 "Take
me to the April sun in Cuba" ... and why not? As the temperatures plummeted
and I anticipated another Wellington winter with layers of thermal tights
and horizontal rain, my thoughts easily drifted towards the tropics for
a dose of solar therapy.
While Cuba
sounded wonderfully exotic, it was a little out of reach and despite
current
café chic I wasn't too fussed about all those cigars. A quick
trawl through the travel brochures narrowed my search to Fiji - warm,
close
and within my budget. I'd never met anyone who had cycled there but
the omens were promising ... with the right mix of weather, light traffic,
scenery and achievable biking distances.
Circling
Ovalau
After
a few days working up a sweat on the beach, I set off from Suva on "Emosi's
Bus and Shipping Service" to the island of Ovalau. The bus driver was
happy to stash my bike down the aisle and stack the passengers around
it. The second leg of the journey was by ship - although this proved to
be a generous description for a craft only a little bigger than a runabout.
My bike rode up front and wore a bit of salt as we smacked into the swell
for a couple of hours.
 Ovalau's
only town is Levuka, Fiji's former colonial capital. Now it is a fishing
port and home to the venerable Royal Hotel. Built in the 1850s - the Royal
is a bit of a time warp. Set in a gracious tropical garden, its two storey
structure reeks of character. I was more than half a century too late
to meet Somerset Maugham, but he would have looked right at home in their
parlour. Every morning fresh flowers were placed in the polished brass
vases in the sitting room by a white-haired lady who probably did make
his acquaintance. I called her Mrs Peacock, for her likeness to the Cluedo
character. A full sized billiard table with pitted balls stands next to
the house bar. The game is free but you have to put 20 cents in a slot
to make the dim light work.
A visit to
Levuka would not be complete without a drink at the Levuka Club. Although
sign-posted "Members Only", the rule is waived for visitors to the Island.
The sun has set on this corner of the Empire, but the traditions live
on. Portraits of a young Queen Elizabeth and King George V are hung over
the bar where the uniformed barman will serve you a Fiji Bitter or a nip
of Bounty rum.
Biking in
Ovalau is pretty simple. One unsealed road circles the island - a trip
of 50km. It passes old French mission schools, coconut plantations and
the island's fish cannery. Along the road I met Luketiri, who after 30
years working in the canneries of Suva had returned to his family farm.
He was waiting in the shade for a bus to take him to the market to sell
a bag of copra. We talked awhile and I asked to take his photo. He asked
for my cap. A fair swap.
Cruising
the Coral Coast
Back
on the main island of Viti Levu I took the 188km Suva to Nadi highway
- known as the Queen's Road. After the first 10km the traffic thinned
and I cruised the sealed road for three days.
 Drivers
were well-behaved, the road surface was in good shape and there was
plenty
to see - Hindu temples, traditional Fijian farming and acres of sugar
cane. You're never far from an Indian-run general store where the homesick
can track down a Jellytip. The cool thing about cycle touring is that
you travel at the pace of the culture. While pedalling along I would
often
catch up with the farm labourers as they strolled home, machetes resting
on their shoulders. Nothing sinister though as I was greeted with a
hearty "Bula!" and a cheery smile.
A sturdy
touring bike would be fine for the sealed main roads, but a mountain bike
is the preferred option for exploring Fiji's highlands. The mountains
attract rain, so mud can be a problem even in the dry season. Commercial
operators have started to offer combination 4WD/mountain bike trips to
the highlands.
I chose to
stay at budget hotels, but discreet camping is possible. My only encounter
with the law was during my last evening in Fiji. As I sat on the beach
watching the sunset over the coconut palms, four massive blokes in uniform
approached. It transpired they were off-duty soldiers having a few quiets
after work. They shared their seafood dinner with me ... and their intrepidation
at the prospect of being posted to Wairou for winter training.
Somehow,
winter seemed light years away.
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