Suva, Fiji

Saturday, October 10

We definitely needed a Pilot to guide the ship into Suva Harbour, with the channel we had to follow being quite narrow as we passed between two coral reefs on the way to our dock. The weather was a bit overcast and not as hot as expected, which suited us fine as we planned to do a walking tour of the town.

Safely through the reefs on our way to the dock

First up was the local market, and once through this area we were into the main downtown area. We soon found out that it was Fiji Day as they were celebrating their 45th Anniversary, and this meant a lot of shops were closed. We found the locals very friendly, with lots of "Bulas" (or hello) coming our way as we made our way past some colonial buildings to the Thurston Gardens. It was in these gardens that the Fiji Museum was located, and we spent a couple of hours there learning about Fiji's history, culture, customs and politics.

We really were docked close to town!

The approach to the Fiji Museum

 

Further along the main road we came across Government House, which was guarded by a soldier in a skirt, which is the common dress (pardon the pun) for men, including the police! On our way back into town we stopped at a cafe where we enjoyed a coffee just like we get at home, and at last a wifi signal that was faster than the dial-up speed that's common in the islands!!

Soldier guarding the entrance to Government House (below)

 

After looking in the bigger shopping centres, as these were the only stores still open, we headed back to the ship. On the dock we were entertained by a Police rock band, but after a few songs we were happy to board the ship and go and freshen up before dinner. We set sail while enjoying dinner, but as there was no show to attend after dinner we played Uno for a while before retiring for the night.

Police band, rocking the dock

 

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