A letter from Fiji...

where in the world are we?

Sadly the title is not a competition with rich prizes, so for everyone except Wilson who has already recognised it the answer is we spent 4 nights last week in... Suva! For the rest of the world Suva is the capital of Fiji, and is around 3 hours drive south of Nadi (where the international airport it).

Our stay in Suva is remarkable for the fact that although we have now lived in Fiji for 3 1/2 years I have never spent more than 2 hours at a time there, generally driving in, going to the apple service place and "cost-u-less", grabbing a quick coffee at Bulaccino Raiwaqa, and heading home, taking the obligatory photo of Korovou (here and here) on the way out. What this means is that everything I know and believe about Suva pretty much comes from blogs:- Paradise not found, Oceanic, Awesome Cake, and Lunch in Suva... Yes that's right, I went to Suva expecting hoards of intelligent witty folks who make erudite comments while dining in quirky restaurants, even though I was wary of muggers and hepatitis (yes thanks for that Albie). 

The first thing we discovered while trying to get to the school convention (which is the reason we were in Suva) is that Laucala Beach is not in Nausori. Yes that's right the two are not even close. Don't ask. We still got to our destination in time by some miracle... Second in Suva they have lovely water front housing...NOT! The above image just fascinates me, these are squatter houses built illegally as far as I can gather from the locals (feel free to chime in) over some pipes by the river. But it's looks quite picturesque no? This is just down from the KFC which marked our turnoff. Why didn't someone just say "turn right at the KFC"?!!!!!?!

While the kids were in convention, which was by the way extremely good, and will feature in another post (yes, still not sticking to the chronological thing, sorry Lee; also I will still post about Udu, trip home etc); I sneaked away a few times for a bit of tiki-touring. Suva downtown is fascinating, a real mix of old colonial buildings and new shiny ones, including the big-box style MHCC which even has escalators! I looked up "lunch in Suva" for dining ideas, and would have offered my services to go and dine with them and take photos, however I sensed that having an overweight 40+ year old kaivalagi with a huge camera tagging along would have completely and utterly blown their street cred... instead I simply read and appreciated the run down on the hibiscus festival food (as we were staying just up the hill)...

The idea to photograph the contrasts in downtown Suva is not actually mine, Neil Stollznow was the one who originally started taking these sorts of images showing the old colonial Suva contrasting with the new high rises. But I had to continue the tradition, even though I didn't feel inclined to wander too far incase I never found my car again. Note that the streets are quieter than usual- it's after 5pm, so everyone's heading off home... 

 

To finish I will shamelessly post something er... lifted from one of the above blogs, her reaction (aieeeee it burns!) reminds me of me eating with the other parents at Vivrass MH foodcourt (and nearly snorting water out my nose); though I did have to buy it myself. Someone please syndicate this guy immediately! We need to see more cartoons like these...

Times they are a changing...

Or should that be the more things change the more they say the same?! Who was it said that anyway?

Anyway apologies for having lost my blogging mojo, yet again... I continue to struggle with my portfolio review for my website, or rather to put it in plain english I currently hate all my work and am having a small crisis of confidence (a big one would take too much energy and I need to save that for the wii fit). But things keep on happening, so letters home must be written!

The country of course has been hard hit by the floods and the consequent loss of tourism business. Even out here has been quieter, though not last week when we entirely stopped participating in the recession and had the resort so full we nearly ended up with guests in "bure 67" (Amy's room). But prior to that it had been quiet. Actually AJ asked why John Travolta didn't stay here on his trip to Fiji? Well we were already full of course!

For AJ's birthday in March (which coincided with Prophet Mohammed's Day, a public holiday over here) we went back to the Hard Rock Cafe in Port Denerau. Amy had a lovely time, her presents were JUST FABULOUS (!) and we made party favours with really funky little coffee cups from one of those chinese shops in Lautoka filled with little goodies (I don't favour lolly bags, so very little sweet stuff in them). The kitchen at Treasure Island created the sweetest little two story cake with love heart shapes, just so cool, Vula and Bogi are very clever...

