Tribewanted: Vorovoro

I’m going to describe briefly my journey to the island, it might be useful for those who wanted to find boat. Do not follow my way! It was absolutely charming but far from optimal.

I took “Lonely Planet” and found there the “Patterson Brothers” shipping company that had office in Lautoka and runned ferry between Ellington wharf (Vanua Levu) and Viti Levu. The whole way should take 12 hours, including Patterson’s express bus from Lautoka to the wharf (very early in morning, at 4 or 5 am!) and another bus from jetty in Nabouwalu to Labasa. So I decided to go from Nadi airport to Lautoka and to arrange there all the way.

I arrived to Nadi late in the evening, found Skylodge hotel with the aid of airport reception girl, and the same girl told me that tomorrow she would go to Lautoka with me (!) and help me to find Pattersons and a hotel there for to start another day. In Skylodge I’ve found Lolli and Kate, they were on the way home from the island. Tomorrow there was no girl at the said time, I waited for half an hour and left the hotel, intending to find a bus to Lautoka.

Instead of bus I’ve run onto some young Indian in a car which persuaded me that the only bus to Lautoka would have gone already (very plausibly!) and the only way to reach the wharf would be to rent his car. Not so plausibly but after some hesitations I agreed. It was Thursday. I knew that ferries didn’t run every day, so I had to be at the wharf early on Friday or Saturday – two chances to be in Labasa in time.

My driver named Bobby had right – we had run down that bus. He guided me very nicely along the whole Queens Road and did even stop every time I wanted to make a photo. But he helped me successfully to rid off my extra money with his price. At the end he began to swindle, brought me to an expensive hotel in Rakiraki instead of promised cheap, drived me to another which turned to be as expensive, began to ask more money for this search… I grew angry and ordered to drop me at the crossroad, 4 km from Ellington wharf – no hotel, no bus and 15 kg of backpack.

The real journey began. I bought a bottle of water and biscuits in the little shop, we laughed at this story with an old Fijian which repaired his boat motor, and I headed to the wharf. Soon an empty van picked me up to the wharf. There were only two buildings there and no traces of ferry shedule. I was told they didn’t know whether the ferry would come today, if it would come it might leave tomorrow but I should better wait. (Later children explained me that it was too low tide in morning for the ferry – the adults couldn’t say it). After two hours of sitting there, when it was all clear, I began to prepare to sleep because I had slept very few last two days with this time belt change. I was ready to sleep on the floor of their workroom but the host denied it. It was close to be dark, I didn’t mind to sleep in the field but local women told it were awful, silly, dangerous, and very soon I’ve heard the word “kerekere” among them. So I was invited to most kind and nice family of a worker of local cane sugar mill. I spent a great time there, and it is shame that I can’t send them the photos – their daughter Kalisi had given me email address that didn’t work for some reason. They explained me where I could catch ferry definitely – it was Natovi, and there I headed with two consequent buses early in morning. All the family followed me to the road to wait the bus and to say me goodbye.

I made the way along the whole northern coast and across the mountains in the east in this two days. In Korovou I had luck to join a school bus to Natovi. Korovou is a kind of “cowboy town” with one street, and Natovi is again jetty plus two buildings. But there was a queue of lorries on the jetty this time. The ferry came and went to Levuka to stay there overnight, and I remained here to solve the problem of night quarter.

In the full absence of hotel, having heard proposals to return to Korovou (how?), I began to ask a corner for sleeping here, but one of women who sat on the jetty selling pineapples invited me to overnight in her village Burelevu. It was a catholic family this time, they had 11 children and I was acquainted to several of them and to her husband. They were very careful to me: not only I was given the only bed in the home and led to the only real toilet in the village, but the next day (it was Saturday), after the family had returned from the church, the master of the house brought me to the ferry in bulk with my backpack.
The express bus Suva-Savusavu arrived (dear tribemembers, if you want to take ferry, you should begin in Suva, not in Lautoka, as I understand now!), the ferry returned from Levuka, and my further journey was smooth and light – apart from all the red dust of Viti Levu which I have collected onto me. The mountain roads aren’t asphalted and buses has no glasses in the windows!

Coming to Labasa I have found Grand Eastern Hotel and dreamed already to get into clasps of TW – but there were no clasps and no TW. I was hungry and tired, and while I was occupied with chicken wings in their restaurant, all the staff of hotel took part in searching of our tribies (I can’t imagine such a situation here in Russia, our staff is much less tender as a rule). Tribies had been revealed on the island already – later we stated that Vodafone made us this bad trick, they did not know that I was sitting in the hotel. On Sunday I finally reached Vorovoro.

For these who wants to try the way with ferry: it normally goes from Natovi to Nabouwalu on Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun, and back on Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon. The Patterson Bros offer combined tickets for ferry and both buses. The bus from Suva starts at 4 or 5 am, therefor you should find a hotel for night lodge in Suva. The whole way from Suva should cost about $70-75. It is very useful to phone to Pattersons for getting information about shedule changing – it ocurs regularly. Their phone number (from Lonely Planet): Suva 331 5644, Labasa 881 2444.
Who needs adventures – good luck!

I did not want to appear without my pictures, here they are.
My long journey in search of ferry (it deserves separate description, but probably tomorrow, it was mad enough).
My tribal life.
My wild Vorovoro.

Flickr has refused to upload more than 200 pictures (very strange, it promised 100 Mb), therefore I’ve made 2 albums in Photobucket:
Animals
Plants