Relaxing, natural waterslides, and The Rainbow Reef (Days 34-37)

We took a break from activities and sightseeing in Taveuni and decided to spend a day relaxing.  We spent a lazy morning in our treehouse watching the beautiful view from our lovely room, sitting on the porch in the sun blogging, and having a leisurely breakfast.

Eventually we made our way out of the treehouse and headed towards Prince Charles Beach, known as the best beach on Taveuni, and only a ten minute walk from the treehouse.  The beautiful little patch of pristine sand and rock-free shores made it a perfect place to spend the afternoon, and we enjoyed swimming and playing in the crystal clear blue waters, resting in the sun, and swimming some more, until it was dinner time.

Breadfruit chips

For dinner we headed a few minutes up to the road to a restaurant we had read about online, called Tramonto.  Tramonto is supposed to have the best pizza on Taveuni, and we read that they will even deliver your pizza right down to you on the beach.  However, they also have an incredible hill-top view of the ocean, perfectly angled for the sunset, and we wanted to experience this.  As an appetizer we were brought some breadfruit "chips" and a spicy sauce to dip them in, which were quite tasty.  The lovely ladies in the kitchen made us a delicious thin-crust chicken barbecue pizza with garlic, tomatoes, and a sweet/savoury/spicy balsamic drizzle to pour over top.  Add in some ice-cold Fiji Gold beers and a beautiful display of gold, pink, and purple sky over the ocean, and it was a perfect evening.

The next day started off with a little rain (which Taveuni sorely needs as it is going through a drought right now), but the skies soon cleared up for our planned visit to the natural waterslides.  We were accompanied by three other guests from the hotel as well as a local guide, for it is difficult to experience the waterslides properly without some local knowledge.

The waterslides are essentially a series of small waterfalls in a long river over smooth and slippery rocks that you can literally slide down like a waterslide.  However, it takes a local to know the safe places to slide, as well as how to use your body as a makeshift "dam" for a few minutes in certain spots in order to create a better rush of water for your slide if it hasn't rained in a while.
However, before we reached the slides, we were taken to a local small town and had a chance to be amongst the locals doing their everyday shopping.  The fruit and vegetable stands had many things to chose from, and I purchased a ripe looking mango to try later.  Our guide used the time to pop in for a quick hair cut.  Multi tasking, Fiji style!

Me in today and J in yesterday

We then headed off towards the 180° meridian marker.  This line passes through very few points of land, and Taveuni happens to be one of them.  In theory, you can stand with one foot in yesterday and one in today, but the time zones have been shifted slightly in order to keep all of Taveuni within one time zone.  It was still an interesting and fun experience and we took turns taking photos of us "with a foot in both days", or with one of us standing in 'yesterday' and one in 'today'.

Finally, after a very uneven and wobbly ride in the 4WD on a long dirt road, we arrived at "the white house" - a local's home nearby.  We were unsure who's home this was or why it was included in the trip, but we were allowed to use the unlit bathroom in their humble home to change into our bathing suits.  "How far is the walk to the waterslides?" J asked the guide, wondering if she should take her sturdy shoes or if flip-flops would suffice.  "Oh, it's just five minutes walk, right there beside those palm trees," he pointed.

At least ten minutes in, as we were tripping on vegetation and sliding down barely-there trails slippery with rocks, J mumbled "Never trust a Fijian person when they say something is just five minutes away", as we both tried simultaneously not to fall and keep up with our guide bounding away up ahead. Once we reached the river, he did stop and assist us with a tricky river crossing over some boulders.  However, the narrow trail down to the perfect access point to the waterslides was blocked by a small wasp's nest dangling in the path from a tree branch.  Our guide said some words we didn't understand, and bounded away back the way we came, soon appearing on the other side of the river, and seeming to make a ten minute hike in just thirty seconds.

Less than a minute later he was back, carrying a lighter and a bunch of long dry palm tree leaves.  We watched in fascination and confusion as he lit them on fire and proceeded to set the wasp's nest on fire, but not without receving one wasp sting before he was done.

The path now safe for us to continue, we followed him down to the water's edge as he hopped into the river and showed us what to do.  Excited, we followed him one by one and slide down several of the "slides" in the river, some of them longer and faster than we had anticipated.  The rocks were indeed very slippery and it all made a perfect "slide".  There was the occasional bump against the rocks or the speed turning you upside-down, but it was all part of the fun.  The deep pools of water that you ended up in after each "slide" were very refreshing.  The purity and unspoiledness of most of the land in Fiji fascinates me.

"Do you want to go again?" he asked us.  We all excitedly said yes!  So we climbed over the rocks and down the trail back to the beginning and had one more series of fun slides down the river, while he kindly took photos and videos of each one of us with all our cameras.