{story board action from Dress it up Photo}

The only damper was the Hard Rock itself. Previously birthdays there have been lively special affairs with staff singing and having fun with the kids. This time the waitress couldn't even get someone to help us sing happy birthday! I have never ever in all my time in Fiji seen that... Don't get me wrong, we had a great fun time. But all the HRC provided for that was a place to sit and food to ear (albeit yummy food). Here's my opinion. I know that times are tough. But don't drop the special points of difference that cost little and make the experience for your customers. 

Amy's birthday went on for several weeks as she got more gifts, including having breakfast at Bulaccino (she won the January lucky draw)- that's the half size pancakes in the first picture; and a mother and daughter 3 hour spa pamper (mmmmm! thanks Senikai!!!). In fact it had really just wound up with a very cute present from Veronica, and during that time things had really picked up economically with more visitors, shops reopening and then... things changed again over here...

Most of you will know that Fiji has not been a democracy since Dec 2006, when a military c0up overthrew (is that a word?) the government. Well in the words of another blogger Fiji's interim government managed to ingeniously overthrow itself. I won't go over those events as I can post links to explain the whole shebang far better than I can, and I have no opinion beyond assuring our visitors it's still safe to come over. But my other favourite blogger quote was Wilson saying 

"In the meantime, Bainimarama has assured the public that there will be no "disruption to law and order". I quickly banished thoughts of looting the local shopping mall during the imaginary riots." 

Really despite the Fijians ability to laugh and joke it isn't any joking matter. The long awaited devaluation has lowered the Fiji dollar 20%, which will affect food costs as so much of it is imported, including wheat as the cartoon below shows... and fuel of course....though it will make it more reasonable for tourists to holiday here as they get more bang for their buck.

This of course isn't a recent cartoon. But it goes well with a comment from the letter to the editor here lately: food for thought:

Economic solutions

IT is common knowledge that Fiji is part of the global economic crisis. To solve this problem, we need to take some steps that will benefit the government and the public. Here are some ways in which Fiji's economy can be boosted:

Buy locally grown vegetables and products (e.g. butter, milk, garments, footwear instead of buying imported ones.

Export more products, that is, garments, tuna, kava, cassava.

Boost tourism industry through: a) organising art festivals or cultural events which will advertise Fiji's handicrafts, local dances. b) promoting eco-tourism through setting up endangered birds and animal parks in various towns across the country, and encouraging tourists to take tasks such as hiking or mountain climbing. 

Recycle plastic bags, bottles, papers and even food waste for de-composing so locals can buy local mad manure for growing vegetables in their own backyard. 

Plastic bags should be eliminated and reusable bags should come in place.

Encourage farmers to do more cash farming.

Encourage production of more local products and vegetables.

Try to improve human resources management.

Many people are getting unemployed because of this governmental factor and crisis while they can take jobs that improve standard of living and increase productivity. 

Any unemployed person can work as a street sweeper, rubbish collector, delivery boy, craftsman, artist, baby sitter, poultry farmer, private tutor, handyman, or carpenter to name a few.

I hope the public will make some changes in the economy so all of us benefit.

ANA MARIA ASIOLI
Suva

In the meantime as always life goes on as normal out here, the sun is shining, the sea is clear and full of fish, the people laugh and the cost of flour isn't yet stopping us from eating delicious Bulaccino pancakes; even if democracy is seemingly a first world luxury I still feel as safe standing at the money machine as in any city in NZ (ok safer than Rotorua, but then that's a whole other story)... Like the rest of the world we watch American Idol (on "Bollywood Xtra' channel!!) which frankly amazes us less than some of the sensationalised travel warnings we have read... though why does Adam where that black nail polish? The kids suggested he's a happy Emo? is there such a thing? Or does that make him simply a goth?

 

Next up: Earth hour photos... but first better get back to the task at hand (the dreaded website)(nb I have had a work permit for over a week now, yay! I'll post about that soon too)...

Why should you....?

...have your 12th birthday at the Hard Rock Café, Port Denarau, Fiji? The above photo is a clue! I'm not big on birthdays and (while I'll go out of my way not to have a clash with them) I don't really go for the huge "lets invite everyone and do lots of expensive things" type of party -I'm totally happy if all they want to do is go to MacDonalds (known here as the "American Embassy"). But it is important to us to share a special meal with at least the family members. So we finally found a date where GB would be around and nothing else that we knew about on, and took Alice and friends to the Hard Rock Café. 

