Forest Trekking

Today we went on a forest trek.  We were told to wear tennis shoes, bring water, bug spray and lots of sunscreen.  I didn’t take it seriously.  My bad.I thought it was just going to be a walkabout on the property grounds so I dressed what I thought was appropriate - cover-up over my bathing suit with flip flops.  Ned, being the wise man he is had hat, better shoes, water (for us both) and made sure I was at least sprayed down with bug spray and sunscreen before we left.

If you look closely at this picture you will see one of our trekking mates, chest high in thick flora in the rainforest.  It was a super informative hike, learning about how the Fijians use the plants in various ways.  It was also a slippery hike, trekking in the humidity up to the top of the mountain and back down. 

One of our guides was Oni. Here she is telling us about a plant called, “mileaminute.”  It’s used for medicinal purposes.  It grows for a mile, but it will stop you from bleeding in a minute.  

The orange bulb looking plant is a ginger variety.  You can squeeze it and out comes a LOT of gel.  The Fijians use it in their hair. 

Wild chili peppers. We saw a lot of these being sold in the marketplace.

The plant in the far right corner is squished and used for toothpaste/toothbrush. 

The purple one is used for cleaning out your ears, to quit making them itchy. 

We also found out from talking to several of the guides here that they are familiar with cacao trees and it grows wild in their yards. However, they mostly use it just to eat the pulp as a fruit. It’s considered a treat and delicacy. Vakua (a guide who took us bike riding yesterday) has 4 trees and says his grandfather grew lots of cacao. Hopefully, Arif will be able to rehabilitate the cacao industry on this side of the island as well. 

After a lot of slip sliding around (and an occasional fall on my butt), thru creeks and itchy grasses, we finally made it to the top of the mountain and were rewarded with this waterfall. 

And this incredible view! 

On the left side of the island you can see a small beach. We had kayaked there yesterday and had a great time swimming among small baby reef sharks. They didn’t seem nearly as interested in me as I was in them. (Thank goodness!)

Ned looking happy as we started out the hike.  Little did we know.  

Our other guide, Meli.  He’s also been our guide in other adventures like kayaking and snorkeling.  He gives me just enough room to hang myself and then always bails me out.  Sweet guy. 

Me, at the end of the trek - happy to be back.