Tribewanted: Vorovoro

In the wake of the Guardian article on Tribewanted earlier this month (January), there was some chat on the forums about whether or not we tribies always give a balanced picture of life on Vorovoro. So I thought I’d have a go with a “Ten Things I Loved and Hated (alright, Disliked) Most about Vorovoro”. Hope it helps.

First up, the top ten nasties:

1. The ants – nasty little crawly b*ggers all over the place. Stand still for two seconds and they swarm over your legs. They get into sealed containers, they’re all over the dining table, they’re in your flipflops…


2. Fiji belly – feeling your stomach go liquid at 3am when you’re a lengthy stumble away from the compost loos is an experience I can live without again. That’s foreign travel, and foreign stomach bugs, for you.


3. Thorns and splinters – the reality of going barefoot on the island. I spent hours trying to tweezer sharp stuff out of my soles – leave them in, along with the dirt you pick up off the soil, and you’ll have an infected foot in days.


4. Mosquitos – they didn’t really bother me as much as I expected, but they did bite the bejeesus out of my fiancee Lorren’s daughter Anna. And she couldn’t help picking at the bites. And then they got infected and we had to see a doctor in Labasa about them.


5. Porridge for breakfast every day – Sorry. I know it’s good for you. I’m a Frosties man myself.


6. Roosters crowing non-stop at half-past four in the morning.


7. Filthy washing-up water, when you’re the last to finish your meal. And then having to lug a big bowl of fresh (clean) water up from the sea.


8. Hanging around waiting – the downside of Fiji Time. Very difficult to get out of the western mindset that things must happen when they’re scheduled to happen. Very difficult not to get frustrated when they don’t.


9. Litter on the beach – especially the aftermath of the night before’s drinking round the campfire.


10. Losing your torch and then stumbling over tree roots and whacking your head on branches in the dark

And now, the top ten ‘loves list’:

1. The sheer gobsmacking beauty of every single Vorovoro sunset – pinks, golds, oranges, reds, and every evening a different combination.


2. Playing mad games of football at the end of the day at Tanoa park and then plunging into the sea to cool down and relax after the final whistle.


3. Waking up at dawn for an early-morning bathe in the ocean. Warm, tranquil sea, complete peace, the sun rising, golden, glowing, above the headland. It’s just you and the fish as you watch the sleepy beach slowly start to stir.


4. Dancing meke under Tevita’s expert direction, especially when we get dressed up in the full gear, banana leaves, charcoal, oil, coconut palm skirt and everything


5. Playing rugby and football with the kids at Mali school


6. Building a hut with my fellow tribies out of scrap wood and tree trunks, armed only with a rusty saw and a couple of hammers. And a little bit of Fijian expertise.


7. Snorkeling over the best coral I’ve ever seen


8. Exploring the wilds of the island – climbing the four peaks, scrambling up to the headland for the best views of Vorovoro, rambling round the shoreline and poking our noses into caves and gullies and various nooks and crannies. There’s so much more to Vorovoro than just the villages.


9. Hunting chickens – with sticks, rocks, old mosquito nets and fifteen enthusiastic, hungry but amateur palagi chicken-catchers.


10. Frances’ and Va’s cakes and doughnuts – my absolute favourite food on Vorovoro.

What have I missed out?