240117 Doubly Wet

Photos still to come.

Ok. Big day today: EcoTrax and then moving on.

We were to be picked up at 8:15 a.m. so that might have been on our minds. We had a longish period in the night awake and decided to plan today and a bit further ahead: where we might fit the soccer outfits Kim had got, how we might get to our next accommodation, what we might do with the two days we deliberately left spare to give us flexibility, etc.. We set an alarm for 6:30 and were woken by that.

It was a case of packing a bit differently so that we have the stuff we need, including our swimming/snorkelling gear. Our destination today is a beach. We got organised, had our normal breakfast of weetbix and muesli and checked out.

At EcoTrax we were met by Britney, a talkative, enthusiastic 37-year old who seemed a bit of a party-girl and was certainly entertaining and knowledgeable. Alongside her was Lela. They were to be our guides.

When we paid, Britney called me Peter Pan and she later referred to us both as Peter and Wendy.

EcoTrax makes use of an old railway line that used to service the sugar cane industry. The industry has collapsed in this area and a New Zealand couple who live in Cromwell developed this tourist attraction. Tourists pedal "wagons" consisting of two bikes bolted together with a metal frame and wooden platform in between, and designed to run on the railway tracks.

We were shown our bikes and the seats adjusted for us. Kusi helped us with that. It transpired that Kusi had lived in Te Tipua for 18 months(?) working with someone Ross who drives jet boats. I explained that I had been a pastor in Gore and knew Waimumu and Te Tipua. Kusi is involved with YWAM and knew the team from New Zealand that is currently visiting and will be at East Taieri for two weekends immediately after they return from Fiji.

We then had briefing about the company, the sugar industry in this area and our safety. The company began in 2017(?) and in its first year won two tourism awards. Lela did they bit about the sugar industry and we couldn't really understand it. Safety consisted of hand signals to show that we were slowing down (an arm waving up and down out the side) or stopping (arm up with clenched fist). Signals were to be passed back along the train like a Mexican wave. We were to slow down for bridges (some of which looked like they needed some maintenance) and "points" (i.e. where different lines once met). There was also the possibility of cows, children etc. on the tracks. COVID also meant we were to have no physical contact with people in the villages we would pass through. Plus, it wasn't a race and these were not bumper bikes!

Fortunately, they were electric bikes and the "driver" in each pair had a little accelerator. They were "power-assisted" so we did still have to pedal.

We set off and pedalled through some open areas but mainly through lush forest. There were horses, cows and chickens along the way and we did sometimes have to slow or stop to clear the track. We also passed through a couple of villages. As in so many places, the houses are in pretty poor condition. In each village there was a bure that is, I think, the chief's house. Britney told us later that many people work in nearby hotels or other tourist companies. Otherwise they are farmers or fishermen who sell their produce to the local tourist operations. EcoTrax is trying to foster micro-enterprises as well. Despite all that, there did seem to be a number of people who, as far as we could tell, were just "sitting around". That was not uncommon in other places as well. It seems that some people's lives consist of calling out 'bula' to all those who pass.

Not too long into the ride, it started raining! We all stopped and put our backpacks into plastic rubbish bags. We were offered ponchos but most of us were already very wet and it would have made little difference. Britney said that, if it was raining at the beach, we would simply turn around and head back.

Not long after, it seemed that our accelerator was not working. No matter how I pressed it, we could feel no difference and pedalling was quite difficult. Britney suggested that our wagon was a different design from the others. Their motors were in the back wheels whereas ours was further back in the drive wheel on the tracks. Without weight over that wheel it was simply spinning. At times we could certainly hear it spinning which suggested that the electric motor was working, but at other times it seemed it was doing nothing. Britney told us to turn it off and on again. That worked... for a while. We did that several times until it stopped working again each time. For a good part of the journey, Britney brought her wagon up behind ours and pushed us.

Anyway, we got to our destination which was a nice beach 11.5km from the base, and it was no longer raining. Some people went swimming. I would  have liked to but hadn't come adequately prepared and changing seemed like an awkward operation. Chris and I paddled briefly and otherwise talked with our guides.

Kusi reappeared. He had been signalled to come out and fix our bike. He was a gentle, softly-spoken giant. His older brother, Joe Ravouvou had played for the NZ 7's team. It seemed he wanted to hang around us. He and his wife had both down YWAM DTS's. She was a staff member when he did his. They met through YWAM. He said the team that is here now from NZ would be doing door-to-door work as well as children's programmes. He believed they would find the people responsive although many indigenous Fijians are only nominally Christian.

