Well, no one else in our party wanted to join me (pikers), so I went on my own. I arrived at the village at the appointed time and waited for my transport to arrive. And waited, and waited, and waited. Anyone who's been to Fiji will be familiar with the concept of "Fiji time", which seems to mean "it will happen whenever it happens". Clearly it was in operation that day. Eventually a battered 4WD arrived with three guides, as did a family of four evidently going to the "hot springs". We all climbed aboard without preamble or explanation and off we went. I had reservations about the vehicle's ability to go anywhere, and started daydreaming about what would happen if we broke down. Fortunately we didn't and soon shot off Queens Rd, the main "highway", onto a rough farm trail leading north towards the mountains. After several kms of bumping and sliding along we stopped at a clearing, signifying that we'd arrived at the start of the walk.
We all disembarked and the youngest guide was assigned to escort me to the waterfall. One of the others took the family group to the hot springs, while the driver remained with the vehicle. It was agreed that we would meet approximately 2 hours later. Embarrassingly, my teenage guide offered to carry my pack (surely I don't look that old), to which I politely declined and hoped I hadn't offended him. We all started together, apparently the first part of the track is common to both destinations. Soon we diverged onto different routes and I found myself sloshing through river crossings and trying to keep pace with my young guide. I didn't have much bushwalking-specific gear with me, just a pair of all-terrain joggers, a pocket pack, nalgene water bottle, camera, snacks, swimming gear and a few other bits and pieces. My escort took nothing at all and completed the entire walk barefoot.
The track was reasonably well defined and probably easy/medium difficulty, but crossing many junctions that would require local knowledge to know where to go. I asked who owned the land we were on and he said it belonged to his family. After following several creeks/rivers for perhaps 45 minutes, we started ascending more steeply, sidling around rocks for a while then arrived at a picturesque amphitheatre containing the waterfall. My companion announced the waterfall "rules", pointing, "You can jump off that bit, but not up there". I wasn't planning to jump off anything so indicated my agreement. I said I'd probably take some photos then have a swim. Satisfied with that idea he promptly went to sleep on a nearby rock.
I spent some time taking shots from various angles, a few of them shown below. I noticed numerous small fish swimming in the pool below the falls. After exhausting the photographic possibilities I opted to brave a swim. Fiji is a hot, tropical place but these waters were decidedly icy, probably coming from much further up in the mountains somewhere. It took a while to get used to the cold, but it was very refreshing and made the hot, humid walk back more bearable. After the swim I had a quick morning tea before returning back down the same track, taking photos along the way. We arrived back at the 4WD just a couple of minutes ahead of the hot springs group, who said they'd enjoyed their trip.
The flora was quite different to anything I've seen in Australia. Although I suspect some of it is introduced rather than native to Fiji. I asked about wildlife at one point and was told that it's mainly birds and the introduced mongoose (apparently brought in by the Indians).
A unique experience, through jungle-like terrain to a very pretty location.
- Along the track
- Along the track 1.jpg (190.96 KiB) Viewed 6489 times
- Flora
- Flora 1.jpg (220.27 KiB) Viewed 6489 times
- Another track view
- Along the track 2.jpg (197.46 KiB) Viewed 6489 times
- The waterfall
- Waterfall 1.jpg (210.52 KiB) Viewed 6487 times
- Another view of the falls
- Waterfall 2.jpg (223.75 KiB) Viewed 6487 times
