ice cold which was a shock to the body as all day it felt like it had been 40 degrees. my body quickly got used to the cool water and we enjoyed a good hour of splashing around in the water. I wasn’t brave enough to have a go on the rope swing as it was quite a way up but I thrall enjoyed cheering for some of the others as they did it.
I swear as soon as I got out the water, I was dry because of the heat.
On the way back to the ship we stopped off at Parliament of Fiji. we didn’t go in but we could see through the gate the lush greenery and long driveway leading up to the house.
After our wonderful day of dancing, swimming and Fijian food we made our way back to the ship
Most popular excursions
Sawani village tour
this is the village I went too and I would highly recommend going. it is such a fun day.
Nausori Farmers Market
This is Suvas biggest market with an amazing range of fresh fruits, veg and other produce. after wandering around the market take a walk down princess road to get a wonderful view of the beautiful Suva harbour.
Wainadoi zipline
Swing from the trees on this famous biplane course that is between 10 to 200 feet in the air.
Where to eat
Coloisuva forest park
Grand Pacific hotel
Orilleyes Irish pub
Bad dog cafe
Currency
Fijian Dollar
Language
Fijian, English and Hindi
Population
177,000
The favourite thing about the place
The zest for life the locals have.