Kusi had felt God telling him to resign from his previous job much to the consternation of his wife who went into labour the day he announced it and questioned how they were going to support their family. However, he was then invited to work for EcoTrax having met the owners in NZ (I think). He is now provided with accommodation with no other costs for rates or food or anything. His village is up the Sigatoka Valley and he returns there on the weekends and runs a youth programme in his church. He also works part-time supporting YWAM and they are recruiting at the moment for another DTS. He said that if we return to Fiji we could have free accommodation with him and at the YWAM base.

He seemed to be very happy having other Christians to talk to.

Our bike had been swapped with another. This one had no peddling detector so we didn't have to pedal at all - just use the accelerator. That was very different and the trip back was quite quick (for everyone, not just us.)

We got a complementary photo of us on our bike and were transferred back to Gecko's.

The next thing was to stand at the bus stop on the edge of the road and wait for a bus or van to come along. We waited something more than half an hour before a bus came. It was almost full, predominantly with black faces. I struggled to find a seat but a man tapped the man in front on the shoulder and he moved over. There were two seats on one side of the bus and three on the other. When that man and a child got off, Chris, who had been sitting elsewhere, joined me. As people got on and off, we had various other people in the third seat and it was all pretty crowded.

The windows were open so it was quite breezy. That helped with the temperature.

We wondered where all of these people were going. Home from work? Do they work in another town?

We were not sure if the driver knew where we wanted to get off. We were not sure ourselves. Each bus seems to have a conductor, a man who somehow keeps track of who get on and off and collects their money. He took our money at one point and had a bit of discussion with the man behind us about where were would get off. They seemed to know. We would just do as we were told.

The journey took about 1.5 hours and was largely through lush forest, mainly along the coast but heading inland at places. There were people swimming in one or two places. Our main impressions include:

• the poor state of housing (although the occasional one looks very different). There was quite a contrast.
• the painting often looked patchy and in dire need a redo.
• small graveyards with thick concrete over each grave
• more animals in some places that the solitary cows we had seen elsewhere
• passing through a number of villages
• people "sitting around"
• there are no sections/fences and no mailboxes
• schools were painted very bright colours.

About 45 minutes before we reached pacific Harbour it stared raining quite heavily and it was still raining when we were dropped off. We didn't know quite where we were or quite how possible it would be to walk to our accommodation. Chris suggested to go into a nearby restaurant (The Establishment), get a meal and figure things out.

The restaurant was a solid building and very tidy. It seemed like it was intentionally catering for a western market. It was 3:00p.m. when we arrived and we ordered burgers and a drink each (totalling $F49). The busy season is October to December. We asked if they had had people in for lunch. There had been only one other couple and us. The waitress was very nice and helpful. She had offered us some table napkins to dry off when we had arrived.

We took our time and the rain stopped while we were there. We then walked the short distance to a taxi base and soon one came along. It would cost $F5 to get to Orchid Island B&B which proved to be a reasonable distance and too far to have dragged our suitcases.

We were met by Lini. We passed Robert outside and he simply said that he was busy sorry an carried on. Lini was lovely and welcoming and talkative. Our room opens onto a lake although the water is brown. There is an old boat moored at the bank just outside our room.

There is a young German couple here as well - Patrick and Maren. They had done the river tour today although the tubing version. They tubed down most of the river whereas we come on a bamboo raft. They are travelling for 6 months and had 8 weeks in New Zealand. In Germany you can work for reduced pay then have time off but continue being paid at the same rate. She is a teacher (it sounds like everything from English to chemistry) in a High School and he works in IT/software for SAP. They live in Heidelberg.

All we saw of Robert was him working outside with a bare top. He is German and Lini is Fijian. There were some comments about his temper and his drinking. She is his fourth wife. He lived in Auckland for 15 years and had one, maybe two, Māori wives.

They have two daughters Lisa (Elizabeth) and Omi (Naomi). Lisa was very quiet. Omi was quite the opposite. A good part of the evening conversation was about rubbing egg into her scalp which she said was because her hair pulls out easily. She had amazing frizzy hair. Maren confirmed that egg is supposed to be very good for your hair/scalp.

After our late lunch, we had no tea. Patrick and Maren prepared their own noodles and then went off to church with Lini.

We learnt the next day that they went to New Creation Church which is about 30 minutes form here, off the main highway on a muddy road and requiring a walk at the end. The meeting was in a home. It is a Pentecostal Church. Maren said that she is not religious and she doesn't like to go to a church alone because she feels she is intruding, but she does like to go because it is an experience of the culture. This experience contrasted with what she had known from going with her grandparents in German where it was very formal and ordered. She commented on the enthusiastic sings etc.. It sounds like there were maybe only 4 families. Patrick and Maren said it was a good experience.

I did this blog. Chris was so tired she couldn't stay awake. She went to bed very early and I was not too long after her.