Fiji Off The Beaten Path

  The Harbour Front-building in Suva /...
by globetrott
 
  • The Harbour Front-building in Suva / Fiji
      The Harbour Front-building in Suva /...
    by globetrott
  • The Harbour Front-building in Suva / Fiji
      The Harbour Front-building in Suva /...
    by globetrott
  • The Harbour Front-building in Suva / Fiji
      The Harbour Front-building in Suva /...
    by globetrott
  • The Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva / Fiji Islands
      The Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva / Fiji...
    by globetrott
  • The Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva / Fiji Islands
      The Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva / Fiji...
    by globetrott
 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

telephone-booths, Fiji-style

by globetrott

This is something that I found quite funny, when I saw it in larger cities in the Fiji Islands: The telephone-booths mostly will include a special decoration that looks like the fork of Poseidon, although it is something completely different: This "fork" is the top of the mast of the traditional sailingboats of the Fiji Islands, and in this "fork" another mast was fixed, that held the sails. In my last 2 pictures here you will see such a mast and its mast-top. The traditional Fiji sailingboats are considdered to have been the most seaworthy ships of the Pacific.

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Local markets & english spelled in Fiji-style

by globetrott

In principle english is one of the 3 official languages of the Fiji islands, but still you might find some great new spellings of english words there, especially on local markets, like here in my pictures taken in Savusavu: Please could you explain to me the meaning of "Pliz" ?? ;-)NO sitting on the table ??? - whats wrong about that ?Of course there are other good reasons to go to the local markets for you as well and I am sure you will find a lot of local fruits and vegetables that you have never tasted before !The merchants were very friedly, although most of them did not speak any english, so they just smiled at us and did not care a lot about the fact that we were just looking and taking photos without buying anything !

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oldfashioned shops in Savusavu

by globetrott

You will find them in other rural areas of the Fijis as well, but I saw the very best of the in Savusavu: You will see a lot of lovely, oldfashioned shops and colorfull shop-fronts there and they reminded me a lot of the shops that I saw in the Carribean Islands more than 30 years ago. There are modern supermarkets as well in Savusavu, but they seem to look the same all over the world.

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Ndravuni has a great viewpoint

by globetrott

I dont know why, but I expected the Fiji-islands to be quite flat, but then even the small islands like Ndravuni Island had some hills on them and there is a great viewpoint on the highest point of the island:It will take you about 30 minutes to step up a hill that has an excellent panorama-view from its top. The path is not very steep but you will sweat a lot anyway in the open sun and there is hardly any place there to walk in the shade, so be prepared and maybe take some extra water with you !

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I found some graves on Ndravuni Island

by globetrott

When I travel to other countries I am always interested to see their cemeteries as well. In Ndravuni Island I found a cemetery with maybe 20 graves, some with large tombstones on the floor, decorated with christian crosses and some did not have these crosses, but you could see that obviously somebody takes food there on a regular basis in order to "feed" the dead relatives, like in my main picture here !Both types of graves had in common that visitors obviously lay some stones on top of the graves !

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The only remains of the Bounty

by globetrott

In Suva, in the Fiji Museum you will be able to see the only remain of the famous ship "Bounty": It is a part of the Rudder that was raised in Bounty Bay in the Pitcairn Islands in 1932. There is not much left of it now, because lots of souvenir-seakers have taken away a lot of bits of it, while it was stored at the post-office of the Pitcairn Islands,waiting to the shipped to Fiji-islands.Shame on you, you lousy souvenir-hunters !!!I am sorry for the reflections in my pictures, but there was no better way to take photos there ! ;-((

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The Grand Pacific Hotel gets restored

by globetrott

It was almost totally hidden behind a fence, but its top stood out and so I took a closer look: It was the former Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva that was under total restoration in November 2011 and obviously it will be rebuilt as a luxury hotel again within the next years. At one side there will be the ocean and on the other side there is the Victoria Parade, the main boulevard through Suva and the Fiji Museum is just a few steps from this great hotel as well.Obviously this hotel was closed for lots of years, but even though it was in quite a bad condition when I saw it, I could still see some of its former great architecture.

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A taste of local Art Nouveau style

by globetrott

It was quite a surprise of me to find a building in Art Nouveau-style in Suva: it is the Harbour Front-building in Suva, quite close to the cruise-port. Take a look at the fine details in the facade, there are some really great ornaments left over, although unfortunately it would also need some repairs and restaurations as well.Opposite of this building you will find the largest market-hall of Suva, a great place to see and maybe even taste some local tropical fruits.

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Ovalau - The Real Fiji

by mike_driver22

If you want to experience a fiji away from just beaches make sure you come to Ovalau. If has the old Capital city of Levuka, where you can get a ferry into from Suva. When you are there i recommend stayin in The Royal Hotel, which is the oldest hotel in Fiji and is the heart and sole of Levuka. In and around Levuka are many islands which you can stay on and relax, i went to the budget ones which were F$60 for food and a Bure PP. I went to three of them:Leluvia- Had the best food of the three and you could Kayak (free) to Snake Island, which has a wall drop off and is some of the best snorkelling i have done.Caqalai - The least enjoyable of the three islands, gave me food poisoning, Avoid if possible.Lost Island - The beach was ruined when we arrived and is the only island without a reef you can snorkel, but the owners are so hospitable and you get a real feel for Fijian life and is a...

Looking at Leluvia from Caqalai
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Lomaiviti

by treasurous

I went to Lomaiviti 2 years ago and i recommend that. (not for partying or shopping though.) It's not too much a fuzz getting there, a bit, but it's worth it. I tool the bus to Suva from where i got a bus-ferry-bus ticket to Levuka, Ovalau. The bus ride to Suva was enjoyable bc of the scenary, but the the next bus was rather uncomfortable so if i were to go again i'd think about flying. At Levuka, stay at Royal hotel. Levuka is a lovely place for just walking around. You'll find information on excursions at royal hotel and at Ovalau watersports, down Beach street.From Levuka you can go to Caqalai, a paradise budget resort. I had a private bure on the beach for not much money at all. (prices appear to have gon up though since I was there.) You can snorkel off the beach. You book and get picked up at ovalau watersports. The boatride is not budget priced, but it's so lovely crossing the...

My Caqalai bure

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Fiji Off The Beaten Path

Reviews and photos of Fiji off the beaten path posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Fiji sightseeing.
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