What fun! It was a lunch hour, but they put us upstairs and kept the food and drinks coming. It was good that there weren't many other diners upstairs- in the daytime they tend to be downstairs and outside...

Elly says 12 is a great age, you not quite a teenager, but not a kid... eh Grace!! (don't ask... you know your Aunty Andrée reads this? This'll leave her wondering what you are doing that they are laughing at)

Since it's a birthday some of the staff put AK on a chair and shouted at her while she held the ceremonial muffin with a candle...

We couldn't get our usual cake made out on the island- its full and really really busy. Housekeeping have even taken some beds out of our house. So we made one out of eight iced muffins...

Some parents arrived... (this photo is also for Grace's aunt!)...

er... sorry about that...

But Maxwell has an plan to work the sugar back off...

its called the YMCA...

and apparently it works best on the bar.....

Probably lucky Dad has just headed off to the rugby game.

When something's a success in a small town word of mouth marketing is very powerful. One parent booked another birthday party on the spot as she picked up her daughter, and T bought home another invite to go there for his friends party on saturday this week. And the YMCA? its odd that although it comes from our era, its really now reaching well beyond that. Take for example this cheeky pic I coincidentally received in an email this week (don't look Wendy! vosoti au...my apologies to Christians and art lovers):

and then a note on facebook from Mark included this little clip, also with YMCA references and so funny! As Bunty said: "If you know me, you'll know the saying 'if you must be a bush not a tree, be the best bloody bush you can be. This guy is a living example. A bit long, but worth it."  Made my day anyway (and it's only around 5 minutes)...

 

Renee tagged me last week with this. It's also about making someone's day- with a blog... "Give the award to up to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel so happy about blogland! (leave them a comment on their blog to let them know ) Beware! You may get the award several times!”

presumably you don't have to respond several times!

So the first person on my list is Renee Oakenfull, who tagged me, of both Vibe (actions, presets, logos and all sort of handy things) and Urban Pulse photography. She is a bundle of talent, and funny too! Check out how she tortures her husband to get the perfect ominous night rain shot...Those cute brown frames from 2 posts ago were from Vibe (and they were free! but you'll have to look for them..).

Second up is Bah of Bahrageous who really makes me laugh. Even when her post is sad the writing is so good. Read this post- now! haven't we all been there? Too funny...

Next up has to be Albie, not because he made my day (though I like his posts) but I "borrowed" (sorry Albie) his illustration "be happy" illustration to cheer up Bah! which it did. Albie is one very talented graphic artist, so someone please give him the job he deserves...(most of his illustrations do not have the coarse language of the one I sent Bah!)

Number 4 and 5 also go to Fiji blogs which are worth a look. Paradise Not Found- i don't know who Wilson is but every post is a treat. For a bit of fun click on the tab ("label") Engrish. That's a very funny collection.

and Babasiga -Wendy and Peceli keep us up to date with "the North" (Babasiga country in Vanua Levu) via their base in Geelong, Australia. News snippets and occasionally the real treat of Wendy's writing. 

OK I have to stop at 5 tonight. and post the next 5 another time...I can say they will most likely be photographers. If you are in a surfing mood check out also Lunch in Suva, and Oceanic in my sidebar under Fiji blogs. Lunch in Suva is a classic! Have you ever gone to a foreign country and wondered if that food court is the best place to eat or the fish and chip shop down the road? thanks to Lunch in Suva you not only can check out these places the posh restaurant reviewers won't go to, but you can see on google earth exactly where they are! Letter to Home gives Lunch in Suva two thumbs up... And Oceanic is always interesting, but Jonathan's musings from the USA at the moment are well worth a read. But I won't tag either of these two (they're not those sort of blogs). Actually I won't tag Wendy either (Babasiga) but it's worth saying it does often make my day... 

Right it's not day now, it's night. And to post three times in a week is unheard of for me. So I'd better stop and go to bed...

Snorkelling can be hard work...

Is it really that long since the last post? Shame! I guess we have been busy... Firstly GB has been flat out with his job, and it looks like construction will start soon on a big gorgeous new pool out here on the island! yay! But the yay only comes from the aesthetic part of me which objects to the shape and form of the old one, and looks forward to one that will shape itself around the shade of the large tavola trees and with an infinity edge blend seamlessly into the beauty of the ocean beyond... (gosh I must be tired. I just spelt ocean "otion". well it sort of works...)... Because in reality the best place to swim here, hands down is out in the sea. It's closer to the pool than any bure for a start. And its fabulous...

