Hello Everything: 2007

Fijian Toad

This was the only toad I encountered in Fiji, but I was very taken with it. It sat on the step that led up to our room at the Beachside Resort and... well, didn't do anything. It was immobile and silent. After I spent ages trying to get a good angle and took this picture, it moved about 3 inches. Then it stayed put. Such is the life of a toad, I guess.

Fiji - Lomolomo Police Zone, the temple in Nadi, the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, and the view from our window

While we we in Fiji Marshal Law was declared, but this Lomolomo Central Policing Zone sign was our closest brush with State power. Notice the sign is multi-functional, with the police and gas represented. Nearly all the signs we saw (place signs) were like this - presumably this was coporate sponsorship... an intriguing bit of juxtaposition, anway.

The next few photos are from the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, set up by Raymond Burr and home to orchids of all kinds. The Giant in question is the mountain, at the foot of which the gardens lie.

In Nadi we visited the Hindu temple, which was rendered in spectacular technicolor. Fiji has a large Indian population, originally brought to the islands as indentured servants by the British in their colonial wisdom. One result was that we had a variety of fantastic vegetable thalis during our stay. The other was to add to the current political instability of Fiji.

These mynah birds were everywhere - here in the driveway of the Beachside Resort, just outside Nadi, where we spent our first 4 and last nights in Fiji.

This was the view looking out from our balcony at the Beachside.

Fiji - Lautoka

On our first full day we visited nearby Lautoka, a town of around 30,000 people where Judith's brother Kevin was born. Compared to Nadi or Sigatoka, Lautoka was bustling - it was Saturday afternoon and the streets were full of people. A jubilant religious gathering seemed to be taking place in a central park area, with amplified praise ringing out, and the busy road and pedestrian traffic created quite a throng in the 30 degree heat. Tourists were conspicuous by their absence amid the Melanesian and Indo-Fijian passers by, even if the signs of western life were everywhere, from sunglasses to soft drinks. For me the experience was quite alien but completely fascinating - during this first day, and subsequent days, it often felt like I had entered another world, often represented but never experienced.

Inside Lautoka market.

New House!

At the end of July we moved from our Willis Street apartment to Kelburn Parade. A distance of only 700 metres as the crow flies, but in reality a 2.5km ascent that is guaranteed to leave you sweating profusely. The move went pretty smoothly (rain threatened but nothing more than a fine drizzle resulted). Here's the view out of our living room onto our deck..

This is down the road a little, but gives a good idea of the street.

And here's the view looking down across the city. It's a beautiful walk to work each day, with a full view of Wellington, the sea, and the distant hills. Assuming it's not raining and the Southerly winds make looking up plausible.