Oh! Fiji… definitely a place from my bucket list. And I was not disappointed!

Our first stop was Lautoka, on the Island of Viti Levu.

The Sugar City

We had booked an excursion, and headed out after breakfast to join our bus.

We first drove through and out of the City to get our first stop, the South Sea Orchid Farm.

We arrived at the beautiful home and farm, and enjoyed a talk about the heritage items in the farm. I did not talk any pictures inside

A frequent guest at the farm, and family friend was another Orchid oficiano… Raymond Burr. And apparently he did not trust conventional chairs, so had one delivered to the farm… and I sat in it!

The family hosted a morning Tea, and talked about their works in the community. They support the area with programs to help uneducated women grow orchids and other small income generating activities.

From the farm we headed back to Nadi, the next city over, and did a bit of shopping (we did not purchase anything, but enjoyed the energy of the busy streets)

From Nadi, we headed to the Sabeto village, where we participated in a traditional Kava ceremony. (If you don’t know what Kava is… I encourage you to google it 😉

The children were off school for the day as it was Saturday, so they joined in. I enjoyed watching them try to keep up with the Adults

We then returned to the ship, enjoying the scenery along the way

A wonderful day, an amazing experience.

From our cruise info:

Lautoka, Fiji

Lautoka is not in a logical position to be one of Fiji’s busiest ports. Ports are usually found in bays or harbors; here it’s just the open Bligh Water (yes, that Bligh, who, after his crew mutinied in Tahiti, proceeded to pull off one of the greatest sailing feats in history, which included not letting his remaining men get turned into the Fijian daily special).

Lautoka has a nice, fading colonial vibe with a 100-year-old sugar mill still in operation. The juxtaposition of Muslim mosques and Hindu temples in town, though, captures recent Fiji history in a nutshell. Indo-Fijians, many of whose ancestors had been brought over from India by the British in the 19th century as indentured laborers, eventually amassed enough power to begin buying up local stores and land. When the native Fijians noticed the imbalance, it led to a coup, a countercoup and, in 2006, a counter-countercoup. (Don’t fret: Visitors will not notice a thing. Democratic elections have resumed and all’s well.)

Only 15 kilometers (nine miles) from Lautoka’s hustle and bustle is the Koroyanitu National Heritage Park. In an almost magical exception to what usually goes on in the South Pacific, this park contains a fully protected, unlogged cloud forest. Hike to the mountaintop and enjoy endless blue-green views of all those Fijian islands the great European explorers missed from fear of headhunters and cannibals.