The Travelling Coeliac Environmentalist: Mt Batilamu

27 May to 14 June 2023

Our final stop before going home was Fiji. We landed here without a plan and so after some investigations we spent a day at Denarau Port arranging some island hopping. We investigated the big time operators first to get ideas and prices and then found the local operators area. We arranged a plan here that was less than half of the main operators so if you are willing to take a chance there are some good deals to be had. A bit more risky though. All in all though as you will see below our instincts were good on this occasion.

As we had a couple of days before the island hopping we spent the next day at the Sleeping Giant Botanical Garden. No buses go there so we took a taxi. Lovely natural jungle garden. Not very big so it was quick to get around except it did have a trek up to a lookout which had wonderful views. We then walked the dirt road back to the main road and down to a Sunny Pizza that had great gluten free pizzas. A bus got us back to our hotel.

Next on the agenda was our big hike of Mt Batilamu. We were picked up by transport at 7 and taken to the village at Abaca. We were introduced to Steve, a local of the village, who was to be our guide. This was a gruelling trek through the jungle, over several streams, up steep and muddy slopes and along narrow ledges with sheer drops to the side with Steve slashing growth left and right with his machete. Steve was perfect as a guide, lending a helping hand when necessary, providing interesting commentary during the trek, moving at our pace and fashioning, using his machete, several hiking sticks for both of us and guiding us on how to use them. I doubt I would have made it without his help, probably stumbling over an edge somewhere. We made it to the top on a surprisingly small narrow ledge to tremendous wide open views to the ocean and beyond with a perfect view of the giant mango tree below.

Afterwards, back down, after a 5 hour round trip, his wife made us lunch in their home, basically a shack. The lunch had rice, cucumber, cassava root, a spinach and onion salad, a tarot stew, mango and pikelet and noodle dishes. We ate as much as we could and they kept trying to get us to eat more. They would not eat with us (probably custom),

After that grueling hike it was time to start our island hopping adventure. The boat you catch is like a bus that stops at the various islands letting off people that are going to that island and picking up people going to the mainland or another island. Quite ingenious really. First Island, Wayalailai at Wayalailai Ecohaven Resort. A mid level facility. They only had 7 guests, including us, so we got upgraded to our own bathroom instead of a shared one. As is typical it included all meals and soon after we arrived we chatted with an met the other guests over lunch. In the afternoon we explored around the island and did some swimming. We were serenaded at dinner by 3 guys on guitars that then had us singing a funny song that had us pretending to be animals. That was followed by an activity with palm leaves and drinking kava.

The next morning we decided to climb to the highest summit on the island. Even though a guide was recommended nobody wanted a guide, So, in the tradition of it being better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission, we all went on our own anyway. It was a bit more challenging than we expected, but we got to the peak (one rock lower actually but it looked too dangerous), with the last half hour scrambling over rocks. We kept catching up to young men from the village taking 20 L jugs of gasoline up to the Vodafone tower. So plenty of people knew we were out and could sound the alarm if we did not return. Also I used the Alltrails app to track my journey. The afternoon was spent snorkeling and walking the beach to a large rock coming out of the ocean.

In the morning we awoke to a beautiful day so we took the Kayak out to try to find the reef. e were surprised to not only find the reef but also for it to be so clear and viewable from the Kayak. Just by looking down we could see coral and fish of orange, and turquoise and pinks, and blues and black and white striped in an endless kaleidoscope of shapes, colours and sizes. The coral came in massive flat to branch tree like structures. Whenever we would float in too close to shore and shallow water we would paddle back out and drift again, trying to leave the sea as calm as possible. In the afternoon we went the other way but as the tide had come in did not see as much so went swimming. With a bigger crowd we were treated to traditional dancing and singing after dinner. We shared a broken coconut with some new friends before turning in for our last night on the island.

The next day it was time to move on to the next island. We got up to watch the sunrise. Very cloudy with small openings that allowed the sun to shine across and produce bright orange highlights on a spread of clouds. While waiting for the boat they sung us their farewell song in traditional Fiji. After hugs and handshakes we made our way to the small boat to take us to the Catamaran to go to Nacula. After settling in we watched a cooking demonstration of marinaded raw fish and vegetables, spices, vinegar and coconut milk (called coconda). It tasted really nice, a bit like ceviche. We went kayaking and swimming in the afternoon and found ourselves surrounded by black and white striped fish. Finally after dinner we were treated to a bonfire on the beach.

We woke up to a very wet, very windy miserable day. The day we had booked to go to the Sawa-I-Lau Limestone Caves. These caves were used in the movie Blue Lagoon and known locally as the resting place for the Fijian god Uluitini. The whole trip in a small boat took half an hour, but felt much longer as we were buffeted by strong winds and soaked through our rain jackets by piercing rain. Finally we arrived at the island and disembarked, shedding ourselves of our sodden jackets. We went up some stairs and then down some stairs to reach the first cave. I had my phone in a ‘waterproof’ jacket from the Philippines, but within minutes of going in the water the jacket was fall of water and my phone was swimming in it. I quickly handed it to one of the guides who emptied it and put it somewhere safe.

