Day 11
We were woken up by the anchor chain. We had actually arrived in our next port ahead of time. We would have two days in Suva, Fiji. This was the port I was the least excited about and we took absolute ages to decide on what we wanted to do. Even with plans made, this did not exactly thrill me. Still, we were awake so we figured we may as well get up. We got up and ready and then headed upstairs to the Windjammer. This was positively deserted. We made good use of the fact that it was so quiet. Graham had scrambled egg with shrimp, toast, grilled tomatoes and bacon. I had breakfast potatoes, sausage links and poached eggs. We both had some coffee. After breakfast, we quickly headed back to the cabin to get our stuff for the day and I put on my swimsuit underneath my dress. We were just about to head out when the phone rang. I figured I better pick up. This was a beverage supervisor who wanted to meet up with us regarding our issue with the drinks package. So the person at guest services had passed this on. I told him that we were just heading out and that now was not a good time. He asked me if we would be back later that day. I told him that I expected to be back on the ship by late afternoon. So we arranged to meet at 18:00 in The Tavern. Then we headed out.
The port in Suva is kind of strange. When we got off the ship, the ship photographers were near the gangway so we stopped for some photos. Then we walked through an empty warehouse. On the other side were various stalls from tour operators and taxi companies. This was the only time during this trip where we came across pushy people. However, this worked out fabulously well. Graham was slightly ahead of me when we headed towards the port exit. I was then collared by somebody at the taxi booth. They were offering tours to the Colo-i-Suva Forest Park. This was where we wanted to head anyway. We had planned to get a taxi there and then either arrange with the driver to come and pick us up again at a previously arranged time or make our way to the Colo-i-Suva Rainforest Eco Resort and get a taxi back from there. My research had told me that the cost for this would be 30 Fijian Dollars and the admission fee would be 5 Fijian Dollars each. At the taxi booth, they offered a two hour tour with the admission included for 30 Fijian Dollars each. So this worked out a little bit more expensive, but added the convenience that we would have the driver with us. I attracted Graham’s attention and he came back. I quickly updated him on what was on offer and we decided to go with this. That meant that we did not have to find a taxi in the centre and did not have to make separate arrangements to get back. This ended up being the perfect decision. We were introduced to our taxi driver Cam and then he escorted us to the taxi, which was just inside the port gates.
Cam was the perfect tour guide. He was very knowledgeable and pointed all kinds of interesting landmarks. We also stopped at a couple of scenic overlooks so that I could take photos. He was only too happy to answer any questions we had. Deep down, I think he appreciated that we did show an interest in his home country. About half an hour later, we arrived at Colo-i-Suva Forest Park. He paid the admission and then we parked near the visitor centre. There are a number of waterfall pools there and he took us to the uppermost one, which is the quietest one and also has the easiest access. Then we started our short hike to the pool. On the way Cam pointed out various interesting plants and told us about the wildlife. We were so glad that we had him with us. I think we could have got quite lost if we had tackled this by ourselves.
Soon we could hear the waterfall in the distance and once we turned the next corner, we could actually see it. It looked like paradise to me. We were the only people there. The pool and the waterfall were not particularly big, but they did nicely for us and it was even more magical that there were just the three of us there. Those of you who have followed my trip reports for a while will know that it had been a longstanding dream of mine to swim in a waterfall pool. I had got close a few times, but conditions were never right and it had never happened. Graham went straight in as soon as we got there, but I was a little concerned about the access and more importantly about getting out again. There was a little ledge near the stairs leading down to the pool area and Graham reassured me that the pool was quite shallow in that area and would make getting out again very easy. So I took the plunge. This was every bit as magical as I had hoped. The water was refreshing without being too cold and crystal clear. I had put my camera on the bench were Cam was sitting and he called out to us asking if we wanted him to take some photos. We gratefully accepted this offer. After a while we came out of the pool and started the drying off process. Fortunately it was pretty warm and it did not take long until we were dry enough to put our streetwear over the top of our swimming gear. We started heading back up the path to the visitor centre.
