I've just had an amazing few days...

Everything in Fiji starts with family and friends, so firstly I should introduce a few people:

• John and Marilyn are the owners of the Levuka Homestay where I am staying. They are also well known in the area, and are good friends with the rest of the 'cast'.
• George has just bought a second-hand Canadian Ferry, now called Lomaiviti Princess, and is going to provide a service around Fiji.
• Mun (George's Cousin) is working on ferry and had invited John to join the first paid sailing from Levuka to their home Island of Koro
• Buddo, another firm fiend, was also invited and kindly provided a 4x4 car that we could use to explore Koro.
• Tom is the head of George's and Mun's family on Koro where they own a farm/plantation;

So the initial plan was to sail over to Koro Island on Thursday midday; Mun would show us Koro in Buddo's car; we would sleep on the ship returning midday on Friday. Mun had told John and Buddo much about his home island over the years, and this was his chance to actually show them. I was along for the ride. A simple "there-and-back" plan, but plan's in Fiji have a way of evolving.

On Thursday morning they had a few teething troubles, so didn't arrive at Levuka until about 3pm. The wharf was lined with people to see the Princess arrive and with so many people milling around, the we didn't set sail again until after 5pm. The journey to Koro was nice and smooth and included a spectacular sunset. Mun gave is a full tour around the Princess, which is much more modern and of a much higher standard than other ferries around Fiji.

Being about 3 hours behind the planned schedule, we didn't arrive at Koro Island until well after dark. Clearly, we weren't going to be able to tour the Island that night, but more so, Tom would not let us sleep on the ship. Instead, he invited us to stay at their plantation that night.

When the Princess had moored, it became apparent that scores of people has been waiting all afternoon and evening to welcome the ship. They got a tour of the boat and then had a formal ceremony of welcome, including the exchange of a whales tooth. It turned out not to be the only ceremony of the night!

Mun drove us to the plantation; a drive of about an hour along rough tracks around the island. In the meantime, the Princess sailed around the island and moored just off shore from the plantation. When we got there, another set of villagers were waiting to greet the arrival of this new ship - more whales teeth, and speeches followed. Also, this occasion included the consumption of Kava also know as "grog". Drinking grog is a very social thing; it is never drunk alone. The drink is mixed while the participants sit in a circle on a mat. It is served in a smaller bowl to the most important person first, and then to honoured guest and so forth. Each person claps once when receiving the bowl, drinks the grog in one, then claps three times after returning the bowl. The drink itself looks like muddy water, but has a mild calming effect. Fortunately, John was able to help me with the protocol and make sure I didn't commit any other gaffs like point my feet at the grog bowl.

After a few bowls of grog, John and I excused ourselves, but weren't allowed to go to bed until we had some dinner including curried goat and lovo pork. The lovo is an underground oven in which the food is cooked wrapped in banana leaves on hot stones buried in the ground. It was delicious. Finally, we were shown to the top room in the farm were we collapsed.

The next day, we found out that the Princess wouldn't be returning to Levuka that day, but would be returning on Saturday instead. On Friday morning Mun took us out to the plantation with a machete and chopped us down some breakfast including tangerines, coconuts and other fruits. Later we went for a drive around the Island to visit the local villages, a Bio-fuel plant, a local school, the heath centre and police station. At each place folk came out to talk with us about there homes and lives. I began to realise that Fijian concept of "extended family" spreads to encompass the whole community and even neighbouring islands. (A comment made later was that if you marry a Fijian, you marry the entire island.)

While we were touring, more folk were turning up at the Farm to commemorate the new ship and Tom and George were kept very busy. It wasn't really till the evening when people had left that we were able to sit down and chat with Tom. Tom was described to me as a Patriarch of the family; keeping the wheels of the close knit group turning smoothly without to much friction. I heck of a nice guy and a real privilege to met.

The plantation itself was originally set up to produce copra; the meat of the coconut. However, it is a fully functional subsistence farm and while there I saw sheep, cows, horses, goats, pigs, dogs, a cat, hens and a psychopathic goose. In the evening, we watched fruit bats flying around and the Princess all light up, swinging on her anchor. Also, in the evening, they turned on the farm generator to provide electricity and light.

Saturday morning, we started the return process, the car driving back around the island and the Princess sailing back to the jetty. The scenery, which on our first journey had seemed dark and strange, now seemed rich and very beautiful. Also, while on Friday Mun had struggled to find wild roosters, on Saturday morning they were the main traffic on the road!

I just want to add a big thank you to Tom, George and Mun for showing me their top class ship, beautiful island and lovely family; to Buddo for his perfect car and good company; and John for inviting me to join him on his trip and for his photos which were much better than mine.

So what was originally intended to be a "there and back again" ferry trip turned out to be a 2 day full immersion in Fijian life and customs. I think I've been so lucky to get what most tourists want but frequently fails to achieve; a taste of the real, original Fiji.