We spent four days in Fiji, at the little Beachside Resort near the tourist center of Nadi (which the Indo-Fijians have gotten everyone to pronounce "nan-di"). We took two tours to the interior of the island, seeing a cave one day and a waterfall the next, and spent the last day snorkeling next to a small island.

The Fiji countryside. (One part of the Fijian countryside we passed by on the way to here was planted in Caribbean pine for the lumber industry. It looked like Eastern Oregon.)

Tapioca plants.

The little raft that took us across the river to where the cave was.

How the little raft got across the river.

Heliconia grows wild here.

Getting into the cave involved bending over and walking sideways through knee-deep water while holding onto this log.

Inside the cave.

Our guide Nadia, showing the "cannibal oven" stalactite formation inside the cave. She told us stories of invaders or rival tribe warriors being ceremonially eaten. She also told us about a couple whose parents couldn't agree on where their wedding should happen, so they decided to have it inside this cave instead.

Dramatic lighting next to the river.

Our visits to the interior began with a kava ceremony. Leone Sarogo Dradra is Savunamatelaya, the chief of the small village near the waterfall. Here he is on his 75th birthday. Kava is a powder from a plant which is dissolved in water and drunk from bowls with traditional exchanges of claps and greetings. We didn't feel any effects, but we've read that someone got a DUI in California after having had kava.

The kids in the village.

Our guide Wanqa in the village.

Wanqa knew not only the names of most of the plants along the trail to the waterfall, but also the traditional medicinal uses. He demonstrates here scrunching up some leaf to make a poultice

The waterfall.

A pretty butterfly.

Josh, an assistant (and son of the tour owner), shivering after getting out of the waterfall pool. The tourists did not find the weather cold.

The snorkeling off of "South Sea Island" was the best on our trip. The coral was very brightly colored as well as the fish, especially in the blue part of the spectrum which also featured these indigo starfish. I keep forgetting to get an underwater housing for my camera, so we didn't take any pictures while snorkeling; this picture was taken in a little glass-bottomed boat they had, and edited somewhat to remove the pervasive blue-green tint.

The little hut we stayed in at the Beachside Resort.

Ray showing the waterfall pictures to the staff at the resort.

On to New Zealand