I was on deck early again as I’m always eager to catch my first glimpse of our destination. We entered the fringing reef on the western side about 6:45am but Fiji is a huge island and it took about an hour to sail slowly up the coast to our port. A very grey day to start so I wasn’t minding that I didn’t have definite plans for the day as I could therefore leave the ship whenever it looked good.

Lautoka is more the industrial port, about an hours drive north of Port Denaru, the place where all the tourist boats dock. What with our late arrival time, there weren’t any sailing or snorkeling trips I could book myself and meet in time. I wonder if Norwegian docked here on purpose so people would be forced to pay for the ship’s excursions…

I ended up walking off as soon as the ship cleared customs at 9am and was immediately surrounded by tour touts. Although I hadn’t really wanted a tour, I succumbed. $29 for 3-4 hours, better than sitting on the ship!

Our first stop was the Garden of The Sleeping Giant. A large tropical garden, it featured a covered path of 2000 orchids leading down to an oasis of lily ponds and exotic plants followed by a tropical jungle walk. The land was once owned by actor Raymond Burr and donated it all to a land trust after his death. I’m not exactly sure about the name of the place other than it lies at the foothills of mountains that apparently take on the appearance of a reclining giant.

Our second stop was the touristy Tifajek Mud Springs and Hot Pools. It’s run by the local village and proceeds from the entrance fees do go towards the village church and school. We only had 30 minutes and I had no intention of getting into a stinking gooey pit with several hundred other passengers so I relaxed on the bus with about 1/3 of my tour.

Afterwards was a fair drive south, and we passed by the driver’s village. The guide explained that Fijian villages share a communal life where no fences are allowed, front doors are always open if you’re home, and no liquor is allowed. The neighbors look out for one another but I guess that means they also know everything that goes on!

We did a drive by of the largest Hindu temple in Southern Hemisphere it was too complicated to enter. We then stopped in the commercial heart of Nadi for 30 minutes for our obligatory souvenir shopping, and finished with an hour at a beach resort. The water was a silty browny green but refreshing for a quick soak and I found a great lounge chair in the shade to relax until the call to board the bus came.

My 3-4 hour tour took 7.5 hours so I appreciated my forethought of bringing some cookies from the buffet with me! Trivia at 5:15pm, straight to a delicious dinner at Azura, then the 7:15pm show – The Tap Pack, a quartet of handsome Australian tap dancers specializing in 40’s era song & dance!