We reluctantly headed back to the car after that and were driven back to the "white house" where we sat outside enjoying the incredible panoramic views of the ocean and lush green hills all around us while eating our generous packed lunch of chicken, vegetables, rice, and "lemon juice", included in the cost of the tour. 

Beautiful view during our lunch

Two little boys that lived in the house came out to play on the hammock nearby, and I was amazed at their play.  They couldn't have been more than 4 and 6, and they swung, climbed, stood on, and pushed that hammock with each other on it in ways that would make most North American parents panic and rush to save their children from peril.  But these children were extremely good at what they were doing.  Their physical dexterity amazed me, as they kept their balance impeccably and with the obvious skill that comes from years of practice learnt from trial and error experiences without anxious adults hovering to protect them from small harms.

Our guide also dropped off two young boys on our drive back to our accommodation, and these small children were simply left at the side of the dirt road and expected to walk the rest of the way alone to where they were going - something else that would rarely ever happen back home.

Everything here happens not only on "Fiji time", but also "Fiji style" - drive by a friend on the road who's going the other way and remember something you have to tell him?  No worries, both drivers will just abruptly stop their vehicles mid-drive and back up towards each other in order to have a short conversation before continuing on.

The next day was our flight from Taveuni back to Nadi (where we would catch our series of return flights back home the next day), but it was only at 4:30, so it gave us plenty of time to join another guide-led activity the next day - a visit to the famous Rainbow Reef for a morning of snorkeling.  After a relaxing 45 minute boat ride (during which I was startled to see a "flying fish" leap out of the water and "fly" a couple of feet before diving back into the ocean), we arrived at the Rainbow Reef.  After putting on our gear, we slide into the water and followed our guide as he swam and snorkeled his way along the reef.

I was utterly fascinated by the amazing rainbow world underneath me.  All different shapes, sizes, and colours of coral were everywhere, and each swim forward brought something new and incredible.  And then fish - I can't even describe the beauty.  Medium sized yellow ones, long and thin orange ones, black-and-white striped ones.  And the blues!  Iridescent blue-green-purple fish all around us, sometimes entire schools of them.  At more than one point, I looked over and saw J swimming WITH the fish.  Beautiful.  What an amazing world just under the surface of the blue water.

My favourite of all was the three Regal Tang fish we saw.  Incredibly blue, with bits of yellow, there they swam, with no concern over our presence, just allowing us to watch and marvel at their fascinating and bright colours.

Picnicking on this lovely deserted island

After about 40 minutes of viewing the beautiful Rainbow Reef (it certainly lives up to its name), we hopped back in the boat for a short ride over to a nearby deserted island where we would eat another delicious packed lunch (this time, vegetable curry with rice and, of course, "lemon juice").  It was incredible fun to just lounge around on a stunning beach of white soft sand, no other humans on the island but us, and nourish ourselves after that exhausting swim (we encountered some strong currents towards the end).

It was the perfect end to our Fiji adventure, and we were back with plenty of time to hop on our scenic tiny-plane flight back to Nadi.  Later that night in our hostel room, the reality of the trip being over started to sink in. 

Initially, being away for 38 days seemed like so much time to be away from home.  But I think I've caught the travel bug.  I could easily keep going - and so could J.  Part of our return flight involved going to Auckland first, and a week ago I asked J, "Would you get back in a campervan in Auckland and do it all again?"  "Yes", she said without thinking.  "I would too."

There's something about travel.  The open road, the unknown, becomes comforting and familiar.  It forces you to live in the moment.

As we arrived in the Auckland airport to wait for our flight back to Toronto, I got to glimpse some of New Zealand's rolling green hills one last, brief time.  I loved experiencing the culture and unspoiled islands of Fiji, but something about New Zealand crept into my heart and made those rolling green hills seem like a glimpse of a familiar home.  The kiwi accent in the airport, their refreshing sense of humour and lightheartedness as we wandered around the airport, the post card images of all around the country, and the familiar "Kia Ora!" greeting, all felt like uncannily like a brief homecoming of sorts, before returning to our real home.

J saw the look in my eyes.  "We'll come back," she promised me.

And I know we will.  But for now we are weary backpackers, and being on this flight home is bittersweet.  The open road has ended for now, but we're looking ever forward to new adventures, new dreams.

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Thank you to everyone that has followed along with our journey.  Knowing that there were so many people out there not only reading, but waiting for the posts to come, helped me stick with my commitment to write about the entire trip, and inspired me to reach inside for my true feelings and to find the right words to convey them.  I'm posting this from Vancouver as we wait for our final connecting flight home, but I do have one more final post regarding the trip that I will post once we arrive home, so stay tuned.

Goodbye New Zealand, goodbye Fiji, goodbye open road... Toronto, we'll be seeing you very soon.