I was surprised to discover my sis Jane never learnt to snorkel? [ok I know the question mark doesn't technically go there either, but you know I like how it works] I mean I did, and she's only 4 years younger than me. I suspect that the problem was that I had most likely lost or broken all the snorkelling gear by the time she was old enough to give it a go. I do remember being devastated at Mill Dam one time (near Oamaru- my fave swimming hole when I was little) (or was it Trotter's Gorge- another favourite spot?) when I dropped a snorkel out of my mouth and it sank into the water weed never to be seen again...

nb: I couldn't remember the name of Trotter's Gorge, I keep thinking "porky?" and then thought maybe Hutton's (a brand of ham and bacon in NZ). But I knew it was somewhere near Palmerston and look! the magic of google, there it is... I wonder what it's like these days (30 years later)...and er yes... that place really is called "Shag Point" and yep, that other place really is called "Shag Valley"...;)

Anyway we used to snorkel in the sea too, usually down further south in the incomparable Catlins.. For any sensible person alarm bells should now be ringing. The first two places mentioned were below the 45th parallel (ie further south than Oregon is North) and the Catlins further south (read "cold") again... So basically when you snokelled down there not only did you not see much except water weed or kelp (a giant seaweed)- a highlight might be seeing a Kina (sea urchin) -but also you were prone to terrible ice cream style headaches somedays from dipping your head for prolonged amounts of time in 10-13C water (50F). Brrrrr! Bracing! When I first visited Beachcomber in 1992 after a work conference at the Sheraton in Denarau I thought it was just heaven on earth and the most amazing place ever! Granted I was young and very impressed with features like a bar with beer on tap and a sand floor... but it took a day before I could be tempted to snorkel. "Ah snorkelling" I said "its not THAT exciting". But it was hot enough that I went in the water and WOW! there were all these fish! not plain coloured fish that you just saw scarpering away from a distance as you admired the kina you had found, no these fish were all sorts of brilliant colours and flocked around you and even the coral was all sorts of amazing colours... I was hypnotised and drifted out there for ages or rather until the locals decided to drive their glass bottom boat fast around and around us to give us a fright. As they do...

Oddly enough Rhys, who is younger than Jane did learn to snorkel- maybe with friends? But he had the same southern psychological snorkelling problem as me and in his 10 days over here only went out on his second to last day near Honeymoon Island while we were island hopping. His head shot out of the water in surprise and then he had the gall to say "you didn't tell me..." I tried Bro, I tried... Of course that was the moment the underwater point and shoot abruptly ran out of battery.

When we took J out for her first snorkel she had no preconceived ideas, and the water was nice and warm at least (about 29C). But as you may remember from that post in the dim dark past we had had storms and flooding on the mainland just the day before, so it was a bit murky, and yep there were a few sea lice as well. But it was good for a first go, we popped the gear on her and off she went. And despite the gloom this is what we saw...

So the conditions weren't great, we just went off the beach, but it was still a lot of fun, and some of the fish were very friendly and curious. After a while we decided to swim together back to the beach. Gran and I got back to the beach and congratulated ourselves on our gentle exercise. The waves (a slight swell) rolled us around a bit (sort of like beached whales, lots of jokes about watching out for people pouring buckets of water on us and trying to push us back into the tide...) -yeah/no I have a photo and I'm not going to post it... But then we saw Jane. As she came towards us she went into a slight turn, which continued until she was still kicking away thinking she was heading into shore- but she wasn't. Infact she was out by the buoys where we moor the boats! Gran was concerned and suggested I should swim out and stop her before she reached Australia. But I felt that any moment if we watched we would see her poke her head up, see she had gone the wrong way, be very surprised, and we would laugh. And that's what happened. It took her a while to get back in as the turning problem continued. One leg must be a bit stronger than the other?

Then once she finally got in she said "snorkelling can be really hard work if you're not careful"!

