Post by Ann-
Our plan for the day was to go visit the much acclaimed water falls of Taveuni! There are three of them in a row and most people only make it to the second one. Rita and Ulli from Anni-Nad happily accepted our invitation to join the fun. Our taxi driver, Wani (patience is his middle name-call him if you need a ride. 929-0339 in Fiji) told us we should meet him at the boat ramp at 8 am. Ugh! That meant a 6:30 alarm clock – not in our normal time table, but we did it.
Rainy day? No problem...for the frogs! (photo by Uli Pusch)
When we researched islands to visit in Fiji, Taveuni stood out because of these water falls and I (Ann) did not want to miss them! It was a scenic drive around the island crossing several rivers on very low to the water bridges. When we arrived and started the hike we were greeted by a frog hopping along the trail. So cute! Who doesn’t love a frog! But man are they hard to photograph – very shy.
By the time we reached the first waterfall the sky had opened and the rain came down! The power of the waterfall could be heard well in advance of it’s siting because of the quantity of water coursing over the top! And the rain continued! And continued and pretended to lighten and then continued some more. The swimming pool was getting muddier by the moment.
This lovely Fijian woman and her child were the caretakers of the waterfall trails.
Helpful sign on the way to the waterfall (before it started really raining)
What to do? We decided to wait out the squall and moved to the covered picnic tables. And that’s when we notice the frog party. All over the ground was hopping! Big frogs, little frogs, mama frogs and her babies. All with Ulli chasing them around to get the perfect picture. Yes, it was quite entertaining. But eventually we had to make a decision, press on to waterfall number two or head back. When Bob mentioned that the rivers we crossed were probably getting quite full and rising quickly, the decision was made…head back to the taxi. Sigh.
Wani had also agreed to take us to the grocery store on the other side of the island so off we headed. That’s when Rita and I got the idea to go to some other points of interest…like the Catholic Church. The one with the famous white cross that can be see very far off as you cross over from Viani Bay. The cross commemorates a famous 19th century naval battle where the Taveuni warriors turned back a large Tongan invasion force. Apparently a Marist priest (French) provided the strategy that included Taveuni troops holding a small white cross. The cross on the hill commemorates this victory and a beautiful church was built. It also happens to have a school that is part of it and Wani’s youngest daughter attends it.
At the base of the road, groups of parents were busy cooking LOTS of casaba root to feed several teams of young kids that would be traveling to Suva this weekend to represent Taveuni in a sports contest. The kids were in the field practicing. A great scene to happen upon!
Bet you thought the kids were playing slip n’slide based on the title of this blog, right? Nope! It didn’t rain all day on this side of the island.
Rita asked Wani for one more side trip…did he know where the water slide was? Of course! So off we went up into the hills, off-roading almost! But the rain had stayed on the other side of the island so we were hopeful!
Ulli stopped to check out the prison that we passed on the way up (yes, Wani said most people are in for theft. There were 18 inmates and 17 staff!). The rest of us continued on foot toward the water slides! We found it but it looked more like a series of small waterfalls. How is this supposed to work? Wish and your wish is granted…just as we wished there were kids there to show us how to navigate the slides, two young Fijian men (about 18-20 years old) appeared out of no where!
Ann and Rita hit the slide. (photo by Uli Pusch)
Yippeee! (photo by Uli Pusch)
Did someone say; "Fun"? (photo by Uli Pusch)
Jimmy and Junior could not have been better hosts. Bob was in hiking shoes so passed on getting wet. Rita and I took off up the side of the slides with the boys guiding us and lending us a helpful hand. And after a vivid demonstration by Junior, we jumped in and gave it a go! Such fun! Slide, splash into a pool, slid, splash…all the way back down! Who doesn’t love a slip ‘n slide! And our timing was perfect, just as we finished four cars of “tourists” arrived to play.
We ended the day with a much needed refueling at the local grocery store and the veggie markets on the road side.
So a day that looked to be a wash out turned out to be a blast!
Anchor issues – as a last ditch effort can’t you put on your diving gear and go untangle the mess? Or is it too heavy? Nice work maneuvering your way out. Can Ann work a lasso as well?
So…you had to go half way around the world just to do a waterslide?! You’re kidding right? Must be 3 or 4 of the suckers around the Bay Area. Not to mention some real honest-to-god waterfalls as well.
Love the frog party. Did you talk to them and ask what they were up to? I can hear them saying, “What the hell! Every time we have a little party the paparazzi shows up and screws it up. OK, everyone back in the pool and watch your legs!”
JHamm, another boat in the anchorage had to don
diving gear to get loose and they had only been there for three days. We had been there for eight and twirled a lot on our anchor. Bob was magnificent directing me as we did the “pull up the anchor dance!” And as he said, “Love it when it works!”
PS – when was the last time you played slip ‘ n slide? Very fun!
Really glad to hear there are clean watersides ANY WHERE!! No floating diapers in the pool! Please post some frog pics when you can. I’m totally using my Pocket Frogs game as my source of imagination for the party. Love you guys.