Tribewanted: Vorovoro

So it’s been almost a month now since i started my new role as Tribewanted’s new Off-Island Tribe Manager and so far all good. It was a big daunting starting out, having no SJ (former Off-islnd Tribe Manager) beside me to help me navigate myself around the booking system, finding 65 new messages in my inbox and having not worked since January thus my head space was still running on ‘holiday time’.

But i’ve done it. Got through the first month and even managed not to make a mess of the invoices so good news all round.

Working from home as often appealed to me. Especially on mornings when i’ve had way too much too much to drink the night before and the thought of travelling 14 stops on the tube to get to work hasn’t exactly appealed to me.But having done this for a month now, i reckon if you do this full time – work from home – you need to mix your days up a little, otherwise you can go slightly loco. So what i’m doing is organizing to meet friends for lunch twice a week; work in a wi-fi friendly cafe with air conditioning and lots of yummy treats to feed on; start early some days, start later on others. I’ve also set my ipod up to play random tracks which i can have on in the background which has been fun. I can either be head-bopping to Jay-Z, ass-shaking to the Gypsy Kings or strumming my imaginary violin to Enya. Random, but very fun.

My to-do-list for the next few months entails all things to do with spreading the TribeWanted word out to Australia and New Zealand.

I cannot stress enough how CHEAP flights are at the moment to Fiji from Australia and New Zealand. Pac Sun are literally giving seats away. I’ve been in touch with them to see if we can set up a TribeWanted package deal to include flight and accommodation but trying to get hold of the marketing lady over there is like trying to get a sighting of Barack Obama during his G20 visit to London this week – IMPOSSIBLE. So while i wait to hear back from them, i would urge anyone reading this from Australia and New Zealand to either book a flight and come to Vorovoro or better still, spread the word and the love.

Speaking of spreading the Tribe word out

Making friends with a very cool project based in Melbourne called CERES http://www.ceres.org.au/ . My boyfriend’s brother played at a mini festival they had on while i was in Melbourne in February. Whilst walking around and talking to some people, i thought ‘hmm, these guys, this PLACE, could definitely attract the like-minded people Tribewanted seems to get, so i got in touch with them and asked if they could put some info up about us on their website and they have which is fab. If anyone’s ever in Melbourne, i would urge you to head to CERES as it’s a beautiful bit of greenland in the middle of the city, doing alot for the environment. CERES is engaging with 470,000 people each year about living more lightly and equitably on the planet. It is the most visited community environmental centre in Australia, known for being a pioneer of community arts, experiential education, sustainable urban agriculture and for demonstrating innovative and achievable solutions to pressing environmental and social issues.

I also got the heads up from a Lonely Planet author that after visiting the island a while back, he was going to put Tribewanted forward for the new Fiji and South Pacific Lonely Planet edition out in the next few months which is great :)

I’m also working on getting more features about Tribewanted in local, Oz and Nz media outlets, so if anyone has any ideas or contacts with sound newspapers, magazines or websites which would fit in with what Tribewanted’s about, then do message me

I managed a trip up to Vorovoro with my boyfriend last week, so i could show him the island, after raving on and on about it to him. Because of work, he could only visit over a weekend so missed out on proper island life but we did get some snorkelling in and a bit of hiking up to the first peak. By far the best bit of the trip for him was standing under the waterfall! I stayed on after Tim left on the Monday and did my sevusevu with Tui Mali which was awesome. This was my first time to meet him since i started, so i was very much looking forward to meeting him, having heard and read so much about him. He’s almost a ‘celebrity’ in his own right. Admittedly, I was a little nervous and found myself unusually tongue-tied when it came to the part where i had to say why i was offering up the sevusevu. There’s quite a surreal atmosphere in the room during the ceremony and with everyone watching and listening and with Tui Mali looking straight at you, it can feel a little scary, but once you’ve done it and everyone is clapping and the grog starts its rounds, then all good.

By far the best bit about being on Vorovoro, having been there now twice, is how welcoming everyone is, especially the islanders. Everyone you meet has this big welcoming smile and always greats you with a ‘welcome home’. There are few places in life that you visit, where you get the same genuine reception. On the morning i left to head back to Suva, a lot of Team Fiji came out to wave me ‘good bye’. ‘Would you like us to sing Isa Lei (traditional Fijian song sang to anyone that leaves Fiji)’. ‘No’. Was my answer. ‘This isn’t a good bye, merely a see you soon’.