We headed to a kokoda making demonstration to relax. Kokoda (Kodonda) is a truly delicious fish dish. I won't try and describe it as it's much easier to just direct you instead to Wendy's recipe. It was made with fresh coconut milk. Yummy!

and by the next day the water was clear. How clear?

this clear... (mum the super kayaking snorkelling gran)

So I'll finish now before I make reading about snorkelling hard work too... that's if I haven't already! For something lighter (even though its NSFW as Wilson says (not suitable for work -or people sensitive about "bad" language- Bah you'll be fine)), and the funniest blog post I have read in a long time (Lisa and I are planning to memorise it) see this. Language is a wonderful thing. As Dame Whina Cooper said it is not a wall to separate us, it is a blanket that can keep us all warm. Or something like that, though I'm not sure that sort of post is what she had in mind it still rings true. Every kid I know here seems to know the words "sa kana oti?" and "sa bera!" regardless of their first language from a frequently shown instant noodles ad here. But Wilson's post is far more useful. And surprisingly T already knew a lot of them. He said they're the words the boat captains use when the engines stop... And after you've read that hit the tag "engrish". That's just so typical... hehehe. We have a sign here that says "keep door close"... (I am itching to take a photo of a bride hugging it- true fiji wedding photography)...

PS... a note on "sea lice". They're not actually lice. They're little teeny tiny broken pieces of hydroid (such as fire coral), that's why we tend to get a little after rough stormy weather. But we don't get much at all, luckily. And only once in nearly 2 1/2 years have I come across it bad enough that I've had to get out! Cold tea works quite well. Actually I reckon cold tea externally and hot tea internally is the best!

Ladies who Lunch (a photo essay)

Once upon a time some handsome business men met some smart funny attractive (business) women. They married them and had babies, not always in that order. Then they moved to Fiji where the smart funny attractive women were banned by the government from working. They were forced to learn how to lunch...

This is Chrissy's birthday and the venue is Tu's Place in Martintar, Nadi; where they do a mean soup, and a fantastic 3 in 1 salad amongst other great feeds on the menu. Its not always fun being home from school as you can see. And you can tell its a special occasion as some of us have even put watches on!! I promised Chrissy I would post this at the time. Finally got round to it!!

and here's lunch... yum!!!

Things I have Discovered

Recently (immediately after our visit to NZ infact) I gave up drinking. I had a feeling that if I didn't have that glass of wine at 5.30 then I wouldn't have these annoying pimples, would magically drop weight, wouldn't be irritable in the evenings etc etc. I discovered after 4 weeks and only one evening having a glass of wine in all that time that actually none of that happened. So I discovered my theory was wrong and all my abstinence for nought. But at least I don't feel so guilty about being a bit irritable anymore. I'm just tossing up what to try next. Fish oil? flax oil? or maybe the "30 plus" tablets they (and Lisa Curry Kenny) advertise? Get in control and rejoin the real world- that's the promise in the advertisement I discovered in a woman's magazine!

One thing I would not want to give up is my coffee. I'm not going to go into any soliloquy when a post in a blog I discovered recently (while checking my own stats) puts it SO much better. I was drawn to The Visa Diaries by the little sketch of the Fiji water bottle- most of my favourite blogs have fantastic photos, but this was the first time I had seen such great sketches accompanying blog posts...

(image from "the Visa Diaries" and I believe drawn by the very talented Kate?). Anyway here's what she had to say about coffee- an exerpt from this very entertaining post you can read in full here...

Coffee is a small, momentary comfort and pleasure. It doesn’t break the bank or split the seams, yet somehow makes life bearable, whatever is seeming unbearable without it.

‘I can’t do much about the jerks in power or the war in Iraq, but at least I have a hot, fragrant liquid warming my tummy.’ Its that small turn-around, that small thing to look forward to that makes it possible to face the rest. Maybe it is all very Zen, or maybe it is escapist. Maybe it is an example of a modern ritual, which commentators say we lack, or maybe it is buying into Starbucks’ marketing hype. Or, maybe after I have another cup of coffee, I will be able to deal with the uncertainly.

True True...

Lately after going to our combat class (you think exercise is challenging normally, try doing an exercise class in 32degree celcius heat!) we have been going for coffees at the Hilton. The other day Rupert from Hilton management was there and we were instantly concerned as to whether we were appropriately dressed- then the conversation jumped to the really big ethical question facing Fiji hotels, especially 5 star ones with nice restaurants- at what point is it appropriate to continue walking around (as a guy) in speedos? We told him that a recent advertisement in NZ had looked at the very same issue...

