Fiji Observations:
Some of you may recall that for the last few years, after Steven and I leave a country, I've written a wrap-up post called Observations or Impressions, literally a list of random perceptions that caught my notice. In no particular order of importance, here are my thoughts on Fiji after an admittedly brief visit to just the island of Viti Levu.
1. Right off the bat, it was impossible not to be wowed by how friendly the Fijian people were. We shall always remember their smiles that seemed to come from the heart, and their enthusiastic and heartfelt Bula, an expression of welcome from people of all walks of life.
2. We didn't remember being in a country where the price of gas was standardized.
3. Women dressed far more formally, certainly as compared to North Americans, at least. They always appeared ready to head off for somewhere special. I don't recall one woman wearing pants or anything revealing or casual.
4. I was aghast at the price of fruits, vegetables, and other staples in the markets we visited. I mentioned this in a couple of posts, but I'm repeating it here because the prices seemed staggeringly high.
5. Funnily enough, as we drove in the countryside, there were a huge number of billboards advertsising brands of diapers. We've never seen that before!
6. Traveling any distance in Fiji is challenging because there are no 'highways' as we're accustomed to, only two-lane roads, except in very few instances. Plus, the highest speed was 80 km/h, and that was only possible for the very short stretches between villages, when the speed dropped to 50 km/h.
7. That was probably why it was common to see drivers taking so many chances passing, even when there was a solid white line prohibiting it.
8. Another reason you couldn't go anywhere fast was the number of speed bumps. There were so many, it almost became comical!
9. Yet another is the huge number of dirt roads, even to major tourist sights.
10. It was perplexing to us why there were signs advertising speed cameras were in effect, as it seemed to defeat the purpose of catching speeding drivers. Perhaps the rationale is not revenue enhancement for the police at the end of the month, as it is back home?
11. I don't recall seeing traffic lights, except in Nadi and Suva, the cities on the west and east coast, respectively.
12. It was sad that virtually all but the most dirt-poor homes had gates across the driveways and high walls on the exteriors.
13. We were warned multiple times, especially in the capital city of Suva, to wear our daypacks in front, not to have money or wallets visible, etc, because of the possibility of snatch and grab crimes.
14. However, we felt safe at all times.
15. There were a large number of restaurants that called themselves 'fast food,' but they were just small mom-and-pop places!
16. Tourists can never forget that Fiji is a former British colony, with the national flag still prominently displaying the Union Jack, the entire road on the island's south side called Queens Parade, the one on the north called Kings Parade, and the street in front of the Presidential Palace called Victoria Parade, etc.
17. Fiji was a country of much natural beauty, with stunning mountain vistas and tropical beach views with blue-green waters.
18. If you enjoy gorgeous flowers, Fiji is a stunning place to visit, as there are innumerable places to stop and smell the roses, er, the flowers!
19. Although Fiji is what I would categorize as a developing country, its Fiji Museum in Suva and Sigatoka Dunes National Park were both very commendable and very interesting places to visit.
20. On the cultural front, Steven and I enjoyed both native dance performances we attended near Nadi, even though one perpetuated 'old' Fiji, while the second showed a more modern interpretation of Fiji.
We were fortunate to leave Fiji at the perfect time, as Tropical Cyclone Vaianu, a category 1 cyclone, brought flash flooding, high winds, and heavy rain across the country the night before we left, and was to continue for several days. The winds battered our rental, and the torrential rains almost made the grass parking lot impassable.
Views from our Fiji Airways flight en route to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, and located on the southern part of the North Island:
Here was our first view of New Zealand! I was lucky enough to visit the country in 2019 with a friend, but this was Steven's first time. How exciting to explore it together over the next couple of weeks.
On the drive into the city from the airport, we asked the driver to stop on the Miramar Peninsula so we could see the cliffside Wellington Blow-Away sign. With New Zealand's much-respected film industry centered in the capital, it has jokingly referred to itself as Wellywood. Plans were afoot in 2011 to build a large 'Wellywood' sign, a nod to the iconic Hollywood sign in LA, until mass protests canceled the plan. The current sign was erected in its place, with the last letters of 'Wellington' lifting into the air, an homage to the city's legendary gales with record wind speeds of 247 km/h!
We were relieved that our hotel was in the heart of the city's Central Business District, known for its mix of historic and modern architecture.
When we found out that Ali, our Uber driver, was from Tehran, Steven mentioned that he'd taught at the Tehran American School before the Shah of Iran fell from power in January of 1979. With the US war against Iran about six weeks old when we arrived in NZ, Ali explained that his mother and sisters were still in the city, and how difficult it was to maintain any communication with them because of the almost total blackout with the outside world. I've taken the liberty of giving our driver a different name because of concerns about his safety.
He talked in harrowing terms about his childhood in Tehran, being forced to yell daily, "Death to America" and "Death to Israel." The tales he told of his life in Iran made our skin crawl. Ali told us he didn't want to bring up his family in the country of his birth. He left his homeland in 2011, walking through the mountains with his wife and baby, landing first in Turkey and finally in an Indonesian refugee camp. There, an NZ official asked them if they would be willing to move to New Zealand. He explained that he and his wife were both professionals in Wellington, but he picked up extra money as an Uber driver.
When Steven saw our swanky two-bedroom, two-bath apartment, he immediately said, "Let's just stay here for the 18 days we're in New Zealand!"
Next post: Our first day exploring Wellington!
Posted on May 4th, 2026, from Broome in far northwest Australia, where we arrived today from Perth, and were extraordinarily lucky to view tonight the Staircase to the Moon, a natural optical illusion occurring only along the coast of Western Australia once a month from March to October! Please take care of yourself and your loved ones wherever you and they are in this wide world.
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