Tribewanted: Vorovoro

Days have turned into weeks, weeks have turned into months and just like that my time on Vorovoro has come to an end. I’ve been back home for little over a week now and slowly I’m adjusting back into the western way of life and digesting everything that has happened over the past months.

Gone are the shorts, T-shirts and bare feet, replaced by jeans, hoodies, socks and trainers! It’s strange how despite living this way for 23years of my life it all of a sudden feels weird to be reverting back to it!

I returned to the Island to work as Wavu in early May, and departed middle of August. Apart from three nights spent at Palm Lea Farm (which I recommend to each person who visits the island for a stopover for a night or two) and the occasional trip into Labasa town for supplies, I spent every day and night living on the island. In this time I met many local Fijians and tribe members and shared many happy moments with them.

I would love to be able to explain why I enjoyed my time so much, but until you’ve lived there and experience it for yourself it’s hard to explain it in words. Of course living on a beautiful pacific island where the sun shines everyday is an obvious factor but it is so much more. In today’s world where everything and everyone seems to be moving at 100mph it’s nice to take a step back and enjoy a more natural way of living, without the day to day pressures of modern life. You get the chance to meet people who in the real world you probably never get the chance to meet. Every time a new tribe member arrived on the island we never knew what type of person would get off the boat. Throughout my time on the island I met many different types of people, from many different countries, young and old. Vorovoro attracts opposites, it brings people together and for however long they stay on the island enables them to live in a community together.

There are too many personal highlights of my time on the island, from seeing whales offshore to having pods of dolphins swim alongside the boat on a reef snorkelling treat, each day brought something different and something new. You could never guarantee what would happen from one day to the next, all you could guarantee was that whatever happened people would be smiling and laughing.

There is never a good time to say goodbye to the island and the people who live there, but for me I knew my time was coming to an end, I wish Ian (June Chief and new Wavu) as much happiness as I have had over his time on the Island. I have left with memories that will last a life time and I hope that each person who stayed on the island enjoyed it as much as I did.

Keep the laughter loud and the bilos full! Enjoy every day and have no regrets.