| Summary | I visited in Fiji to go diving 12 years before, but I was not suticefied
except at Super Market. There were few divers, so with trial divers on the boat and We went near sites. I planed to travell in Fiji again. I considered where I go to dive. Momi near in Nady, Taveuni, Savu Savu, Rakiraki, Levuka, Kadavu, Coral Coast, Pacific Harbor etc. Kadavu, Coral Coast and Pacific Harbor are located south so I thought the water temperature was cold. Current in Taveuni seems strong, I chose a destination from Momi, Savu Sabu, Rakiraki and Levuka. |
||
| Web problem in Fiji | In order to choose a destination I sent emails to some dive center, but
I did not receive reply. It seemed these were gone out of bussiness and did not update several years. I sent a email to the Tourism of Fiji about this problem. As I thought, Internet in Fiji was not working properly. |
||
| Where to dive | Momi and Levuka were already closed. It seemed the dive centers mainly did course and trial diving in Rakiraki I selected to go diving in Savu Savu. There is the famous dive center of Jean-Michel Cousteau Diving in Savu Savu. The resort is very expensive to stay, I tried to find another dive center. One dive center, it always go near site and if we can go far site, espensive additional charge. I tried to ask the Jean-Michel Cousteau Diving by email. I could go to diving without staing the resort, but no pick up service. I needed to take a taxi. |
||
| Airlines | I considered a flight where I tansfer, Narita, Hong Kong and Noumea. Noumea is affordable, but from Kansai to Nadi via Noumea is expensive. If We select Narita, it need to move from the Haneda airport to the Narita airport. I decided to transit in Seoul with Korean Air, for no need to pick up the luggage in transit airport. |
||
| Domesitic Airline |
The cost from Suva to Savu Savu is about half price of from Nady to Savu
Savu. It needed to move from Nady to Suva and stay one night in Suva. I thought there was a affordable hetel in Suva, so Suva is not resort but city. |
||
| Dimestic Itinerary |
I thought about to visit Nananu-I Ra island near in Rakiraki and Levuka in Ovalau island after diving in Savu Savu. I discoverd the national sand park in Sigatoka, I decided to visit it in conclusion. Then I came back in Nady, took Yasawa Island Explorer. |
||
| Sudden abolition |
I received a email written in Korean when I came back from Turkey in the
biginning of July. I could not read it, then I received a email in Japanese from the Korean Air in Japan next day. It said the flights from Seoul to Nadi are abolished after October. However I could choose to get a refund, I chose to chenge the flight from Seoul to Nadi. Because I accomplished to plan itinerary with hardships. I suggested them to prioritize my domestic flights schedule. They proposed that from Seoul to Auckland by Korean Air and from Auckland to Nadi by Air New Zealand on the way, and from Nadi to Sydney by Fiji Airways and from Sydney to Kansai via Seoul by Korean Air on the way back. It meant me to stay one night in Nadi, thou I could handle it. But It needed to stay one night in Sydney on the way back. It was economically expensive to stay a hotel in Sydney, and physically tough to arrive a hotel late at night and get up early to go to the airport. I checked there was a flight from Nadi to Kansai via Hong Kong by Cathy Pathfic. I suggested them it, but I wondered it was impossible to do not include Korean Air. Fortunately my plan was accepted by them. |
||
| Aboliton again |
I receivede a email around the end of August which said we need to obtain
e-visa in New Zealand after Octover. I checked several articles, but I was not sure that we really need to get visa just transit. I obtained vsa by web for NZD12 in the end, since I needed to avoid accidents for not enough time to transit. |
||
| To Nadi | I was supposed to kill about 5 hours in Seoul airport, but it changed to
2 and halh hours by abolition. It seemed I was not checked visa in Auckland airport. The flight from Auckland to Nadi was Air New Zealand, but Eva Air on the boarding bridge. I doubted it went to Taiwan, but I felt relieved interior design and cabin crews were Air New Zealand. |
||
| Nadi | I was picked up at airport by the hotel, as I replide the flight number
by email. Staied one night, departed to Suva by bus on next afternoon I checked in about the noon, so I went around the town. (Exchange F$≒￥５０) |
