Finding FIJI
Dive into the Pacific island nation’s kava ritual, blue seas and green ethos
If someone told me that the people of Fiji have 100 words to describe the shades of blue in the water and sky that bless their tropical paradise, I would believe them.
Of course, it’s not true, but when the sun shines, the waters that surround this Pacific nation’s 320-plus islands and hundreds more islets transform into more shades of blue than you can begin to name.
Because of its short distance by plane, Australians and New Zealanders have long enjoyed Fiji as a holiday destination. Now a growing number of North Americans are starting to explore the distinct culture and history of Fiji, often using it as a stop to break up the long journey to Australia.
Some of these travellers are arriving in Fiji via cruise ships that are making it a port of call while others are flying in from Los Angeles or Hawaii, often with Fiji Airways, formerly Air Pacific, which operates frequent flights.
Flights arrive in Nadi, a town on the west coast of the largest island, Viti Levu. From there, travellers can journey to many coastal resorts, ranging from the most luxurious five-star establishment on a private island to the most humble backpacker hostel.
Sunrise over Fiji is a beautiful sight, and the people on these islands are among the most friendly on Earth.
Tourism is the country’s largest industry, which thrives due to not only the natural beauty of the islands but also the disarming friendliness of Fijians.
Communicating is easy as English is widely spoken. In my conversations with Fijians to learn what makes their country tick, two topics dominated — rugby and kava.
Rugby is easy to explain. As a former British colony, the islanders were exposed to, and eagerly embraced, the rough and tumble sport. When the Fiji Rugby Union national team, nicknamed the Flying Fijians, is playing, the country comes to a virtual standstill.
As for kava, it’s a ceremonial drink that has a long history in the island. Made from the powdered root of a pepper plant, the drink has a relaxing effect on muscles while keeping the brain completely lucid. In ancient times, island chiefs who rarely spoke the same language would meet and consume the drink together. Mellowed by kava, both chiefs would make peace agreements.
Today it’s a recreational drink that mostly men but also some women consume in social settings. Visitors are often asked to share a kava bowl or two, and it’s good form to accept such invitations. A popular activity for visitors is to visit a rural village, which is where most of the country’s residents live and where kava rituals are de rigueur.
For a more conventional drink, Fiji produces rum, an offshoot of sugar cane cultivation, which is the secondbiggest industry. The island has an excellent spirit called Bounty, which is not exported.
Not surprisingly, the island nation is a great place for seafood lovers. A traditional preparation method for fish and other foods is lovo, in which meals are cooked in pots buried in a pit with hot coals.
What may surprise visitors, however, is the abundance of excellent Indian food, as nearly half the population is descended from Indian labourers brought here by the British to work the sugar fields.
Most people come to Fiji simply to relax by the sea. For more active visitors, surfing, sailing, windsurfing, scuba diving and snorkelling are all popular. There is a multitude of great dive spots, but one notable place is Namena Marine Reserve, off the coast of the second-largest island, Vanua Levu. The location is frequently visited by L’Aventure, the dive shop operated at Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort, which is associated with the son of famed explorer Jacques Cousteau.
Jean-Michel Cousteau is a charming and tireless man in his 70s who still travels the world making documentaries that chronicle nature and humanity’s adverse effect on it. It’s clear that Fiji and its residents have a special spot in his heart. He finds it ironic that his globe-trotting father never visited the island during his many journeys.
“I made my Dad discover Papua New Guinea. I wanted to show him a new place on the planet, because he spent a lifetime showing me, but he never got to Fiji — Fiji is mine,” he joked.
The resort that bears the Cousteau name is a five-star venue with private bures, which are thatched-roof bungalows. Modelled after a traditional Fijian village, the resort prides itself on its green practices.
He spoke about his visit to the infamous garbage patch that is swirling around the middle of the Pacific Ocean and recounted how he visited one island in the northern part of the ocean. In one small stretch of beach, he identified, through product labels, trash from 52 nations.
“We are using the ocean as a garbage dump and a universal sewer. That’s our life-support system,” he said.
Listening to him while gazing at the blue waters of Fiji, it’s hard to believe that this pristine land could ever become a garbage dump. But if Cousteau has his way, those 100 shades of blue will never become 100 shades of brown. The writer was a guest of Tourism Fiji and Fiji Airways, neither of which reviewed nor approved this article before publication.