Oddly we had been talking about the same ad twice in the previous week, and in the same breath the other summer classic- the "stubbies" (that's a kind of men's short pants) ads; once as we were watching the very good Cadbury Gorilla ad discovered on Jonathon's Oceanic Blog, and then again when I was discussing the discovery of a classic U2 video on Julie's blog That Red Dirt Road . Classics of their kind all, but each time we discussed "classics" of course the L&P (a type of soda in NZ) ads came up. So here we go- the stubbies classic...

Suva is a place that frankly we avoid going to. But we headed down there to pick up a new (second hand) company car for GB. The first thing we discovered was that Korovou prison- featured in a previous post has had a face lift. But only on the outside I'm sure...

Suva of course was cloudy and raining (but not cold). Treasure at that time (being on the other side of Fiji) had only had one day of rain in eight weeks, which was good actually, as the restaurant was being retiled and for three nights everyone dined outside...The day the tables went indoors the rain came down- very lucky. What we discovered when the new tiles went down was just how grotty the old ones had been! Funny how you get used to something and don't notice. The dark brown small tiles weren't fijian fashion at all- they had just been put in the (celebration of all things brown and orange) seventies and we were probably lucky they weren't spoofed in an L&P ad too!

I discovered adobe's PSCS3 (photoshop CS3) has an amazing autoalign function which makes sticking photos together to make panoramaa a breeze- that's what I used with the above photo. Incredible, considering I did the banner (up top) here with PS7 which had no photostitch at all. Imagine how much easier it would've been... Its time to do some real stitching here too as well as photostitching. In Fiji when they launch a new boat they go through a number of rituals including wrapping it in tapa. Well it seems the same can apply to cars, and GB came out of his office to find his company car completely wrapped up in a fabric with a bright bula pattern! Next step to to make ourselves nice traditional dresses with it. Yabaki has already made hers with her share...

Finally you may think this is another thing I discovered in the new photoshop- the black and white conversion function (which is very good) and it is- but also it represents the discovery Fiji is a small place, even for us. We were at the dentist, and it turned out these girls knew us/ we know their aunt well.

So I'd better go and do something not at the computer for a bit... Next post we should discover yet again that Fijian kids are the cutest/most photogenic anywhere (if I have finished sorting the photos from Nagado), and a disturbing discovery of a group of hoes. Also soon about the time we went to NZ and I discovered how hard it is to photograph landscape well. But that's enough discoveries for now... I have just discovered that typepad's spell checker seems to have disappeared, so until I rediscover it sorry about any typos...

Rugby Pride

While Americans could be forgiven for missing it, a lot of the rest of the world has been in the grips of world cup fever, even those trying to ignore it. Rugby here in Fiji is a game that is taken seriously, even Treasure Island has it own rugby team, complete with uniforms and matching bula shirts. They practice weekly around the island including game strategies practised on the beach in the evening, and tour to NZ each year, kava bowl going on the plane with them as unusual carry-on.

Yes I suspect the one on the wing does get wet. Below the team are back home- but having dinner with some of their hosts from Otorohonga (AGGAC gals- see I do sometimes practice using the SB800! and you may wonder if Henry's head has been distorted by the wide lens. The answer is no, it really is that shape). The waipiro in the wooden bowl (for you non NZ'ers this is a maori term and literally means dirty water, though it has a colloquial meaning...) is kava. Looks yummy huh?

Yes I suspect the one on the wing does get wet... So while the Fijian team didn't have near the financial support the All Blacks had, infact possibly not even a hundreth (is that a word?!), they had the support of the heart of their people from top politicians, chiefs and businessmen right down to the man in the canefield. Patriotic advertising and songs broke out in the media; our favourite was the "Cibi". The Cibi, pronounced "thimbi" (yeah I know, apparently you can blame the missionaries for the spelling) is the Fijian version of the NZ Haka. It as been argued the FMF (flour mills of Fiji) ad is a copy of the NZ gingerbread man haka, but what the hey. We enjoyed immensely seeing the biscuits we have grown to love over here doing their cibi... have a look.

Before the news everynight the new patriotic song played too- it maust be noted that parts of it come directly from the national anthem- here's a copy embedded from u-tube as well. We all hummed along. So all of Fiji is outrageously proud of the performance of the Fijians at the world cup- sure they were ousted in the quarter finals, but then so were Australia and NZ!

