Jan Cornall’s writing retreat in March brought together a large, vibrant group of writers ranging from experienced and published authors to complete beginners. Let’s start with the beginners. Dinny Laufenboek describes her experience:

“All too conscious of being a complete novice as far as writing fiction was concerned (if you discount the “spin” placed regularly on poor corporate results!), I took the precaution of emailing Daku to ensure that the presence of a wannabe-story teller starting from scratch would not hinder the flow of ideas to/from more experienced workshop participants. “No problem”, the answer came back from Jan.  And here’s the thing – it wasn’t!  My personal breakthrough wasn’t immediate – indeed, I spent the first two days floundering, wondering whatever I was doing in the group.   I did not yet have any idea which of the number of stories sitting in my imagination may be the one to tackle let alone how to tackle.  It would be difficult for me to pinpoint what triggered my “breakthrough”  but my experience truly was just as promised by the Workshop write-up i.e. Jan doing what she’s so good at: focussing on what’s swirling around in your mind, accessing it and getting it down on paper in your own voice.  And that’s what happened!  My turn to read in the evening, I was told at the morning’s workshop session – so I went back to my room and I wrote.   And I wrote again.  And again.  And haven’t stopped since!”

Jan Cornall takes up the story:
Writing in Paradise! How is it possible to write like mad with breakthroughs a’plenty while still managing to sip cocktails by the pool, snorkel away the afternoons and enjoy delicious Fijian feasts each night for dinner? By being completely supported and nurtured by Fijian hospitality is how.  For one week; no meals to cook, beds to make, supermarket shopping to do,  no other people to care for, just total focus on your writing. This year’s bunch were here to work hard, you tell by the determined look in their eyes as they arrived to take up the challenge. Rising early before the workshops, using afternoons and evenings to complete writing tasks, putting everything they had into the group work sessions and bringing powerfully unique excerpts of their work to the evening readings. And we had the extra benefit of having experienced writers in our midst including fantasy author Margo Lanagan and playwright/short story writer Caroline Reid. For me it is always a privilege to facilitate such a group, to encourage the sharing of knowledge and practice, in the spirit of making our writing the best it can be. So why did they come, what did they find in Paradise and what did they take home? Here are the answers some of them gave:

Margo Lanagan:  I came here for the companionship of other writers, and to shake my mind and my writing loose from their usual patterns by listening to other people’s stories and discussing their work and my own. I found affirmation in what I was writing, and that lifting of spirits that happens when you’re being transported by someone else’s writing, whether halting first draft or polished near-done chapter. It’s not just the companionship of sitting around talking about process; there’s a particular energy and community that gets generated by being present at the source, or present at the birth, or present at the breakthrough moment for someone else’s story. I’ll take home a new chunk of writer’s network, a new set of memories of a different country (so, new fodder for story settings) and 20 pages of the story I came here to work on.
Margo writes literary fantasy short stories and young adult fiction. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margo_Lanagan and https://twitter.com/margolanagan

 Caroline Reid:
I found the meditation and writing exercises gave me a way to begin writing even on those days when I felt I had nothing to write. I found multiple new ways of entering the work, that brought back a sense of play. It made writing so much more interesting and fun and also took away the inner critic so that I was free to write and trust my impulses.
I found camaraderie with other writers.
Caroline is a playwright and short story writer  http://carolinereidwrites.blogspot.com.au/

Arienne Alphenaar, fiction writer, says:
I came here to get the writer in me to come out; to stop holding myself back and to decide whether to keep writing or to give it away for ever. I take home an inner acceptance, a strengthened desire to write and a direction for the future. I’m taking home the key to unlocking my stories.

Deb Fleming, fantasy writer, says:
I take home with me a lot of great material. A sense of joy in the journey. It may be hard sometimes grinding out the words, but there doesn’t always have to be angst about it. I learned that it’s not a failing to find it difficult to write sometimes. In fact you need to go through the grindstone in order for things to get smooth. I learned how to persevere.
And asked for special memories of the week, Johanne Shepherd mentioned “sitting in the lounge each evening with a pre-dinner drink listening to fellow writer’s read their stories.  It was then that I realised, writing is not so difficult after all.”

