South Pacific Blog

In June 2013 Fiji’s flag carrier, Air Pacific, will officially change its name back to Fiji Airways, the name it used from 1958 to 1970. In 2013 the airline will take delivery of three new A330-200 aircraft painted in the Fiji Airways livery and the company has already begun switching over to the new brand. It’s hoped this will turn the airline around and reverse the financial losses it has suffered over the last few years. Passengers have been complaining about poor in-flight service and delayed flights. Morale is low among non-management workers who haven’t received a pay increase in years and many pilots and mechanics have departed for greener pastures. Clearly, Air Pacific has to do something fast as it faces strong competition from the other 10 international airlines flying into Nadi. In fairness, it should be noted that although there has been criticism of the food on Air Pacific flights, at least you get fed, a luxury passengers on no frills Virgin Australia flights do not enjoy. I wish Fiji Airways every success in 2013!

At the age of 16, Celestine Hitiura Vaite married an Aussie surfer named Michael and eventually followed him from Faa’a, Tahiti, to New South Wales, Australia. Thirteen years later, while pregnant with their third child, Celestine wrote a short story based on her memories of Tahiti which has since grown into a trilogy of novels. Her heroine in the books is Materena Mahi, a cleaner who raises three children without much help from Pito Tehana, the husband who didn’t deserve his wife.

The first in the series, Breadfruit, published in 2000, is also titled The Marriage Proposal in some editions. In a moment of alcohol-induced weakness, Pito proposes to Materena after living with her for 14 years and fathering her three children. Materena doesn’t take him seriously but begins dreaming of her wedding, Meanwhile, Pito has forgotten about his proposal and Materena begins to wonder if she wants to marry him at all. Frangipani (2004) features Materena’s daughter Leilani and her struggle to reconcile the modern and traditional worlds. In Tiare (2006), Materena becomes a radio talk show personality and Pito discovers his role by caring for their baby granddaughter Tiare.

Originally written in English (not French or Tahitian), the trilogy outlines the role of extended families in Tahitian life through the antics of the Mahis and Tehanas. In this society, the indomitable Polynesian women raise the children without much help from the fickle island men. Yet despite the many humorous situations in these books, serious readers may find Celestine Hitiura Vaite’s characters rather naïve.

soft corals near Savusavu, Fiji

Coral reefs are one of the most fragile and complex ecosystems on earth, providing food and shelter for countless species of fish, crustaceans (shrimps, crabs, and lobsters), mollusks (shells), and other animals. The coral reefs of the South Pacific protect shorelines during storms, supply sand to maintain the islands, furnish food for the local population, form a living laboratory for science, and are major tourist attractions. Reefs worldwide host over two million species of life. Without coral, the South Pacific would be immeasurably poorer.

Hard corals grow only about 10 to 25 millimeters a year and it can take 7,000 to 10,000 years for a coral reef to form. Though corals look solid they’re easily broken; by standing on them, breaking off pieces, or carelessly dropping anchor you can destroy in a few minutes what took so long to form. Once a piece of coral breaks off it dies, and it may be years before the coral reestablishes itself and even longer before the broken piece is replaced. The “wound” may become infected by algae, which can multiply and kill the entire coral colony. When this happens over a wide area, the diversity of marinelife declines dramatically.

Swim beside or well above the coral. Avoid bumping the coral with your fins, gauges, or other equipment and don’t dive during rough sea conditions. Proper buoyancy control is preferable to excessive weight belts. Snorkelers should check into taking along a float-coat, which will allow equipment adjustments without standing on coral.

You should avoid removing seashells, coral, plantlife, or marine animals from the sea. Doing so upsets the delicate balance of nature, and coral is much more beautiful underwater anyway! This is a particular problem along shorelines frequented by large numbers of tourists, who can completely strip a reef in very little time. If you’d like a souvenir, content yourself with what you find on the beach (although even a seemingly empty shell may be inhabited by a hermit crab). Also think twice about purchasing jewelry or souvenirs made from coral or seashells. Genuine traditional handicrafts that incorporate shells are one thing, but by purchasing unmounted seashells or mass-produced coral curios you are contributing to the destruction of the marine environment. The triton shell, for example, keeps in check the reef-destroying crown-of-thorns starfish.

