South Pacific 1986 – Sydney to Fiji

Images of Fiji 1986

By the time I got to Fiji the money was running low and I knew I should be getting back home. But the QANTAS ticket was generous in letting me hop all over the South Pacific and I felt that “as long as I was in the neighborhood” – which, in retrospect, was a good call since that is the last time I have been there…or Australia – 27 years ago.

Although I did not do a lot of extensive traveling I did learn about Fiji, despite rumors of a coup (which came a few months later), and a hotel with an adjacent beach that was full of discarded old tires (this was by now an economy trip!).

One thing you have to know about Fiji – most of their political problems are a result of friction between the native Fijians and Fijians of Indian descent, who were brought in by the British to harvest sugar cane. The native Fijians didn’t want that kind of work.

The Indians, being good at business, started small shops and businesses. Which brought resentment by the native Fijians.

My plane left Sydney and landed at Nadi. While Fiji, like Tahiti, is comprised of hundreds of islands large and small, I never left the island of Viti Levu. There are some beautiful islands and resorts at Fiji so don’t think my pictures here are a summary of Fiji….

So here’s some pictures with a bit of commentary…

This was in back of my hotel – I didn’t show all the old tires 😉

I sure got use out of my Akubra hat

The Fijians of a few hundred years ago were a warrior people – like new Zealand’s Maoris.

The had a club on display here that I will never forget – a nasty thing called a Totokia

The “recipient” would be hit on the head and that spike would puncture the skull.

These pictures were all part of the cultural center

This guy is walking on hot coals…an old Fijian ritual?

This was Nadi – population about 40,000. It seemed half the population were taxi drivers – you’d be asked every 5 minutes if you needed a ride. The other major town is Suva. I took a bus ride from Nadi to Suva on the island.