Fiji : Marine Life and Pacific Culture
Travel to Fiji and snorkel the glorious coral reefs. When you’re out of the water, there’s a fascinating program of land exploration and cultural immersion that displays the rich traditions of Fiji’s Pacific culture in its stunning natural landscape.
We can put together an exciting and rewarding itinerary for your group, and we would be delighted to help you design a daily program to make the most of your time here.
- We recommend a minimum of 6 days and a maximum of 11
- Twin share or single rooms; dormitory rooms also available for student groups, or villa upgrades for older groups.
- We will quote on a package that covers accommodation, meals and of course all the excursions.
Please contact us at at our office in Australia in Sydney: call +61 (0)2 8094 1613 or email delia@paradisecourses.com
Some highlights
Snorkeling
Fiji is known for its abundant marine life and diversity of corals. We will take you to a variety of sites, starting with an easy snorkel directly off the beach in front of the accommodation at Daku Resort when you will have a chance to familiarize yourself with your snorkel and mask, and enjoy a leisurely exploration of the small nearby reef. Later, we’ll take you by boat to sites like Lighthouse, Turtle Alley, Mutuku Point, and Split Rock.
You will have a chance to see seargeant majors hovering above the coral heads; clouds of brightly coloured anthias; parrot fish nibbling at the coral; the busy cleaner wrasse grooming their clients. There are batfish, surgeon fish, butterfly fish…..at Turtle Alley you might see a turtle, and at Split Rock there is a resident clownfish family nestling in their anemone home.
Visit to Wailevu Village
Visit to Wailevu village with walk amongst mangroves. Wailevu village is across the bay; it takes about 50 minutes to drive there. Students from NVCC have already established a relationship with the villagers who remember them well. The Virgin Coconut Oil project which they first saw in its early stages is now well established and provides an encouraging case study in sustainable development. As well as visiting the VCO production unit, we will see the protected marine area, visit the sandalwood plantation, and join the villagers for lunch.
Bathe in thermal mudpool and cool river
The thermal mud pool is a simple hot mudpool about 30 minutes drive from Daku. We walk up a jungle track and cross a shallow river, and then jump into the pool and scrub ourselves with the gritty black mud to give an exfoliation that would cost $150 back home! Then we rinse off and walk back to the river for a plunge in its cool fresh water.
Thrill to a traditional meke
The meke is a traditional Fijian dance, when the men re-enact the fierce warrior traditions of their ancestors and the women tell tales of fishing, planting and village life. The dances are accompanied by rhythmic chanting and singing kept in time by the women beating a wooden drum.
Bathe in a fresh waterfall
Waterfall visit with picnic lunch – we drive about 30 minutes round the bay to a beautiful waterfall where you can swim in a fresh water pool beneath the cascade.
Learn how tapa cloth is made
Tapa is the bark cloth used in ceremonial occasions and made from the bark of the mangrove tree. It is a skill passee down from mother tp daughter. Watch as a local craftswoman makes it and then decorates it in patterns of black and brown. If you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, she’ll invite you to try it out yourself!
Explore the ecology of mangroves
We will kayak across to a nearby island and walk around it at low tide, examining the hidden life in this important intertidal zone.
The coconut: the tree of life
Fijians use every part of the coconut: the trunk for building, the fronds for shelter and decoration, the husk for fire, the shell for cups – and the nut itself for its delicious nutritionally rich water to its creamy flesh used in making lolo – coconut cream – widely used in cooking.
Accomodation
Our accommodation is in beautiful tropical gardens overlooking Savusavu Bay, which is straight over the road in front of us. Behind us, the property stretches up the mountain – you’re welcome to walk there.
Meals
During the week, you’ll have a cooked breakfast with tropical fruit, a healthy light lunch and a full sit-down dinner. We are happy to cater for special dietary requirements: please ask us.
Location
