Tuesday, February 21st, 2023 Queen Victoria, Suva, Vitu Levu, Fiji
During the night, Queen Victoria steamed around the southern side of Viti Levu Island to dock at the capital of Fiji, Suva. Bright skies with large billowing white clouds greeted us as we passed through the gap in the coral reef and entered the large bay surrounded by low mountains and the town of Suva. A small number of ships were anchored in the bay, and one unfortunate craft must have slipped its anchor and come aground on the reef, listing at a severe angle. Suva is the economic, political, and cultural center of Fiji. It is also the economic and cultural capital of the South Pacific, hosting the majority of the regional headquarters of major international corporations, international agencies, and diplomatic missions. Exiting the “cruise terminal” which was actually a port storage shed, we were bombarded by locals offering us guided tours of the area – they were held back by ropes, but still felt a bit intimidating – must backed off after we politely declined. Once through the gauntlet of tour sellers we left the port following the promenade and crossed a small river. There were some taxis parked along the road and we were soon on our way to the National Museum of Fiji.
The 10-minute ride took us down the main street of the town which was lined with some substantial buildings of both colonial and late Victorian style, including many government buildings. Approaching the museum, the scene opened up with a large sports field called Albert Park on the left and the Grand Pacific Hotel on the right. We learned from the taxi driver that the sports field was for rugby practice (even though it had a substantial grandstand) and that the late Queen had stayed at the Grand Pacific during her four royal visits from 1953 to 1982. The Fiji museum is located in Thurston Gardens and was founded in 1904; it holds the most important collection of Fijian artifacts in the world and its centerpiece is the 13 metre-long, double hulled canoe “Ratu Finau”. The remains of the rudder from HMS Bounty are also on display. Though quite small by US and European standards, I found the museum to be most interesting and the artifacts to be well displayed. A separate room covers the period when Indian indentured laborers were brought to the island by the British. We exited through a small, cramped gift shop and out onto a large, shaded deck area with seating for a small café. Sharing a pineapple mint cooler drink (strange but very refreshing) we noticed an event that was taking place right adjacent to the deck area in Thurston Gardens. A small stage and bleachers had been set up on a lawn and some kind of ceremony was taking place. School children occupied the bleachers, a couple of local dignitaries sat cross-legged on the stage and facing them on the small lawn sat a group of fierce looking warriors. The warriors took it in turn to dance or chant. We learned that the event was to celebrate International Mother Tongue Day; this was not a tourist show, it had obvious deep meaning to the participants and observers – while we were in no way discouraged from watching it did feel like in some way, we were intruding on something the community had obviously put a lot of work into. Back on the café deck I noticed groups of adults fretting over large trays filled with small edible treats, obviously intended for after the ceremony. Wandering through Thurston Gardens we noticed groups school children waiting their turn to go before the stage and do their bit, the local TV station was also in attendance. We felt so lucky to have stumbled upon this event – it was very special. Thurston Gardens is actually a small botanical garden with carefully labelled plants and trees; concrete pathways weave through the grounds, a light breeze was keeping us relatively cool as we made our way over to the nearby Grand Pacific Hotel (GPH). The GPH was opened in 1914 by the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand, as a place for their passengers to stay on their way across the Pacific Ocean. The hotel has recently reopened after extensive renovations, though the original character has been well preserved. Approaching the entrance we were greeted by doorman in traditional Fijian garb, including a fantastic white Sulu or skirt with a zigzag bottom edge. For our lunch, we opted for the Steamship bar as it was air conditioned, rather than the covered verandah. The Pina Coladas and Tandoori Chicken Wraps were excellent, and the service was also great – all for $40 USD. After a brief detour, as the taxi driver took us to the wrong location, we were finally dropped off at the Sacred Heart Cathedral back near the center of Suva. We often like to visit churches on our travel as they often represent some of the oldest buildings in town with some of the most interesting architecture. Suva Cathedral was built in 1902 with sandstone brought from quarries near Sydney, Australia. Its architecture is inspired by the churches of Rome in Italy. The building is covered with ornaments and stained glass and has a crypt in the basement. The main entrance was on the second floor and as we approached the doors, we realized that a catholic mass was in progress, a lady just inside the door beckoned us and before we knew it, we were sitting listening to an Irish priest giving his sermon to a fairly large audience – I’m pretty sure we were the only non-locals in attendance. We sidled out when the communion service started. Wandering through the busy town we found a post office and sent off a postcard; while all the other places we visited took USD I had to use my credit card in the post office, for 39c! Browsing the TappooCity Mall, we discovered it was not much better than its smaller brother in Lautoka. Finally we passed the Municipal Market, just like the one in Lautoka, before returning to the ship. That night as we were waiting for the ship to cast off, the low mountains across the bay became shrouded in mist and the clouds above darkened, looking ominous. Soon a lightning storm broke out and the frequent strikes cast the shadows of the mountains across the bay in a spectacular display. The captain announced that a “technical issue” was holding up our departure and Queen Victoria was over an hour late leaving Suva, by which time it was very dark, and I watched as the ship was expertly guided between the lighted buoys and out through the gap in the reef, bound for Auckland, New Zealand.
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