Preparing a lovo in Fiji.

The ancient Polynesians stopped making pottery over a millennium ago and instead developed an ingenious way of cooking in an underground earth oven known as an umu, ahimaa, or lovo.

First a stack of dry coconut husks is burned in a pit. Once the fire is going well, coral stones are heaped on top, and when most of the husks have burnt away the food is wrapped in banana leaves and placed on the hot stones–fish and meat below, vegetables above.

A whole pig may be cleaned, then stuffed with banana leaves and hot stones. This cooks the beast from inside out as well as outside in, and the leaves create steam.

The food is then covered with more leaves and stones, and after about 2.5 hours everything is cooked.

Telephone cards are available in the Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Tonga, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, and these are very handy. If you’ll be staying in a country for more than a few days and intend to make your own arrangements, it’s wise to purchase a local card at a post office right away. You can look up the numbers you’ll need at Online Telephone Directories.

By using a telephone card to call long distance you limit the amount the call can possibly cost and won’t end up overspending should you forget to keep track of the time. On short calls you avoid three-minute minimum charges. International telephone calls placed from hotel rooms are always much more expensive than the same calls made from public phones using telephone cards. What you sacrifice is your privacy as anyone can stand around and listen to your call, as often happens. Card phones are usually found outside post offices or telephone centers. Check that the phone actually works before bothering to arrange your numbers and notes, as they’re often out of service.

To place a call to a Pacific island from outside the region, first dial the international access code (check your phone book), then the country code, then the number. The country codes are listed HERE. None of the Pacific countries have regional area codes, but local telephone numbers have varying numbers of digits: four digits in Niue and Tokelau; five digits in the Cook Islands, Tonga, Samoa, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Solomon Islands; six digits in French Polynesia, Easter Island, Wallis and Futuna, and New Caledonia; and seven digits in American Samoa and Fiji.

You’re better off calling from North America to the South Pacific in the evening as it will be mid-afternoon in the islands (plus you’ll probably benefit from off-peak telephone rates). From Europe, call very late at night. In the other direction, if you’re calling from the islands to North America or Europe, do so in the early morning as it will already be afternoon in North America and evening in Europe.

Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, is a teaming urban jungle absolutely packed with people, street stalls, and vehicles. Poverty is visible everywhere but the million inhabitants are cheerful. I felt quite comfortable wandering around on my own, even in the reputedly perilous east end. A number of notable monuments built by the British remain in central Freetown, including the Law Courts, St. George’s Cathedral, and Old Wharf Steps. As in Monrovia, numerous fruit bats roost in huge trees in the middle of town.

I stayed at Andy’s Hotel, 31 Wilberforce Road, near PZ Turntable in the market area, where I paid 90,000 leones (US$21) for a large single with private bathroom and fan. My favorite Freetown hangout was a colonial-style bar overlooking Government Wharf, and I enjoyed my best meals at Café de la Rose near the SLRTC Bus Station and in the Parliamentary Restaurant.

While in Freetown I made the pilgrimage to hyped Lumley Beach, one of the last places where I’d want to spend a holiday. Too many disoriented people hanging around Lumley for my taste and the pricey hotels looked surprisingly downmarket. A more rewarding excursion was to the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in the hills beyond Regent. It’s easy to get there by shared taxi from near Government Wharf, covering the last 30 minutes on foot. Tacugama shelters around 130 chimps in various large enclosures and is well worth the US$10 admission. You’re asked to call the day before to announce your arrival (if you don’t have a phone, any shopkeeper will help you make the call for a small fee).

