What time is it there?!

Our next stop was the island of Vanua Levu, but rather than fly again we decided to experience the local ferry service. From Taveuni to the town of Savusavu was a 4 hour journey (this was the fast ferry!). Had we wanted to go all the way to Suva we would have had a couple of stops and a lengthy 23 hour journey.

The locals were selling bargain meals on the dock, which is why the feast in the photo is wrapped in newspaper. The casava was quite nice (tasted a bit like a cross between a boiled potato and parsnip), and we were enjoying the fish until we discovered that the final battered piece was actually the head and only the eyes had been removed!!

It was actually not a bad ferry. It had air conditioning and rows of seats that appeared to have originated on a 70’s airliner. There was even ‘entertainment’ in the form of a dodgy Steven Segal DVD (which really wasn’t suitable for a lunchtime sailing full of kids!)

We were travelling on a Friday afternoon and the boat wasn’t that full, but when we arrived at Savusavu there were literally hundreds of people waiting to board for the overnight journey to Suva. We’re not sure whether this was normal weekend traffic or Christmas shopping ‘Island Style’. It’s also difficult to tell how many people will actually board a plane, bus or boat here, since so many family members seem to turn up to see people off or greet new arrivals.