Although it was heavily overcast the whole time we spent on the river and at Nakawaga Waterfall, the rain held off until we got back to the base camp, where a lunch and the "Kava Welcoming Ceremony" was to take place.
Two people from the group of tourists were picked to participate in the drinking of the Kava.
We had heard a little talk about this Kava drink and no one who'd tried it could describe what it tasted like plus there was some mystery surrounding what it actually was**
It was announced that we could all try some Kava if we wished after the official cerimony and so many of us did try it although the amount given was tiny; not enough to have any real effect on anyone. It was said that once you took the Kava, you were no longer an outsider - you were forever a member of the Fiji community.
**KAVA
Kava, otherwise known as yaqona, or quite simply, grog, is
the traditional national drink of Fiji. It is a mildly narcotic and sedative drink made from the crushed root of the yaqona (pronounced yang-GO-na) strained with water. It is served in a large communal bowl as part of the traditional Kava ceremony.
On a later excursion we took in our first stop in the Kingdom of Tonga, I had an opportunity to share some Kava with a couple of locals who were drinking it at the entrance to a cave we were exploring and this time they gave me a much larger volume of Kava. I did notice my tongue went a little numb after drinking it and for about an hour or two I seemed to be a little spaced out but hey; when in Rome, do as the Romans do, right?
The Next Day we headed out to the warf and hooked up with a group tour going off toan Island just offshore. I thought perhaps we would finally see the Fiji I expected to see in the out islands? Just so you understand what I'm talking about; Fiji is not just one island but consists of over 300 islands, many of which are unihabited. The island we were on primarily was the main, large island of Fiji.
The weather again was overcast but it seemed to be a higher cloud that didn't look to be any threat of rain so off we went!
It was a fair size catamaran we were on and it took about a half hour or so so arrive at the island.
The beach was very nice and it was a warm day so getting into the ocean for a swim would be fine and I coud see the colour of the water in the shallow areas had that turquoise hue to it but it wasn't really standing out because it was so overcast.
There was plenty to do there as they had Kayaks and paddle boards you could use plus snorkle gear if you wanted to explore the reef area. They also had a small glass bottom boat you could take a ride on if you wanted to view the marine life from a dry place. The reef and marine life around it was not spectacular. Pretty much what you'd see in your own aquarium at home. They also served us an extensive lunch offering of local fruits, BBQ Chicken, fish and a bunch of salads.
Oh; and there was Beer for sale there as well. I had one of the local beers. It said "Bitter" on the can so I was a little aprehensive but to my pleasant surprise it was just a nice light lager beer similar to a Budwiser or Coors light.
The can had all sorts of images of Rugby on it. The people of Fiji are Rugby crazy!! Their national team apparently has won two Olympic Gold medals in Rugby. They minted a 7 dollar note in both years following their wins; 2017 & 2022. The first one was blue and the later one was a gold colour. They're much sought after by some tourists as they're the only 7 dollar bank notes in the world apparently. I did not come across any in my travels.
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This was nothing like the beaches in the pictures I had often seen
Another 1/2 hour or so along even rougher roads than we'd beenall day when suddenly the drive hammered on the brakes and slide off to one side of the roadway. There it was ... The tree of bats!!