In typical classic local reporting everything that happens at the moment is somehow related to the rugby. Here's an exerpt from tuesday's Fiji Times where the military discuss the intensifying of Australian travel warnings...
"Colonel Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara yesterday attributed Australia's concerns on Fiji's political situation to the Wallabies loss at the Rugby World Cup saying the only threat Fiji could face was an invasion from Australia." (I kid you not! that's what it said) and also the quote..."It is very irresponsible of them and shows what the commander earlier said that (sic) they don't understand the Fiji situation. They're the biggest liars. They said they'd win the rugby world cup" he said". The Fijian Rubgy Team arrive home tomorrow- you can guarantee there will be a hero's welcome for them.

I see I have been tagged! and tagged! and tagged again! I will get onto that soon as I slowly start to catch back up with real life after our trip. We also went away last week to Heavens Edge at Vaturu Dam, so I will post about that too. Just to tease you all in the meantime a couple of watery shots, and with those a big shout out to TR Little the agents for Pentax in Christchurch, NZ for their exemplary after sales service (they are the agents- we of course bought our camera from www.photo.co.nz). Our family know from our pictures (especially this post from february ) what fun we had with the first optio WPi. Well we are now the proud owners of the Pentax Optio W30 and it is just such a cool little camera. Firstly given it cost 1/10 of my other camera it performs very well. This shot here is just point and shoot in P with no adjustment beyond sharpening a bit more for uploading to this web...Note that he is trying to splash me. One of the many situations where it pays to have a waterproof model.

This camera goes to 3m underwater. What only 3 metres? Well unless you are in the habit of dropping yor camera off the side of boats you really don't need deeper. Remember all the photos taken with the previous WPi were taken at 1m but usually less- lets face it you can't take it diving as there's simply not enough light- that's why the good underwater photographers like the amazing Ann Worthy have those wonderful strobe lights. And if you're snorkelling and photographing the easiest way not to move too much is to be floating on the top, which is how all of our W30 and Wpi photos were taken... This camera is also great if you have a leaky water bottle in your bag, or get caught out in the rain- the kiss of death for many more expensive models. And so much fun at swimming lessons...

Its definitley summer here now, it seemed just a couple of weeks ago the temperature and humidty abruptly jumped up, the mangoes (yum!) came into season, then last week the water temperature came up too, from around 27C to real warm bath stuff. We swam with friends from Suva out to the swimming pontoon at Treasure Island before school holidays ended two days ago, and were mobbed by fish which seemed to fly up to us to see what the silver thing was in my hand... Good thing they weren't piranhas eh!

The final word for this week goes to one of the kids talking about coming home from school "When we got off the bus the policeman at the police post passed us mangoes over the fence. They were so good we ate them walking down the driveway- skin and all!"

Merry Christmas!!

Well Christmas really snuck up on us this year, I guess we were all preoccupied with the political thing and busy with life in general; however finally we headed out to Nadi for some three days off and a bit of christmassy stuff on the 21st!!! GB and I took turns to look after the kids and christmas shop, and we enjoyed some great meals out. Tony recommended Ohra, a japanese place in Martintar. It was great, though admittedly the service increased immensely when Tony walked in and joined us- the perks of being a regular! The next night we left the kids at the hotel with a sitter and headed out with "Bod" (B Fj. Bachelor of Fiji...) to Lcees in Namaka, a Chinese restaurant which is really worth wile; and then for an Asian trio had our last meal our at the Korean restaurant next to South Seas Treasures (where I also bought some xmas decorations)! The Korean also was excellent, our table was rapidly covered in little plates of goodies, with the Chicken Gui cooked in the middle of our table (and you can't beat boolgoogie for a great dish- even if I can't spell it right!)...

but enough of the "Nadi Eating Guide"! and on with the christmas preparations. Of course we ate breakfast each day at Bulaccino, Nadi's best cafe. At Jacks we had the kids' photo taken with Santa, who was clearly Fijian. Tom looked at him suspiciously and asked him if he really was Santa? but the girls are well used to Santa substitutes at shopping malls...

