Robyn's Fijian Adventure!

For my TS310- Tourism in Less Developed Countries class we took a field trip to the luxurious 5-star resort, Outrigger on the Lagoon, on the Coral Coast. On the day we arrived we were given a presentation by the General Manager about the operational functions of the resort and its sustainability in the environment. I wish we could have stayed a second day because the hotel was amazing. There was air-conditioning, the comfiest beds ever, a pool and for breakfast, lunch and dinner they had a delicious buffet. For breakfast I had eggs benedict, scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, sausages and 9 pancakes…it’s safe to say I’ve been missing my dad’s home-cooked Sunday brunch. The following day before heading back to Suva, we stopped at a village about 5 minutes away from the resort and discussed with them the impact tourism has on neighboring Fijian villages like theirs.

For Easter break my study abroad group went to the Yasawa Islands (northeast of the main island). This group of islands is where most of the tourists travel to when coming to Fiji and was by far the most tourist-y place we’ve been. The 4 hour ferry ride was much better in comparison to the one over spring break and to pass the time I indulged on a delicious $5 ice cream cone. We were able to get a pretty good student discount at a resort called Coral View so we spent all 3 nights there. The first day we went to the Sawa-I-Lau caves and explored around there. We had to hold our breath and swim underwater below rocks to get to another section of the cave which is pitch black. On the second day I went fishing and am pleased to say I was the big catcher of the day with 3! That night the kitchen cooked them up for us for dinner although I have to say I’m not too fond of the Fijian way of cooking fish where they just cook up the whole thing bones, head and all. I’d prefer not to have the fish stare at me with its eyeballs as I eat it :P On the final day I took a hike to the top of the island where I could see more of the Yasawa Islands.

After an hour and a half on the ferry and another 2 hours on a bus we made it to Savusavu on Vanua Levu. Here we visited the J. Hunter Pearl Farm where we learned how pearls were produced and were given a tour showing each step. We even went out in a glass-bottomed boat to see the oysters currently being worked with. After the tour, we snuck onto the beach at the luxurious Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort and enjoyed a good 5 minutes by the pool before we were spotted and kicked out (I guess we didn't look rich enough in our tie-dye). But we moved down by the water and spent the rest of the day tanning and swimming in the ocean. It was a great way to end Spring Break before starting a looooong 15 hours ferry ride back to Suva.

After leaving Vorovoro I met up with the rest of the study abroad group in Taveuni for a few days. We spent a lot of time at Bouma National Heritage Park hiking along the coast, through villages and into the rainforest. We were lucky to see the rare fire bird (see photo gallery) which got its name because when it flies it looks like a flickering flame. We stopped multiple times along the hike to swim in waterfalls and learn about the local plants from out guide Birri. After reaching the farthest waterfall we took a boat back and saw a bunch of dolphins!

The first day of Spring Break I took a field trip with my TS311 Sustainable Tourism Development class to the island of Vorovoro. This island was rented for 3 years with the goal of creating an eco-village which could be a model for other villages and at the same time bringing in 5,000 tourists over those 3 years. The funding for this project came from online “tribemembers” who would pay a fee upfront and in return get a short stay on the island and the right to vote on decisions being made in the village. Some of the things that made this village sustainable were composing toilets, a wind turbine, a garden, water supplied by a manmade dam and the use of local building materials found on the island. I loved this field trip because it gave me the chance to get to know some of the pretty awesome people in my class and actually spend time with them outside of the classroom.