Tribewanted: Vorovoro

Hi Philippa. Re the sleeping arrangements. My fanily and I slept in the family bure and it was fine. You will need to bring a roll mat or something with you – we bought a mattress in Labasa (the nearest mainland town) – it was very cheap – and left it on Vorovoro – well worth it! Bures themselves are quite cool and airy, and the temperature drops at night, but to be quite honest, I just draped a sulu over me most nights and I was fine.
As for the dietary thing – vegetarians have survived quite happily on the island, you just need to let the kitchen know about your requirements. The best person to speak to from the tribe is a lady called Mary Black – you can message her through the site – who has about the toughest and most stringent dietary requirements I’ve ever seen. She brought a few products to Vorovoro, talked to the kitchen staff about what she could and couldn’t eat, and she seemed to do OK.

Rob covered it pretty well – Carol, the current island manager has been on-island for about 3 months I believe and is a vegetarian. There was a vegetarian present during my first trip as well. You basically just have to mention something to Va or Francis in the kitchen and its no worries! It shouldn’t be too hard to manage his diabetes as well, we eat 5 times a day so there is plenty of opportunity to manage blood sugar levels if he is good at it. The refrigerator is always open too with fruits, etc.
It really is pretty similiar to backpacking and crashing at a hostel if you are in the Vale or the bures. the family bure (only bure-style residence right now) is pretty large. There is one four-poster twin-sized (I think) bed in there and then others have been sleeping on mats, etc on the bure floor. The family bure is probably the cushest quarters on the island (better than the chief bure I’ve heard) and the air flow through it is amazing. There are also a couple of smaller A-frame style huts which seem to be pretty comfortable too – all sleeping on a mat on the ground (there are a few on the island, but I wouldn’t count on one being available). Hope this helps.

Walt

As a diabetic who has now visited Vorovoro twice I can say the following. It is though important to realise that everyone is different. What worked for myself diabetic wise may not work for others.

If not already using the Humlin range of insulin talk to your Doc’s about getting converted to it. Advantage is that it keeps very well without refrigeration. It is also fast acting – meaning that unlike older insulins it can be injected after meals rather then an hour before. While most meal times are regular ceremonial occasions + “Fiji time” can delay meals – a huge problem if one has taken insulin an hour upfront in anticipation of a meal.

In my case island life / diet reduced my insulin requirement by around 50% If one is not already used to self administration of dosage best to talk with your diabetic team now.

Glucose sweets will melt in the heat. Coke Cola is readily available on mainland. While it may taste horrid if not chilled it will still have the same effect on bringing blood sugar back up in an emergency.
Goes without saying to always carry Coke with you if exploring away from the camp, also a packed lunch (Va / Francis will knock up something if asked. Be sure it is carb rich – but not by sugar alone)

Make sure that others know your Coke is life saving medicine (almost literally true should a severe Hypo develop)

Also be sure others know of the condition & symptoms of a hypo. To the uninitiated they may just think “too much bounty last night” rather then consider the urgent help that is required – a good long sweet drink.

Don’t let the above put anyone off. Being aware though is important.

Thanks for that guys. Feel alot happier now.

Reece is on the insulin where he injects just before, or just after his meal. He managed himself very well and we were thinking of getting a frio bag ( which is activated with water) to keep his insulin cold. He uses coke as a hypo remedy or dextrose tablets. So i’ll make sure the team know this too. As long as there are good carb sources available he’ll be fine. He takes glargine at night time here, so I’ll ask his team about the time change.

Thanks again for the help

Philippa