September 2008: South Pacific
Port Denarau Island, Viti Levu, Fiji Pt1 (S 17.46.258 E 177.22.927)
I’m not sure where to begin my rambling about Denarau so I’ll just start at the, well, the beginning. (Allow myself to introduce, myself. Austin Powers). For some reason I thought this applied right here. Anyway, Port Denarau Island is landfill and man-made. This port has been created to attract cruise ships and vacationers and it is working. As are all docks in most of the world these docks too are Med-tie. With the self-steering wind vane on the stern and the lack of a ramp we have to put a dinghy in to ferry the few feet to the shore. Luckily with a lot of asking over the radio they scrambled and made room for us. This was a relief after the approach from offshore. Once in close proximity of the resorts on the shoreline we transited in the channel that was in the 15’ range. After entering the marks leading to Denarau it got to within 6’. We draw 6’. So much for dredging. It’s amazing the large ferries and big powerboats can get in here. The cruise ships must anchor offshore and shuttle in the passengers.
If you look toward the docks from the boat you see a big shopping mall. And, if you look the other way you see the mountains; Quite a contrast. Off in the distance every once in a while a jet would take off or land as well as the small planes that service the outer islands. Nadi Airport is located in there somewhere. Perspectives are off as I learned from our trek into town. But first; more about the beautiful new port. It is all recently built and has only been operating a little over a year. All the mall-type buildings are very new and still shiny. This little mall was cleverly designed with trinket shops, clothing stores, money exchange, grocery store, coffee, ice cream, bakery and a large area for buses, taxis and adventure sports/tours. Hard Rock Café had the prominent corner and is the first thing you see stepping off the dock gangway.
It is actually quite a shock to see this environment here. We have spent a lot of time on small islands but still have seen the largest city in Fiji which is Suva. Nothing we have seen even comes close to this American styled complex. It really is a piece of anywhere-America placed in this middle of nowhere. This is not to say that we did not enjoy it. Free fast internet in the port authority office was nice. A bacon cheeseburger at the Hard Rock was really nice. Coffee in the morning at? Ice cream after dinner at...? That’s right I can’t remember what the names of any of the places was called but I knew what I wanted. There was also a place called Jack’s of Fiji that was a trinket store. Some of the wood carvings were outstanding.
One of the many things that takes away from this place is the amount of construction currently taking place. Not only are they building new piers and docks but across the water they are building an endless stream of homes and what looks to be vacation bungalows. This entire small island was created as a resort with several resorts, many custom homes and golf courses. Crazy thing is that this is the dry side of the island and everything is pretty much a blend of green and brown. We are pretty isolated here and to get into town a taxi is needed as well as just to get to the closest resort as they are so far away.
We all wanted to head into downtown Nadi and get an authentic dinner. That meant a taxi ride. It’s best to agree on the amount of the ride before going as there are no meters. These drivers will usually talk and sometimes we have gotten some good advice. On the road to town he pointed out a butcher shop and said they were the best and all the cruisers go there. Odd. Then in town we kinda had a destination in mind but he easily swayed us to go to his recommendation and again, where all the cruisers go. Yah, OK, so he drops us off at Ed’s. I’m not sure who is dumber because we actually got out and he left. All in stride we headed inside and got the obligatory Fiji beer and sat out front with the other guys. We did take a look inside all the way to the back where the pool tables are and everything about this building and establishment completely mirrors something you’d see in Cabo, Mexico. What were we thinking?
Beer gone we rambled down the road to the Fijian restaurant that we saw on the way in to town. This setting with the style of building and garden was like stepping into another place. The food was authentic and outstanding. It’s a wonder how a place like this can survive here when there appears to be so much near-poverty. Although, compared to everything we have seen so far there is a lot more prosperity here than most.
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