Savusavu - At peace in the Garden of Eden
It’s only natural that to get to paradise you have to sacrifice a day and travel forward in time an entire day. It should be that complicated. You don’t want just anyone showing up…
Surreal is the best word to describe Fiji. It may likely take a person a few days to shake the sensation that they’re dreaming. That foggy headed dizziness isn’t just the humidity, it’s your brain adjusting to the impossible exotic beauty of the place. The clouds seem to be constantly touching the hilltops, but it makes sense that Fiji is so close to heaven.
It’s everything one would expect the South Pacific tropics to be. The crystal clear water and the coral reefs that look like opal jems from the air. The dense lush green jungle canopy that covers every tiny island, the smell of it so clean and pure when you trek your way through it. The wide variety of tropical flowers that each come in a plethora of colours…naturally.
Once the surrealism of it all passes and reality sets in, once you accept that you’re in a place that actually does exist on this planet, the word that best describes Fiji is Pure. You understand the true sense of the word Pure when you bite into a locally grown truly organic banana or mango or pineapple. There’s familiarity of the taste of those fruits you’re used to, except they taste a hundred times better…pure.
Biblical scholars can say all they want, I think Fiji is the Garden of Eden. It wouldn’t take much to convince me that somewhere amongst this maze of jungle islands stands the Tree of Knowledge, safely hiding from the rest of the world.
The flight from Nadi to Savusavu in the small twin prop plane was exhilarating. It was a little prelude treat. An overview of the Fijian Islands. From up there you could see the coral reefs below the ocean surface in all their glory. You could sense just how fragile and important they really are.
Tobias, the man we’re house-sitting for, met us at the tiny airport with a warm smile and a handshake. He was as excited to see us as we were him. We loaded our gear into his truck and jumped in. We all started chattering excitedly as we drove the short distance on the Hibiscus highway, over the hills and into the marina town of Savusavu. Savusavu isn’t exactly what you’d call quaint, but its charm is that its honest and real. There are no pretensions here. It has all the conveniences you require with no frills. It sits along the waterfront of Savusavu Bay with yachts and catamarans anchored just offshore.
Tobias turned left onto a side road marked Naveria Heights and stopped to switch the truck into four wheel drive.
He pointed to a spot at the high hilltops to a house we couldn’t see and said, ‘My place is at the top of the hill on the last property.’
The road is of red clay with a spattering of gravel and at an intimidating angle. Traveling up or down it is a modestly dangerous drive when it’s dry and, we’re warned, an extremely treacherous one in heavy rains.
We reached the house and it was even more beautiful then we had imagined. The pictures simply didn’t do it any justice. Once we settled in Tobias introduced us to our neighbors. A Fijian man named Smokey (don’t ask…I didn’t) who house-sits for a Danish couple and a very nice American couple a little further down the hillside who, after twenty-six years of sailing the world, decided to build a home and settle in Fiji.
In the evening we were taken to a place called The Copra Shed. This is the place where the Yachties hang out, drinking Fijian Bitter Ale and exchange exciting stories of the high seas and tips for best surviving them.
After an evening of sharing good food and meeting new friends we made our way up Naveria Heights in the rain to the house. Tobias was leaving the next day and stayed in town, so we were trusted with alone with the drive.
I can happily say we survived the challenge.
We’re going to love it here…
It’s only natural that to get to paradise you have to sacrifice a day and travel forward in time an entire day. It should be that complicated. You don’t want just anyone showing up…
Surreal is the best word to describe Fiji. It may likely take a person a few days to shake the sensation that they’re dreaming. That foggy headed dizziness isn’t just the humidity, it’s your brain adjusting to the impossible exotic beauty of the place. The clouds seem to be constantly touching the hilltops, but it makes sense that Fiji is so close to heaven.
It’s everything one would expect the South Pacific tropics to be. The crystal clear water and the coral reefs that look like opal jems from the air. The dense lush green jungle canopy that covers every tiny island, the smell of it so clean and pure when you trek your way through it. The wide variety of tropical flowers that each come in a plethora of colours…naturally.
Once the surrealism of it all passes and reality sets in, once you accept that you’re in a place that actually does exist on this planet, the word that best describes Fiji is Pure. You understand the true sense of the word Pure when you bite into a locally grown truly organic banana or mango or pineapple. There’s familiarity of the taste of those fruits you’re used to, except they taste a hundred times better…pure.
Biblical scholars can say all they want, I think Fiji is the Garden of Eden. It wouldn’t take much to convince me that somewhere amongst this maze of jungle islands stands the Tree of Knowledge, safely hiding from the rest of the world.
The flight from Nadi to Savusavu in the small twin prop plane was exhilarating. It was a little prelude treat. An overview of the Fijian Islands. From up there you could see the coral reefs below the ocean surface in all their glory. You could sense just how fragile and important they really are.
Tobias, the man we’re house-sitting for, met us at the tiny airport with a warm smile and a handshake. He was as excited to see us as we were him. We loaded our gear into his truck and jumped in. We all started chattering excitedly as we drove the short distance on the Hibiscus highway, over the hills and into the marina town of Savusavu. Savusavu isn’t exactly what you’d call quaint, but its charm is that its honest and real. There are no pretensions here. It has all the conveniences you require with no frills. It sits along the waterfront of Savusavu Bay with yachts and catamarans anchored just offshore.
Tobias turned left onto a side road marked Naveria Heights and stopped to switch the truck into four wheel drive.
He pointed to a spot at the high hilltops to a house we couldn’t see and said, ‘My place is at the top of the hill on the last property.’
The road is of red clay with a spattering of gravel and at an intimidating angle. Traveling up or down it is a modestly dangerous drive when it’s dry and, we’re warned, an extremely treacherous one in heavy rains.
We reached the house and it was even more beautiful then we had imagined. The pictures simply didn’t do it any justice. Once we settled in Tobias introduced us to our neighbors. A Fijian man named Smokey (don’t ask…I didn’t) who house-sits for a Danish couple and a very nice American couple a little further down the hillside who, after twenty-six years of sailing the world, decided to build a home and settle in Fiji.
In the evening we were taken to a place called The Copra Shed. This is the place where the Yachties hang out, drinking Fijian Bitter Ale and exchange exciting stories of the high seas and tips for best surviving them.
After an evening of sharing good food and meeting new friends we made our way up Naveria Heights in the rain to the house. Tobias was leaving the next day and stayed in town, so we were trusted with alone with the drive.
I can happily say we survived the challenge.
We’re going to love it here…
