Denerau Port – Nadi
After sailing for over six weeks, I finally came back to Nadi. It was quite a contrast! A big ship with a very suitable name “Reef Endeavour” is sitting right on the reef to welcome you. We refilled our tanks and got a nice mooring spot. Quickly refreshed in the wonderful shower of the marina we went for a well-deserved pizza at the Denarau Port. Getting ready for some sightseeing around Nadi!
Captain Craigs’ friends Thomas and Maureen were spending their holiday in a nearby resort. Time to catch up for him with his 46-year long friendship, and meeting new friends for me! The plan for the next few days was “tourism – on – land“. I happily embraced doing some hiking and visiting the sights of Nadi area.
Garden of the sleeping Giant
Captain Craig decided to take us to a beautiful Garden of the sleeping Giant with over 2000 varieties of orchids and impressive, giant trees. This approx. 20-hectare Garden is situated right at the foothills of the Sabeto Mountains. We paid 35 FJD entrance including a fruit juice drink afterwards. We were all amazed by the lush jungle, the lily pond and fruit trees. A wonderful short but steep hike up to a rewarding viewpoint overlooking Nadi Bay made our trip a very complete and satifying one. Our fresh fruit juice tasted like heaven!
Sabeto Hotspring & mudpool
Sweaty all over, we all agreed on visiting the Sabeto hotspring & mudpool afterwards. It turned out to be a lovely bumpy ride, while Thomas was doing a great job avoiding most of the potholes, Maureen and I were trying to focus on the grazing cows and the typical Fijian landscape.
We were welcomed at the hotsprings and mud pool with a warm “Bula, bula” and I got changed into my bikini. Soon all four of us were covered in black sticky mud. It reminded me of New Zealand… not so long ago. To dry up, a young female staff-member, showed us some handicraft stalls, made pictures of us, while we were doing some Yoga and Qi Gong movements in the garden.
Once dry, she showed us four different pools to clean off. The first was nice, muddy but not to hot. The second felt like being in a big soup bowl. Hot, hot, hot! The third was clean and more like a swimming pool and the fourth turned out to be hot again. I fancied a cold shower afterwards, where the others were happy with the four pools.
Additionally we all booked a 1-hour massage with coconut oil. It was a true treat! A lovely traditional Fijian massage. During the massage it started to rain heavily. Thomas had not closed the windows of the rental car,… so there was some commotion amongst the masseuses… . Thomas couldn’t care less, but one of the staff-members went to close the windows anyway.
Sri Siva Subramaniya Swami Temple
Another day we went to the local market in Nadi to get vegetabels for our trip away to the Mamanuca group, followed by some lunch of tasty fish lolo. The restaurant was only 3 minutes away of the biggest Hindi temple in Fiji. Of course we had to pay this colourful temple a visit. It was still 2 days of holi.
Strolling around the temple, with a small “donative” entrance fee of 5 FJD set me right back to my journey to explore magical India back in 2004. Admiring the paintings and shrines of Ganesha and Shiva, inhaling the smell of incense… I instantly missed India! This vibrant temple is a landmark and masterpiece of traditional Dravidian architecture. I hardly recommend to pay Sri Siva Subramaniya Swami temple a visit!