Once we got back to the car, Cam took us to the Colo-i-Suva Rainforest Eco Resort. The original plan B to walk there to get a taxi would not have worked. This was a good 15 minute drive away from the visitor centre. I managed to lose Cam and Graham at the hotel. When we left the waterfall pool, I had only put my dress over the swimsuit. The dress is pretty short and I had been wearing leggings underneath it. My legs were still a bit damp and then when we got to the visitor centre, there was nowhere to sit down. So I thought I quickly put those one before going inside the hotel. Unfortunately Cam and Graham had wandered off somewhere. I had a look if I could find them, but initially there was no sign of them. So I had a look around and took some photos. Then I spotted them on the patio overlooking the lake. The resort is stunningly beautiful and the lake is a nice feature. Cam gave us a quick tour round the hotel. I could definitely see myself staying there. Then we headed back to the car. We took a different route back into Suva so that Cam could point out a few more points of interest to us. In the end, the tour lasted 3 hours. We had 100 Fijian Dollars and we gave the remaining 40 Fijian Dollars to Cam as a tip. He had been amazing and in effect we had got an extra hour. Even with the generous tip, we still only paid £40 or $50 for the two of us as the Fijian Dollar is quite weak. So this really was a bargain. We got stuck in a little traffic jam near the port, but when we got back inside the port gates, we said goodbye to Cam and headed back to the ship.
Our plan was to have a look at Suva itself, but we did not need to take most of the stuff we had taken with us that morning. So we went back to the cabin, changed out of the swim stuff and dropped off anything we did not need. Then we headed out again. The photographers had been joined by a “parrot” so we stopped for some more photos. Then we walked over to the shuttle bus to town. We were dropped off outside what was described as a shopping centre, but it was really just a department store. I was starting to run low of sunscreen and wanted to get some more. Graham’s tripod had come apart earlier that day and he wanted to have a look for a new one. I was also in search of some Wi-Fi so that I could post some updates for work. We had a look around the department store. Graham saw some shirts that he quite liked. They also had a decent selection of sunscreen. We went upstairs to the camera department, but they did not have any tripods. So we headed out in the town. It did not take us long to find a camera shop and Graham found a tripod that was to his liking at an absolute bargain price.
When we were dropped off outside the department store, we had spotted a coffee shop. We figured that this would be the best bet to get Wi-Fi. The menu looked promising as well. To our immense surprise, they did not accept credit cards. Fortunately there were cash machines nearby. So I placed our order and then I went to get cash. The first machine I tried did not want to give me any cash, but there was a second machine next to it and that was cooperating. It amused me no end the this machine was green. In Dubai, I have only ever managed to get cash out of green cash machines. All other colours reject my card. Looks like I have the same issue in Fiji. I went back to pay and to get our drinks. I had a Cookies and Cream Frappuccino-type drink and Graham had an Americano. Graham had found a seat on the terrace. That appeared to be a tactical error. There were a lot of beggars bothering us. I have to admit that this made me feel somewhat uncomfortable. Unfortunately there was no free Wi-Fi either.
We were told that we could get a Wi-Fi card upstairs in the food court. So we finished our coffees and then headed up to the food court. We had been sent to the wrong shop, but the right one was next to it so that was no issue. I got a card and then we found somewhere to sit. Unfortunately I did not have any Wi-Fi signal at all up there. So we headed downstairs. There I got a signal, but it kept refusing the code on the card. I did not fancy going all the way up to the 4th floor again to try to sort this out. The card had not cost much so I decided to give up on this. Graham went back inside to get a shirt and I got some sunscreen and then we headed back to the shuttle bus stop.
We got caught up in traffic the second time that day. Thanks to a one-way system and heavy traffic, it took us about 20 minutes to get to the opposite side of the road from where we started. Fortunately we were in no rush. Eventually we made it back to the ship. We dropped off our shopping in the cabin and then went up to the Windjammer for some lunch. Graham had some fried chicken with potatoes and vegetables and I had fried noodles with beef and chicken skewers and a piece of fried chicken. I also had some cake and some orange jelly.
I LOVE sea days!!! 
