Bula, bula sia!

So, the Jarvis adventure bus has finally slowed down and come to a very temporary halt, therefore I'm taking the time to fill you in with what we've been up to. Has it really only been a couple of weeks since we last blogged! It feels like months!!!

We arrived in Fiji at night with no great drama and although feeling sad that we'd left NZ, and thinking that nothing in the world could be better than it, we kept an open mind. We had decided not to go island hopping to all the young and trendy party islands and just stay on the main land. We had booked a trip around the main island and then had planned to spend the rest of the time having a complete break and to just chill out on the beach with a few cocktails! So when we arrived and were greeted with 24 degrees, we thought happy days, that'll do for us! But knowing us....that didn't last long...and another adventure soon began.....and what an adventure it was!

But first of all, the organised part! We spent 2 nights in Nadi before heading off on the Fiji Experience bus. We were a little worried about this as we didn't want to do these trips as they have a reputation for being one big party bus, with the main aim of getting as many drinks as you can...and as many members of the opposite sex as you can!!! And we're too old for all that - as an 18 year old girl kindly reminded us on the first day by saying 'oh my god, you are 10 years older than me!', yeah, thanks love! But glady, it wasn't like the OZ or Kiwi Experience. It was a small group, who were all really nice, and drinking (along with the usual embarrassing games) only happened on the last night! So our tour of the main island involved Sandboarding, which wasn't for me although Andi has wanted to do this for ages.....I've no idea why cause he nearly killed himself on more than one occasion! But he seemed to enjoy it. At the hotels they often put on dances for the guests, so we could see some local culture, which was great. We did a 4 hour hike over mountains and through a river which was up to our thighs in places, and full of water spiders and huge mosquitos! It was hammering it down - it was like a scene from Vietnam! Then when we finished we went down the main river on little tubes, and tried to battle the strong currents - that was a long day! We also went on a visit to a secondary school and had a look around their class rooms, met the students and spoke with the teachers. We all brought small gifts of pens and notepads. Although it was good, it did feel a bit too rigid and felt a bit fake actually, cause we just wandered in and out of rooms but it was good to see none the less. It would have been nice to spend more time there. We also went to a village to have a Kava ceremony with the chief. Now, let me explain. Kava is not the very nice tasting, sweet and bubbly beverage that many will be familiar with. It is in fact a narcotic, hallucinogenic drink made from crushed roots of a vegetable plant, mixed with water and somewhat strained through a tea towel. I wasn't a fan of trying this as it looks like muddy water and by all means, tastes like that too according to Andi. It often makes your lips and tongue go numb, so with this promise I encouraged him to drink copious amounts - but my quest was in vain! He only manged a tingle, I think it's cause he works them so well he didn't give it a chance to work!! Dear knows how the Fijians manage it, as they drink it every day nearly - and a lot of it too!!!!! There is a whole bunch of rules and customs that have to be adhered too during a ceremony and entering a village, eg wearing a sulu, covering shoulders, sitting with feet to the side pointing away from the chief, no talking etc etc. So everyone was quite nervous to meet this guy and nervous about doing something wrong. Well, the weather had turned, pretty much the day after we arrived, to lots and lots of heavy rain, and this day was no different. Just as we entered the Bure and sat in our semi circle waiting for the ceremony to begin, which is the chief speaking in Fijian for a while - an almighty blast of thunder came. Well, everyone jumped out of their skin, as it happened, just as the chief started to talk. A few of the wives at the back of the Bure chuckled a little as they saw all our reactions. But as the chief continued to talk, the rain got heavier and heavier, to the point were we couldn't hear him. All the little doors and windows were covered with wood and material to keep the rain out, so now we were sitting on the floor, in the dark, with heavy rain and thunder watching a Fijian chief talk to us in a welcome ceremony. How surreal. We were meant to do bili bili rafting down the river that afternoon but because of the bad weather we couldn't go so we did a coconut scraping competition instead! Great fun. the girls also made jewellery with the wives while the men had to stay and finish off the Kava with the chief - hard luck! Then on the last day we went to mud pools - but thankfully they weren't as stinky as Rotorua. They were proper mud pools as well, so we got straight in and got covered - didn't feel the nicest as you sank up to your knees in it, but these things have to be done! So all in all the little 4 day trip was a good experience.

But the 'chill out' plan didn't really happen. One reason was that the weather was that bad we couldn't really get outside, so not much point staying at a resort. But the main reason was that we saw an advert which gave us both a little jolt in our stomachs - 'Tribewanted!'. Now some of you may have heard of this, I know we had but we didn't think it would be possible for us to do it, but needless to say, we were soon on the phone changing our flights yet again so we could extend enough to do it - couldn't miss this opportunity - to live as a Tribe member for a week on a remote Fijian island! Now to be quite honest with you, both of us could talk to you about Vorovoro for hours and hours and not get bored, so 1, I'll only give a brief overview on here and 2, you have been warned, so just remember to avoid us when we get back home and mention the word Vorovoro....make an excuse and a quick exit or you could find yourself trapped for quite some time!!