||
|
| To Suva | There were two major companies of the Queens road express bus service. I could check a time table of the Pacific Transport but I couldn't see the Sun Beam site. The Sun Beam didn't update the web site, I could see only the display of "comming soon". I planed the schedule by Pacific Transport. Since check out time was 11, after check out I was heading to the bus terminal. It took about 10 minutes by walk. I asked the departure time of the next bus. I booked the bus departe 12, as next bus departe 11:30 was ful. (F$15) I had a light meal at a food stand. Acturally the Sun Beam buses departed almost every 30 minutes. The seats layout of single row was 2 seats plus 3 seats. There was no armrest on the seats, I was pressed at curves as local people were big. |
||
| About 1hour and 15 minutes took us in Sigatoka, a rest in 15 minutes there. Departed Sigatoka we went through Coral Coast and some stops. It started rain around there, and getting heavier and heavier on the way to Pacific Harbour. Four hours from Sigatoka we arrived Suva, it was pouring rain. I couldn't walk to the hotel, I took one hour to get a taxi. |
|||
| To Nausori Airport |
It was likely to rain next day. I went around Suva, then I returned the
hotel as It starded to rain. It stoped to rain when I checked out. I decided to go the airport by bus. I reached the bus terminal, but I didn't find where I got a bus. I asked a person who was around there. He told me a min bus took me the Nausori terminal. Then I followed him, there were several mini buses. The bus started when 10 passengers got the bus. (F$1.5) My luggage took one seat so I paied F$3. I couldn't find the bus terminal to get the bus to the airport, so I took a taxi.(F$6) |
||
| I knew the limit of domistic check in baggage is 15kg, and my baggage was
21kg . I had to pay the excess charge, as the hiring fee of equipment was higher than the excess charge. Then I paied F$33 for over 6.5kg. And I got on a scale with my carry-on baggage. It might be a balance adjustment, for the small airplane. |
|||
|
|||||
| I was stoped by a staff on the way to the plane after tore off my boading
pass. I almost got on the wrong airplane that bound for Labasa, departure time of them was very close. The passengers bound for Labasa were many of local people, but about ten tourists bound for Savu Savu. |
|||||
| To Savu Savu | The airplane bound for Savu Savu was able to carry about 20 passengers. It looked like same as seaplane in Maldives. There was no door between cockpit and cabin no cabin crew. According to the timetable, flight time from Nausori to Savu Sabu was one hour. Actually the airplane reached around Savu Savu airport for 30 minutes. I thought the airplane turned to land, but we had sightseeing flight so far for about 20 minutes. |
||
|
| Fraud of hotel |
I booked a hotel considering the map of hotels.com whick was located by
the town. I was taken the summit so far from the town. There was nothing except the hotel. And it is imposible to climb to there without 4WD and by walk. So there were some dangers of nature, animals and so on. I couldn't stay there, so I canceled it. Then he said we have another room. I went to a viewing and asked him to change the reservation as the wrong map. But he rejected my proposal, so had to pay double for accommodation. I am trying to make a complaint about this to the hotels.com when I retern home. I doubt the hotels.com deal with this. |
||
| Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort |
I exluded the Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort Diving at first when I chose
a dive center. However I could hardly find a suitable dive center, so I sent them some inquiry to by email. Reply said not only hotel guests, but also staying other hotel could dive. They didn't provide pick up and drop off service, so I needed to take a taxi. |
||
|
| Diving | Jean-Miche Cousteau Diving | 1st day | 1 | Big Blue | 2 | Light House |
| 2nd day | 1 | Alex | 2 | Wall Street | ||
| 3ir day | 1 | Dread Locks | 2 | Big Blue | ||
| 4th day | 1 | Namena Chimmney | 2 | Namena Blue Ribon |
|
||||||||
| Both of hard and soft coral were beautiful in Savu Savu, fishes were not so many, sharks and turtles appeared some times. | ||||||||
| No Restriction Day |
I planed three days diving of the initial schedule, since diving there
