Day 44: The Republic of Fiji

Today, we did as little as possible in the Republic of Fiji, and I achieved a life goal. More on that later, and on Facebook. As Polynesian islands go, Fiji is the grand-daddy of them all. Places like Hawaii or Nuku Hiva are less than 5 million years old, but the 3,300 islands of Fiji date back to the late Jurassic era of 150 million ago. That's when dinosaurs like the Stegosaurus roamed the earth. The volcanoes are all dormant, although there is still some light geothermal activity occurring on a few islands - like hot water springs and steam. 

Fiji is also the grand-daddy in terms of inhabitants - with a population dating back at least 3,000 years and possibly 4,000. The archeological record is fairly light until the 10th century when Fiji came under the influence and rule of the Tu'i Tonga Empire (The Tongans ruled a huge chunk of the South Pacific back then - who knew?). That lasted until the mid-13th century, and there was relative peace and tranquility until the 17th century when Europeans discovered the island. 

Fiji remained independent until 1874 when those nasty Brits established the colony of Fiji. This was done under the premise of stopping cannibalism, which did exist, but never to the extent of the outrage formulated by Parliament. During colonial times, Fiji was known as the Cannibal Isles and was described as "a paradise wasted on cannibals." In truth, what little cannibalism existed was ritualistic and nonviolent.

British rule ended in 1970, and the Dominion Of Fiji was created. Political and civil unrest followed for years, and in 1987, the military established control via a coup d'etat and declared Fiji a Republic. There were further coups from various fractions, ending in 2006 with Commodore Frank Bainimarama. Three years later, the high court ruled it unlawful (anyone see parallels here?), and five years later, a democratic election took place - which seemed to fix most things. Fiji now has the most powerful economy in Polynesia and is an absolute Mecca for tourism. 

Meanwhile, back at base camp... (I explained this on Facebook, but here is more detail). When I turned 15 years old I was in a funk and went down to Folkestone Harbour and sat on my favourite rock. My birthday party was in an hour. As a working-class kid from a small fishing town in the southeast of England, I'd already, with the love and support of my Mum and Dad, come a long way, but there was much further to go and battle the oppressive class system. On that rock, I made a mental list of life goals. One of those was to walk on a beach in Fiji. Fiji was chosen as it was all I knew and was half a world away. At this point, my party was fast approaching, and I was M.I.A. My Mum was panicking. She dispatched my girlfriend and my grandad to find me. They both knew where to look. Anyway, about 50 years later, I knocked off one more item from the list and only have a few remaining.

We visited Tivua Island, hung out in a straw hut, swam with the sea sharks, and floated in paradise. I also liberally sampled Fujian beer (I like Fiji Gold), and despite incredibly changeable weather - we had an overall good time. Plus, of course, I walked around the island three times! Just to make sure. It was an almost zero culture and maximum fun day.

Plus, a big hi to my sister-in-law Mary and, of course, Morgan and Rylee.