We didn't have the old NZ style piece of pine tree for a christmas tree this year, and none of the fakes were nice enough to buy, so we  headed home with a plan to just put three big fronds of coconut together to make a tree. The groundsman hacked them down with his machete and brought them over, but they were still a bit big and not very manageable. So after a sudden brainwave I plaited the three together into a very funky tree! Each plait had two fronds from one piece and one from the next, to the plaits held the three parts together to form the tree. Because we used three and not four the back is flat (perfect to lean against a wall) and the front sticks out with triffid like fronds). Then Amy dressed up one of her Bratz in tapa to be the angel, and we hung our decorations- long strings of chunky beads, little faux presents, drop crystal decorations, a little like the ones we used to make at the Craft Warehouse, dragon flies made with feathers, tapa angels from the market at the Sofitel a few weeks ago, and lights shaped like lime green leaves, surprisingly from Bulaccino (which match my infamous lime green bench)! Anyway the photo looks a bit odd, but I'll add some detail shots and hopefully you get the idea, we thought it looked great, and this week we get to add more lights which arrived at the post office today! 

 

The Tree...

We placed all the wrapped presents underneath and the kids excitement made it all worth wile, especially Tom, who was quite giddy with excitement and very ready for a merry christmas.... (to be continued...)

Happy Anniversary Baby

Right in the middle of our busy lives each year is our wedding anniversary; we were married 10 years ago on December 14th... Each year we try and celebrate our anniversary and our love for each other and our kids with a special dinner together, an idea I don't mind admitting came from Ian and Mary Grant of Parents Inc via a course we went to some years ago. Last year we were separated with Graeme in Fiji and the rest of us in Dunedin having much needed R & R at Mum's, but this year, even though Graeme was off to Sydney we shifted it a day early and celebrated on the 13th. The more the merrier we think, for this annual declaration of happiness, so it was nice to have Stuart the GAP student out to visit before his departure for Aus and NZ. We had a fantastic dinner...

but the best of all was the speeches. We have a little speech each about why we like our family each year, and Alice's blew all the rest out of the water. She prepared it and wrote it ahead of time, so I'll type it in now off her little note pad:

My Speech.  I enjoy being in this family because we are very lucky. We always stick together and we don't let a fight stop our friendship. This family has put a roof over my head and food in my stomach. I don't remember the wedding but I am sure it was the best day of our life. Lets raise our drinks and toast the couple who have been married a whole decade. Thank you for listening...

That sure was a tough act to follow, and I can confirm she was at the wedding. Happy anniversary baby!

That's not a coup, Mum, that's just Diwali!

...so the cartoon said in the paper at Diwali. Not that we should joke about coup's at this time... but we were just describing Diwali tonight to some visitors. Basically while large tracts of the western world prepare for Halloween etc in Fiji we are celebrating an Indian festival: Diwali (as we often say as we eat Lalita's delicious Rotis- 1 billion Indians can't be wrong!). Diwali to cut a long story short is a festival of lights and a celebration of the triumph of good over evil. But we were new to it. Just as thanksgiving means large turkey meals, we noted lots of giving of diwali sweets, Indian costume everywhere, and fireworks (yes that's what the cartoon was referring to)!

When we went into town all the ladies were wearing Saris, even at the supermarket and the McDonald's drive-thru. Here's Rita at the cafe at Vuda.

and just as the kids wore Fijian costume to school on Ratu Sukuna day, Diwali saw them heading off to school in their Indian outfits, though instead of Sari the girls wore Salwaar Kameez, bindi (jewelled spots for their foreheads) and lots of bracelets. Superb. Next year we thought the Mum's might wear sari's to assembly too ( we would have to have a long lunch first of course)...

 

Waiting at Vuda marina- with the MSA (maritime safety) marine checker...

And then of course the fireworks. We didn't have a huge show at the island, its very Fijian out here, and besides we hadn't had significant rain in months and we didn't need any fires. But we got the sparklers out and holy moly! They were great. 60c a bunch, and not like sparklers as we know it. They spat out sparks like Harry Potter's wand in an out of control moment. For some reason I can't find the pics of the kids, but here's one a few days later of Nicole trying not to set her hair on fire.

OK that's all for this evening, but I'll toy with another subject tomorrow, then unleash this creation on the world of my friends and family... night all, meg campbell-back (yes, I actually just signed that name there to see if I can google it! true).