Jan will be back in March 2014.

The year started off hot in Savusavu – although folk arriving from Australia were bringing stories of temperatures back in Melbourne and Sydney of over 40 degrees, which was way more that we were experiencing. The heat didn’t stop us enjoying the first yoga retreat of the year. Michele Jayne from Melbourne taught the class in the first week, bringing to it her customary blend of an intense sequence of  asansas in the morning and a much gentler session in the afternoon when she explored the chakras and taught a mixture of Yin yoga and restorative poses.

She stayed on after the course and offered a weekend package to locals. It’s always good to welcome visitors from Suva and we’re often astonished at how many of them say they’ve never been to Savusavu before.  We’ll keep trying to change that!

We had a couple of cruise ships visiting town.  All the local craft shops set up their stalls; some of the most innovative and different offerings were to be found at the stall of local artist who are producing brightly painted original designs on masi  (bark) cloth and coconut shells. They were also selling simple notepads beautifully bound in local fabric including of-cuts from saris, which looked very attractive. This group of artists originally came together under the auspices of the Savusavu Rotary Club who funded materials for their classes. They are now a self-sustaining group who make items that can honestly lay claim to being unique to Savusavu.

The start of February saw 4 or 5 days of high winds from the north which is unusual;  the waves in the bay were huge and most of us took our boats into harbor for protection. Luckily it all calmed down with no mishaps – although there were no fish in town for a few days as none of the fishermen had been able to get out. But that problem also calmed down!

I am mortified…..over two months since the last blog. And it’s not as if nothing has been happening. Far from it: a week’s visit from an artist from Queensland, Chris Postle, who gave free lessons to guests and locals, some great diving weather, a couple of local conferences, and the fabulous visit of the Melbourne Star of the Sea Stacella Choir in December.

This was a school group from  Melbourne  who came out as an end-of-year special treat. They spent a week in singing workshops with Rachel Hore and visiting local villages to sing with them – and of course swimming, sunbathing, snorkeling and entrancing us all with their vitality, humour, enthusiasm and charm. On their final evening they gave a concert attended by 60 people from the local community – the biggest turnout we’ve ever had. And it was a spine tingling event as they sang from their repertoire of both newly learned songs and their old favourites.

Chris Postle came to us in November, bringing paints and paintbrushes and his tremendous enthusiasm. He gave lessons every morning: a couple of days it was to a group of local kids, other days to adults. I even tried my hand at it myself and produced a very creditable beach scene – although it was with quite a bit of help from Chris!

>Boarding up the windows before Cyclone Evan

Then it was a busy run-up to Christmas with two big conferences using the Daku space.  Cyclone Evan passed through and we boarded up the windows, but thankfully it did very little damage to Savusavu, reserving its fury for the eastern islands and Nadi.

Kurtis Hubert puts the local swimmers through their paces

After the hurricane the weather was beautiful, as is so often the way. A  young Canadian visitor, Kurtis Hubert, came to use our yoga space and pontoon to give free swimming  lessons to locals – not really how to swim, but how to teach other people to swim. His group of 12 kids splashed and studied happily every morning for 4 days.

And then it was Christmas Day and our annual visit from Father Christmas.

And now it’s 2013.

Kerrie Lester’s third painting retreat at Daku was her busiest to date.  There was a difference this year in that much of the painting took place on the deck of the villa where Kerrie was staying, and it became a great meeting point for everyone and a useful storage for their work during the week. Something we’ll do our best to replicate next year.

Kerrie’s teaching style reflects her own exuberant, flamboyant embrace of painting – she has an overwhelmingly physical approach, almost wrestling the paint onto the canvas and mentally running alongside her ever-developing idea of what the picture will be. Christine Oxley, one of her students, described her as “quite out of the box in her teaching techniques. I woke up this morning already thinking about what she said -  it was a challenge for me not to use water as a medium and explore other types.”

