Of A Trip To Fiji

How To Make The Most Of A Trip To Fiji

Visitors to Fiji for the South Pacific Games from August 29 to September 7 will undoubtedly want to see and do as much as they can during their stay in the Colony. So this month, we’re making most of our Travel Talk a handy guide tor such visitors.

for those with plenty of time, tourism in Fiji is pretty well confined to the main island of Viti Levu, to Vanua Levu, the next largest island, and to Ovalau, a small island off the coast of Viti Levu.

Viti Levu has the big international airport at Nadi; the capital and chief port, Suva; the Colony’s second lar gest town, Lautoka (about 17 miles away from Nadi); plenty of hotels; and a 300-odd miles road that com pletely circles the island.

Vanua Levu, north of Viti Levu, is connected with Suva by air six days a week. The flight to Savusavu on the tropical south coast, takes about 50 minutes, out over the Koro Sea; and on to Labasa, on the drier north coast is 15 minutes longer.

Both towns have hotels; there is also a small bungalow resort about seven miles out of Savusavu, on the Hibis cus Highway, °Y. ala T u ’ on which is the old capital ot Fiji, Levuka, is close to the eastern coast of Viti Levu and can be reached by bus and daily launch from the mainland. There is an hotel at Levuka.

Local Transport

The local airline, Fiji Airways, operates scheduled air services be tween Suva (Nausori) and Nadi international airport and to four other airports in the Colony. Charter ser vices are also operated to the private airstrip at Korolevu Beach Hotel, on

Viti Levu, and to two other small airstrips.

There are over 800 registered taxis in Fiji, mostly Indian-owned and operated, so taxi transport is no problem and reasonably cheap. Some people who wish to visit Suva from Nadi, take a taxi around Queen’s Road one way and fly back to pick up planes again at Nadi (or the other way around). The taxi costs about £7 or £8 and allows the visitor to see something of the coastal scenery.

Hire-and-drive cars are available at Suva and at Nadi Airport, both the Australian Holden and the English Morris cars being available, by the hour, half day, day or week.

Holden rental is about £l6 per week plus 9d per mile; the Morris is £l3 per week plus 7d per mile.

Buses ply every road in the Colony capable of taking a bus. For those who like to see how the people of a country live, a bus trip is one way of doing it. This sort of transport is cheap and entertaining if not as comfortable as going by car. It is possible to go right round Viti Levu by bus, in short stages, staying at hotels en route.

Car and coach tours that take in Fijian villages, dancing, kava cere monies and swimming beaches are easily arranged both from Suva and from Nadi Airport or any of the hotels around the airport. In Suva, regular launch excursions run to the

local reefs and also to the Rewa River.

In Suva visitors should see the Botanical Gardens and the Museum which is located in them; and a visit to the market is a must. The market is situated near King’s Wharf and is a block square. It is notable not only for the variety of goods sold but for the opportunity it gives of studying the several races of people who go to make up Fiji’s population.

Stallholders sell not only fruit, vegetables, fish and sea foods but every variety of woven mat, bag, shell necklace and other curio.

For certain luxury goods, notably cameras, projectors, binoculars, tran sistor radios, watches, tape recorders and liquor, Fiji is now duty free.

Other items that make good tourist “buys” are Indian silk saris, scarves, silver and tortoiseshell jewellery, woven baskets, mats, tapa cloth’ and Fijian dolls.

Locally made clothes from im ported fabrics are also attractive to tourists. These can be made to measure within a few days and some ready-made sports clothes for women are also available with a Fiji flavour.

The Fiji Visitors Bureau will make the visitor welcome and supply any information he might need.

For Australiana Collectors 'l/TSITORS to Australia who, in the * past, have frequently complained that there is nothing distinctively Australian to take home can now see how mistaken they are, all in one spot, at Travellers’ Fair, in the York Room, Hotel Metropole, at the corner of Young and Bent Streets, Sydney.

Travellers’ Fair stocks only Aus tralian-made goods. It aims to solve the gift and allied purchasing prob lems of interstate and overseas visitors by presenting a wide range of popu lar items and thus saves the busy traveller time.

Representative of the goods avail able at Travellers’ Fair are opals, furs, sheepskin coats and rugs, woollen items (including sportsware, blankets and travel rugs), kangaroo and other leather articles, table mats, tea towels, toys, ceramics and wood work.

Original art work includes paint ings, drawings, contemporary sculp ture and Aboriginal bark paintings.

Among the bark paintings are sought after items from Arnhem Land.

A selection of Australian gem stones designed by Hungarian-born Elizabeth Reimer is prominent among a display of costume jewellery.

The "Pacific Islands Monthly" a member of the Australian National Travel Association (ANTA) and the Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA), which are pledged to promote tourist travel in their areas p