is expensive. I couldn't look the web site of Gaunder Shipping, so I asked the time table of the ship. We could get on the ship in early morning, and went around Vanua Levu island and Taveuni island by the shipl And came back evenig of same day. I thought I chose this. |
||
| Go to Namena |
Last day of diving, there was a woman who spoke Japanese fluently as she had lived Japan over many years until for over ten years ago. She told me they went to diving in Namena when I washed my equipment. I have the information of excellent site far from Savu Savu, but I didn't know the actural name. To go Namena or to travell around by ship. I wondered which one I chose better. I went to diving near Savu Savu three days in a row. So I decided to go Namena. |
||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| Namena is a marine sanctuary, So more coral than Savu Savu and amazing. It looked like a stained glass. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| To Sigatoka via Suva |
In Savu Savu airport, I was not charged excess even though my luggage was 19kg. I didn't find where the bus card was sold. I took a taxi as I had no choice. The taxi didn't have a meter, it was a flat rate from the airport to Nausori town. I tried to find where I could take a bus to Suva. A kind lady told me the place to get the bus to Suva and I could buy a bus card on the bus. We can buy a ticket of Queen's Road Express Bus by cash. Then I took a taxi to the hotel, sice I had a heavy luggage and the hotel is far from the bus terminal |
||
|
| To sand park | I tried to take a taxi in the main street, though I couldn't catch a taxi. So I went to the bus terminal by walk for one hour. I asked a staff where I got a bus for the sand park. He told me the place a bus depart, but a bus didn't come. I asked another person, then they told me right place and a child took me there. |
||
|
| Sigatoka National Sand Park |
After 20 minutes, the bus arrived the park. Information in advance the entrance fee is F$10, but there was no ticket booth. There were a few person there, I happened to see just about 5 or 6 person. |
||
|
| Came back to Nadi | I staied the same hotel in Nadi when I had arrived in Fiji. I had booking of the Yasawa Explorer next day. I spent all day long in the Yasawa Explorer, as pick up at 7 and return to the port at 6. Almost shops close at 6PM, so I went around the town in evening. |
||
| Yasawa Explorer |
I had booked the Yasawa Islands Explorer run by the South Sea Cruses last
day in Nadi in Japan. Almost of all passengers of the ship were day trip to South Sea Island and transfer from Denarau to Islands or from Islands to Islands. A few people took this tour that got on at Denarau in the morning and got off Denarau in the evenig. Since the ship went islands one after another, it is convenient for visitors who move between islands. (It need to layover at the hubs evrywhere, for example via Male in Maldives) Though it was rain lightly on and off in the morning. When we went through Mamanuca Group it stop to rain. We could see blue sky in Yasawa Group. |
||
|
| Taxi circumstances in Fiji |
I had rides on taxis more over 10 times. All taxis except Nausori airport
had meters/. The base fare is F$1.7 and meters often raised evry 10￠. There was no traffic jam in country side. So the fares of F$ were almost equal to minutes. Fiji taxis have just taxi lights and meters, models of the car were so various. Most numerous model was Prius, whick I got on several times. The cars had an LCD monitor of the energy, though Drivers didn't understand then. |
||
| Max Valu | I saw supermarkets looked like Max Valu somewhere. The signboads were "Max Val-u" however "Max Valu" in Japan actually |
||
| Impression | Almost people were kind and gentle but few people who were evil and wicked. Same as other countries also Japan. |
||
| Went home |
I went to the airport by hotel's free transfer at 5. Though it was rather earlier by the departure, it was better than to walk to the bus terminal. It took about 11 hours from Nadi to Hong Kong by Fiji Airways. There were uprisings in the town of Hong Kong. But calm and safe in the airport. After 2 hours and half I goo on the Cathy Pacific. Considering the time difference, it took almost a hole day from getting up to reaching home. |
|
|||
 |
 |
Hotel Informations |  |
| Airplanes Airports Related |  |
