Tribewanted: Vorovoro

Tuesday was good fun as always but even more so this week as the tribe had the chance to show off their recently learnt meke skills. We performed for Tui Mali and everyone did really well, it actually looked quite professional, Tevita was definitely happy with the performance. The grog session continued late into the night as standard, we all drank lots of bilo’s of grog but I did have a particular nasty tasting bilo. Just as I was halfway through drinking my bowlful of grog and with Tui Mali watching, I felt a gentle trickle from inside my nose. I thought ‘oh no’, and as I expected a spontaneous nosebleed, it came out of no-where but just as I was finishing it, some drips of blood fell into the bilo. I finished it as fast as I could, blood and all, then quickly excused myself from the mat to sort my self out. Not the nicest experience I have to admit, it is almost as bad as when Jim threw-up after drinking too much.

It was an early start for the reef trip this week, we were leaving at 6:15 so I decided I would get up slightly early and give everyone a nice wake up call by banging on the lali drum at 5:50 loudly for at least 5 minutes. As you can expect everyone was up and ready to leave on time.

Wavu Fish Update – After 99 days Wavu has finally caught a fish, congratulations James.

As it was a bank holiday this week on Friday, we visited the school on the Thursday instead. This was particular good fun but equally as upsetting as it was my last time there. The children performed some brilliant mekes for us and after we had some very tiring games of rugby. So team Fiji left on the Friday morning which meant a heavy night on the grog on Thursday, which is also where I presented my leaving gift for the island and Team Fiji in particular. Over the last 3 weeks I have been working on a bilo which I could leave here on the island, but this one had to be special. So I found my prize coconut on mothers day when we had to husk over 40 of them, this particular one stood out for its sheer size and depth, perfect I thought. So I husked it, cracked it open, grated out the middle and then continued to carve it and sand it into shape. This is a very long drawn out process and a lot harder than I originally thought, but seeing the end product and the faces of the team when I revealed it, made all the hard work worth while. So as I described in a blog a few weeks ago, we have this massive bilo called the hospital bus, well the one I made is even bigger, its called the Bau Bus, and you can only get return tickets for this one, 2 bilo’s in a row. The reason it is called the Bau bus is because this is where Tuiviti, the Chief of Fiji lives, and I was chief for the month when he visited so I named for this reason. The new bilo took its toll though, after a few everyone was thoroughly lambchopped (drunk on grog), maraou, president of the Lambchop Society, was a big fan.

So with an extended lazy weekend ahead of me I decided to take this time to do all the things that I wanted to do before I left the island, so I carved my name in the posts by the eating area, did some snorkelling and walked the 4 peaks (well only the first 3 as peak 4 wasn’t clear). On Saturday I went into town and watched the local rugby team (The Mali Sharks) play with Jim, and as we sat down to watch them alongside some of the substitutes and managers, we were greeted with none other than some more grog, it seems you cant escape it anywhere. Good job I have acquired a taste for it.

I spent today packing my bag and making sure the Chiefs Bure is tidy, as it has got particularly messy recently. As well as spending some vital time on the hammocks.

So the end of another week and my last. The pig pen is very near to completion but sadly I don’t think it will be finished in time for me to see pigs here on the island, but you can expect them very soon. The family Bure roof has been completely re-thatched and is no longer leaking which I am very happy about. We welcomed Chuck into the team this week as well, he will be our new sustainability manager, he will be a great asset to the team and will keep the project moving forward. He has some brilliant ideas and im sure they will make a great difference to the island.

I have had such a brilliant time here on Vorovoro, some of the best times of my life in fact. It has been an expeience I will never forget, one that I will recommend to anyone. The combination of Island life, great food, great company but most importantly Team Fiji. Those guys have made my time here extra special they are the most interesting, fun and caring people I have ever met, and without them it wouldn’t have been the same. I feel very lucky to have been able to live alongside them for 6 weeks and I know I will miss them when I leave on Wednesday.

So looking back on my time here I can honestly say I have enjoyed every minute of it and not once wanted to be anywhere else than on Vorovoro. However there are some definite highlights that I can pick out during my time here. The Mali school visit has always been the highlight of my week, seeing the children and getting to interact with them and then watching them dance and sing for us was a fantastic experience. On my second week on the island Tui Mali invited the previous chief and myself before I took over as to his house on the mainland for lunch. This was a very special occasion and I felt honoured to have been invited there, the food was excellent and the company even better. Another activity I enjoyed was the sunset fishing trips, especially when Nemani comes along as well, it is always a good laugh and usually successful.

In my time here I have learnt massive amounts about the Fijian culture and way of life, through watching and listening to the locals and by also taking part in major ceremonies, like when I visited a local village for a funeral. This was an opportunity for myself and other tribe members to see how the Fijians held a funeral and grieved for their dead. It was a beautiful ceremony and a very emotional one. This is why I came to Fiji and Vorovoro in particular, so that I can be fully immersed in the culture and age old traditions, which I have and always will find fascinating. I haven’t been disappointed in the slightest.

So as I get ready to leave the island I would just like to say thank you and all the best for the future.

Vinaka vaka levu

Moce

Mike