In a nutshell, Tribewanted started as a social/reality experiment, but with a difference. Some of you may have seen the tv series about it last year. It is an attempt to build a sustainable community on a remote island. So to get there we had to fly to Nadi to Suva, to Labasa then get a little boat around to Vorovoro. Well, that was the plan until 'Fiji time', came to play a part and delayed us arriving there by a full day. We made it to Suva alright - the 22 min flight was ok to handle, but the 15 min change over there lasted 4 hours to then be put back on a plane to Nadi to do the whole thing again the next day. The reason - a plane's wheel had come off at Labasa and they couldn't move the plane. We understood how this could be possible when we finally arrived there the next day. The airport is like the size of an average bungalow, with one strip of tarmac. You even go out and get your own bags - no waiting for the belt here! Everything is DIY!

Anyway, Vorovoro......what can I say. I think the pictures will speak for themselves but basically, we had very little luxuries and lived as simply as we could. This island only had one family on it, before it was set up for this project. You can walk the whole way around it (and we even walked over it by doing the 4 peaks challenge). An amazingly beautiful island. And as luck would have it, the weather there was brilliant - except for a huge storm, on the night of the full moon!!!!!!! We slept in a little hut, and although we had Fijian woman to cook our food we could help them, even collecting veg and fruits that were growing in the patches nearby. We also had chickens and pigs (yes the pigs were eaten on special occasions). We had compost toilets, and encouraged to use products with no chemicals in them so to save the surroundings, so even eco friendly toothpaste! And cause there's no running water of course we washed in a waterfall (should have been called a watertrickle) where you had to put a sign in the sand to let people know there was someone in it ahead! And we also collected rain water and purified it to drink. We'd a camp fire every night, so obviously we needed to walk around the island to find fire wood. You could go swimming in the sea, snorkel or lounge on the pontoon, but with sea lice and sharks I gave it a miss, ha ha! We also got on a boat and went to a primary school which was amazing. We went in a helped them with their english, and helped them write letters to people back in England - pen pals from previous tribe members, some of them children who had been out with their families. The children then sang songs for us and performed some dances. Such friendly and cheeky little things. A real sense of community there. It was a real community on the island too, and when we'd new arrivals we all came down to the beach to greet them and show them around. We had meetings and discussions about what was happening on the island and now as we are members we carry on our involvement online and can vote on all decisions that are put to the tribe. (anyone interested in looking at the island on the website just email us and we'll let you have address!). While we were there we helped to build the new Vale which was hard work - smashing up lengths of bamboo and weaving it into panels to make walls. We were made so welcome by the Fijians there, to the point that we were invited to church with the couple who live on the island (the chief's brother!). Unfortunately I wasn't too well that day but Andi went and got fed up to the brim! Tui Mali is the chief of that land and he came on the Tuesday to hold a ceremony for us for being on his island. He's kind of a big deal but he was a lovely man. We also learnt some Meke - fijian dances and we performed them for him, which was great fun. The locals (although not local on the island, as they travel in to 'work' on Vorovoro and go home at weekends) make lots of instruments, and Andrew (another guy who was there when we were) actually made didgeridoos out of bamboo and another contraption that was like a big panpipe that you played with a flip flop!

Far far far too many stories to tell about the place, so I'll not ramble on anymore. Our Isa Lei (goodbye song) was quite emotional as we walked down the beach to our boat saying goodbye to everyone. We would have extended to stay for 2 weeks, but time was against us at this stage, we just couldn't afford the time as we wanted to see a little bit of America, but a little bit of us will remain on the island as we helped to build the new Vale (which is now finished and in use!). And hopefully they'll remember us, especially the guys, Sosi, Joney and Save, as we brought them a rugby ball to keep on the island!!!!

What a great opportunity and a fantastic time.....except the huge cockroach eating spiders!!!!!! Seriously though, what a privelage to have been able to truly experience a Fijian culture, and to be invited back as their 'door has been opened to us' and we will be welcomed into their families at any time we want or need it.

Our last adventure in Fiji was on the way home. When we arrived back in Labasa we actually found it a little weird to be around so many people again - it had only been a week, but it was so comfortable living like that. But Fiji time happened again and our flight to Nadi was delayed, delayed again and then we were told the plane had broken down and we'd need a later flight. So when it finally arrived - it was a Sea Plane. Well I've never been on a flight like it. For all the right and wrong reasons. Our hearts were in our mouths as we trusted this loud dressing American to fly this littel 10 seater plane being the only member of staff on board. You felt every single little bump and had to wear head phones to keep the noise out. But on the same token, what views! The windows were full length so you could see underneath you and all there was was gorgeous little green paradise islands dotted in the blue sea. Heaven. So back to the mainland for our last night and we got ready to leave the southern hemisphere.

So 'Vinaka vaka levu', everyone in Fiji, especially Vorovoro and 'moce' until the next time!