The first cave was fabulous, high sides to an open ceiling where you could see greenery and sky shining its light back down on us and illuminating the ragged rocky sides of the cave. Then came the exciting part, swimming underground to get to the next cave. The guides would be at both sides, with the far one having a torch, giving you a light to swim towards. He pushes your head under and you swim towards the light, as you get to the other side the other guide would steer your head away from rocks and lets you surface in clear water. Quite an experience. The cave is pitch black. Once everyone is through they take us around the cave with torches and show us the different formations and alcoves and discuss the cave. Really nice. Once back into the main cave we swam around and one of the guides found some eels. We looked under the water following the beam of his torch as he highlighted several eels for us to view. The trip back was not as wet, but quite long as they stopped for one of the crew to get fresh clothes from the village.

The afternoon was dry, but still windy. After afternoon tea we went to take the hike to the summit. Fantastic views were had from several locations seeing across and looking down to the other islands. I did not make it to the very top as it got too steep so did not see the back of the island, but Elizabeth was able to make it. We made one wrong turn on the way down but quickly retraced and found the right track, making it down just before dark and catching the last of the fabulous sunset. As the sunset disappeared over the horizon we noticed a group sitting cross legged just right of us. We wandered over and found them doing a Kava ceremony. We joined in just on time to get one drink each. This was followed by a song and dance demonstration of traditional Fiji culture and then we were roped in to do the last couple of dances with them. The phone? It never worked again. I lost ALL of my Fiji photos up to that point so you will notice below a much smaller spattering of photos. Luckily I had backed up everything before then.

Our final day we took the opportunity after breakfast to snorkel before needing to pack up and checkout. This gave us about an hour of glorious snorkeling the reef just in front of the hotel. Time was perfect with low tide being around 12, so still deep enough to float over the reef but close enough, and getting closer, to see the fish and coral super close up. The fish were plentiful with a wide variety of sizes and colours and we even saw a deep blue starfish. This is the best snorkeling for fish that we have had, so a really enjoyable morning. Then lunch and catch the catamaran to return to the mainland.

Once back on the mainland we booked a trip to the Sabeto Hot Spring and Mud Pool with massage. Once there and settled in we were taken by one of the owners to where numerous buckets of mud were sitting on the ground and directed to cover ourselves. We proceeded to cover ourselves in mud with our own hands and then let wander about until the mud dried. Once dry we were taken to an initial pool of mud for a dip to rinse off. Not very successful as it was nearly as muddy as us, and then taken to a second pool that was nearly as muddy for a second rinse. Then there was a third pool that was nearly clear for a penultimate rinse before moving to a fourth pool that was the hottest and cleanest to soak in. After awhile we were directed to dry off and sent to a room with the massage therapists for our one hour Fijian massage. She was really good and thorough. After that we decided on doing the whole mud process again

On the move again we caught a bus to the Crows Nest Resort on the Coral Coast. In the morning we caught local buses to the Sand Dunes National Park. I left my hiking stick on the second bus. At the were many tracks to choose from. The ranger suggested the longest one, a 2 hour trek. I found a trusty long stick and we set off. The track was not all sand dunes, in fact it was mostly through lush bush, forests and constantly changing ecosystems and scenery. Quite good actually. The sand dunes then presented particular challenges and views of their own. We had one misstep. The guy said you turn off the beach and head in at the end of the row of tepees. We could only see one tepee so turned then but it was early and finished at a dead end. We went back to the beach and walked along where we did find more. With our eyesight and the fact they were inland a bit we could not see them initially. We caught the bus back to town. We asked the bus drivers if there was a lost and found and explained our situation with the hiking stick. A nice lady pressured the bus guys to call the bus driver who drove us to the dunes. He did indeed still have my stick and was apparently at a gas station. He came back and gave me my stick.

Next we hopped onto the big Pacific bus and made our way to Suva, just for a day trip. Also we had high hopes for a gluten free cafe I heard of from the gluten free Fiji Facebook page. 3 hour bus trip saw us arrive about 11:30. We started walking, looking for colonial buildings. We only found a couple of vaguely colonial buildings including the old Parliament House, but some other more modern architecture was good and we did find really nice and very old gardens in Albert Park. Some really big old trees with huge trunks and wide spreading branches. We had a good wander around. From there we went to the Rhubarb Cafe. This is a mainly gluten free cafe. We shared a vegetarian lasagne and an apple crumble and lemon cheesecake. We bought a rhubarb slice and a passion fruit and lemon slice to take home for the next day as well. We then took the long way back to the bus station passing the colonial memorial hospital and some very greenery covered buildings.

Our final day in Fiji, and of our trip, was spent relaxing around the resort, swimming in the pool and wandering down the beach.

Nacula