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20. In Fiji we arrived in the middle of the night. The Air New Zealand planes leave Los Angeles in the evening and arrive in New Zealand in the morning. When we crossed the dateline we went from thursday to saturday. The stop-over in Fiji is around 3 o'clock in the morning. The airport is in Nandi and my brother Martin lives in the capital Suva on the other side of the main-island Viti Levu. Martin and his son Martino waited for us at the airport and took us straight to the Raffle's Gateway Hotel. After a few hours sleep we enjoyed the beautiful garden and the swimming-pool. |
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21. Ranto and Martino at the pool. |
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22. With Martin in front of his house in Suva. In the background Martino. |
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23. Suva, the capital is situated on the eastcoast of the main-island. Nadi with the international airport on the westcoast. There is a substantial difference in climate. The east is a lot more humid. The population is about 50% indigenous Fijians and about 50% Hindu of Indian descent. This has caused a very unstable political situation. If you want to know more about the political situation in Fiji, search with Google: hindi fijian problem |
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24. The shops and restaurants are usually owned by the Hindu. The people selling there produce in front are usually Fijians. In a country with so many delicious and cheap fruit juices people often drink imported factory drinks like Coca Cola and Fanta. |
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25. Waiting for the bus. Traffic exists of buses, minibuses, taxis and trucks. Public transportation is very frequent and very cheap. Though it is a lot less comfortable than we are used to in the West. |
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26. After a long busride, a ferry and another busride we arrived in Levuka on the island of Ovalau. This was the first capital of Fiji. We stayed at the Royal Hotel, the very first hotel in the Pacific. http://members.optusnet.com.au/~len.rudi/Historic%20&%20Picturesque%20Levuka.html |
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