After five nights in Freetown I set out on the long trek back to Monrovia with a morning SLRTC bus to Bo, Sierra Leone’s second city. I checked into Hotel Sahara (75,000 leones single with bathroom): Adequate but nothing special. The main streets of Bo are lined with the premises of diamond merchants. I didn’t like Bo quite as much as Kenema or Freetown, although the bar at Hotel Sir Milton was just fine. Needless to say, I spent much of my time in Bo behind Sir Milton’s bottles. After a night in Bo, I caught a shared taxi back to Gendema, walked back over the bridge to Bo Waterside, Liberia, and took another shared taxi (front seat!) to Monrovia. Frankly, I was glad to be back.

To/from the airport: The cheapest way to get from downtown Monrovia to Roberts International Airport to take a shared taxi east to ELWA Junction (half a dollar) where you should be able to hire a taxi direct to the airport for US$7. In the other direction, motorcycle taxis in front of the small market opposite Roberts charge about US$10 to Monrovia. Otherwise, lots of drivers will be willing to take you to your hotel at US$20 for the car or proportionately less if you’re willing to share.

(This is the third and final installment of my trip report on Liberia and Sierra Leone. See also Liberia and Sierra Leone Travel and Monrovia to Kenema Overland. I’d be pleased to respond to emailed queries about my travel experiences in these countries. Just use the “Contact Us” link at the top or bottom of this page.)

Waves breaking at Ambassador Beach Club, Sinkor, Monrovia, Liberia.

Since Charles Taylor lost power in 2003, the West African country of Liberia has returned to the normality it enjoyed before the Samuel Doe coup of April 1980. Electricity and water supplies have been restored and the streets of Monrovia are again safe. However, most of Monrovia’s hotels and restaurants are expensive by African standards as they cater mostly to expatriates. I saved money and went “local” by staying first at the Lutheran Guest House (US$35 single with private bathroom) in Sinkor and later at the Catholic Mission ($25 with shared bath) on Randall Street. I found getting around Monrovia cheap and easy by shared taxi (and not at all dangerous, as government travel advisories would have you believe).

Aside from the colonial-style National Museum, Monrovia has a number of intriguing buildings dating of the boom years before 1980. Serious travelers should print out the excellent Architectural Tour of Monrovia which covers many fascinating sites. The “Broken Bridge” over the Mesurado River has been rebuilt but the luxurious Ducor Palace Hotel, built by Pan American Airways in 1963 and later run as an Inter-Continental, is still in ruins. The rather eccentric watchman will earn his tip by taking you up onto the roof of the six-story hotel shell for a sweeping view of Monrovia. My favorite hangout was Ambassador Beach Club at the Atlantic Ocean end of 9th Street, Sinkor, where a large beer is under US$3.

The main border crossing between Liberia and Sierra Leone is at Bo Waterside, three hours west of Monrovia on a good paved highway. Shared taxis leave for the border from the Duala Motor Park in Monrovia throughout the day, charging US$15 to sit in front beside the driver or $8 per person in back. Your passport and yellow fever vaccination certificate will be checked several times on the Liberian side of the border, then you’ll walk across the Mano River bridge to Gendema where you’ll be stamped into Sierra Leone. It’s worth knowing that there are several small hotels in Gendema, including Vision Guest House where I paid 60,000 leones (US$14) for a single. BTW, it’s very easy to exchange US or Liberian dollars and leones at the border.

From Gendema I caught a shared taxi bound for Kenema. There are also taxis direct to Bo which work better if you’re in a hurry to get to Freetown. Both roads are dirt tracks which must be challenging in the rainy season (May to October). As it was, I arrived in Kenema coated in red dust after eight long hours. Our taxi broke down just short of the city so I joined another passenger on the back of a motorcycle taxi for the last little bit. I got a room with private bath at Makasa Guest House which was fine until they switched off the electric generator at midnight. Kenema is a pleasant country town with a couple of markets and mosques. There’s a nice walk out into the countryside beyond the prison. After two nights, I caught an early morning SLRTC bus direct to Freetown, a five-hour ride on a paved highway.

(This is the second installment of my trip report on Liberia and Sierra Leone. See also Liberia and Sierra Leone Travel and Freetown to Monrovia via Bo.)