Wedded bliss in Fiji

It was just how it should have been. It was the perfect day.

Relying on the weather for an outdoor beach side wedding, we knew we were taking our chances. And we had a backup plan, but it didn’t matter. Because the weather couldn’t have been better. The skies were completely clear, the sun was shining white hot and a good breeze kept us cool and was pushing in the tide.

Tara was stunningly beautiful. She didn’t just look like my bride, she looked like my Queen. And I couldn’t have been more proud in my life. In her hair was a crown of tiny flowers of red, white, yellow and orange and her eyes seemed to glow despite the brilliant sunlight. We were both so happy.

It was a private ceremony. Besides Reverend Tuiwai and the four guitarists serenading us there was only Eugene and his wife Tima who were present to witness the marriage and their five year old daughter Mary who was both our flower girl and ring bearer. I said my vows and somewhere in there I remember saying “I do” twice by mistake. I’m sure it was symbolic somehow. And then I watched Tara say her vows and the little oceans in her smiling eyes began to overflow. It was when Reverend Tuiwai had us hold each others right hand and placed his right hand on ours that the moment seemed the most real. Even Eugene commented on it later, the old softy. He got all teary eyed and had to look away. And right there on the prettiest little beach in Vanua Levu Fiji we were pronounced husband and wife and I was told I could finally kiss the bride.

After signing our marriage license and toasting with some rum punch, we got into our vehicles and made our way back to the house. The band came with us up to the house and played for another couple hours as the guests started to arrive. It wasn’t long before all the friends we’ve made during our six month stay here in Savusavu were standing on the deck with a drink in hand and having a great time. The day before the wedding Smokey and Usa decorated the outside of the house by taking coconut tree leaves and braiding them around the eight posts of the house and then dressing the leaves with ginger flowers and vines. On the day of the wedding Smokey and Usa were our barbequers extraordinaire, cooking up the countless lamb chops and fish steaks that Eugene and Tima had marinated and prepared the night before. It was strange, after spending so much time here in the house by ourselves with the odd guest up for a quiet lunch or dinner, to have the house so full of people all laughing and talking and enjoying themselves so much. Tima made our cake and it was beautiful and when it came time to cut it Tara and I said speeches and of course forgot to thank or even mention so many people. Then we each grabbed a handful of cake and shoved it each others face. For sure I got the worse end of that particular event. It took me a few minutes in the bathroom to remove cake from my nostrils.

Despite requesting that nobody bring gifts…we received gifts. A weaved straw mat designed and decorated for chiefs, a traditional wood carved shallow kava bowl with mother-of-pearl inlays and a wood set of coasters. All of which we have to figure out a way to fit into our luggage by the end of the week.

The party was a hit. Everyone had a great time and had such lovely things to say to us about it for a whole week afterwards. None of it would have happened without the help of Eugene and Tima Wong and the rest of their family, so to them we are eternally grateful. We want to thank our family and friends who accepted the fact that we were getting married in such a far away place and we love everyone for their patience and understanding. Thanks to my brother Cory for recording his version of the song Over the Rainbow/It’s a Beautiful World which we must have played forty times over the course of the evening and brought us home a little.

Fiji

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…