Monday, February 20th, 2023 Queen Victoria, Lautoka, Viti Levu, Fiji
Updated: Jun 24, 2023
This morning Queen Victoria docked in the port of Lautoka on the island of Viti Levu, the first of two stops on this island. The country of Fiji is an archipelago of more than 300 islands of which about 110 are permanently inhabited - and more than 500 islets. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts. In 1874, after a brief period in which Fiji was an independent kingdom, the British established the Colony of Fiji. Fiji operated as a Crown colony until 1970, when it gained independence and became known as the Dominion of Fiji. Between 1878 and 1916, 61000 Indians were brought to Fiji as indentures laborers to work in the sugar plantations. There remains a large ethnic Indian population in Fiji, and it has a large influence on the culture of the islands. As the ship coasted into the port, we could see many islands both close by and off in the distance, observation of the closest island revealed it to be a mangrove swamp – our first sighting of this unique habitat. Lautoka has a real working, commercial port and the town is very much an ordinary – non-tourist place. It was very warm, about 85F, and the humidity was very high – so the effective temperature was 95F. The sky was overcast, and rain showers were forecast. In fact, as we made our way down the gangway it began to rain quite heavily, so we took shelter under the canopy of one of the tour companies as we waited for the shuttle bus. During the short, 10-minute, ride into town the guide on the bus explained a bit about area; Lautoka is the sugar capital of Fiji, and we passed the biggest sugar refinery in the South Pacific, the country is highly dependent on tourism and the people are very friendly, the common greeting is “bula” or sometimes “bula bula”. The weather encouraged a slow walking pace, the high humidity is very energy-sapping. The buildings in Lautoka suffer from the usual unavoidable black mold of the tropics, but the town was very clean, and a one-way traffic system directed the mostly modern cars efficiently around the shops and offices that make up the center of Lautoka. Perfect strangers passed us on the street and greeted us with a smile and a “bula”; I soon learned to return the compliment.
The Lautoka City Municipal Market caters to vendors, farmers, and wholesalers from all regions of Viti Levu. The market has an exotic blend of fresh local and imported fruits, vegetables, spices and root crops, handicrafts, and sweet sellers, selling fresh seafood and kai. The market is housed in a large, covered structure with ventilation provided through open side windows – it is very much a place for locals, a kind of one-stop shop for all of their fresh produce needs, conveniently located next to the bus station. The stalls are laid out in a grid format and as we walked through, we could see rows and rows of fresh vegetables – some recognizable, others exotic and unknown. The vendors were very friendly, taking the time to explain their wares – we received many “bulas”, which were of course returned. The Lautoka Market is well worth a visit.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, and a short, 5-minute walk away, was the TappooCity Mall – a chain of western shopping malls in Fiji. The mall was very small, but nicely air-conditioned, and anchored on one end by a department store and the other by a supermarket. We made our way to the small food court on the second floor and enjoyed an excellent coffee. The actor Robert Powell came in as we were leaving and Sandra had a brief chat with him; his cabin is on the same floor as ours and she had bumped into him twice yesterday – so today she wanted to point out that she was not stalking him, only getting in her “39 steps”, which he found amusing.
The small supermarket was provided a convenient spot to stock up on some essential: chocolate, tonic water, office supplies etc. - I particularly liked the small pull-able shopping basket.
Thankfully the shuttle bus stop was right outside the mall, as the rain had really started to come down. After a short wait the rickety bus pulled up and by some stroke of luck, we were the last to alight – taking seats all the way at the back. Sailing away from Lautoka in the early evening we once again got some great views of the mangrove-swamped islands, included one with an integrated village. One last comment for today… descending he stairs this evening I heard a shout from above, a man enquiring of his wife – who was a ways further down the stairs than he was: “have you got your teeth?”.
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