Her main objective is to get her students to choose a subject then re interpret it with their individual slant: “Each student paints in a totally different way and I guide them individually to achieve the results that they desire and teach them ways to do that.”  To reproduce the scene to look like a photo is not encouraged! Christine Leaming talks of her constant push to excel: “Throughout the class she works with her students encouraging them to improve and push the boundaries, not paint the bathroom wall….which means don’t fill in, make every brush stroke count. She encourages us to use the paint with medium ( a liquid matt or gloss, thick or thin) which gives the paint more volume, keeps the lustre in acrylic paints whereas using water as a thinner results in a flat painting without any richness. So water is for washing brushes only!!”

The use of medium is a fundamental part of her teaching. She shows students how to use them to enhance the paint instead of using water. Mediums can help to give the painting the same effects as using oil paint: “so if you want to paint with very thick paint a la Ben Quilty, you use a medium to achieve that result;  if you want a to paint with glazing techniques another medium is used, and so on”.

Workshops took place on her deck at Daku Resort, and also out on location. She led trips into town to paint by the harbor and to capture images of the small, colorful market, a captivating sight, described by one student as “an experience in every way – there was so much happening – the people especially the children were so curious with their big brown eyes. It is an atmosphere unique to Fiji.” Choice of subject in the market varied enormously from close ups of the fruit vendors to paintings of the vegetables on display.

And then there were also portrait sessions using the Daku staff as models – something they undertook with many giggles at first, but great decorum and solemnity during the session.

Throughout the week there were a variety of trips to see the surrounding area and participate in Fijian life, from the simplicity of a rural village trip to seeing the operations of the local black pearl farm, the picture-postcard beauty of a swim in the lagoon on a beautiful Fijian beach and  a drink in the luxury Jean-Michel Cousteau resort down the road -  a complete snapshot of Fiji.

Several of the group mentioned the value they placed on having the chance to be surrounded by other creative artists and the inspiration they drew from their company. And as any good retreat should, they said “it gave me the opportunity to immerse myself  in what I really love and truly relax.”

Kerrie’s 2013 retreat takes place at the same time next year: 7- 14  September 2013

We seem to have tripped into the area of Ocean Swims – and now we’re wondering why we never did it before. Warm seas, calm waters, easy entry and exit….

Lorraine and Norman after the 5 km swim

It started off a couple of months ago when one of our guests, Norman Hantzsche, decided to swim the 5k from our beach down to the Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort. Norman is an experienced ocean swimmer from Canada and regularly swims long distances. At the time we had a yoga group staying, and one of the yogis, Lorraine Lau, said she’d join him. Lorraine is a super-fit athlete who runs like a jaguar, bends like a rubber band and swims like a ….yup, you guessed.

Two of the other women on the yoga week, Michelle Rutzer and Michelle McKinnon, accompanied the swimmers in kayaks, taking along water for the occasional drink for the swimmers and just being there in case….but it was a beautiful clear day and Norman and Lorraine swam steadily and calmly. The swim took two hours and at the end, the swimmers were only a bit tired.

We rushed down to meet them and cheer, and Bart, the assistant manager at Jean-Michel Cousteau, appeared with a much appreciated pot of tea for the swimmers as we cheered their arrival.

That was the first swim.

Last month, we hosted a 10k swim – down to JMC and then back again. The swimmer this time was Solveig Walkling. Sol is an athlete with extensive experience in endurance events. Earlier this year she broke her foot and has been doing a lot of swimming to rehabilitate it. She works as a Pilates instructor in Australia, and also does modelling wok with fitness magazines and TV shows plus is a journalist – an endurance career itself!
She was at Daku on a three week yoga teacher training course, and on one of the days off did this huge swim. She’d originally planned to go and do one of the big ocean swims at Mana, but it would have disrupted her course. Anyhow, she was mainly interested in swimming the distance, saying: “For me, it’s the swim itself that’s important, not the competition. I came here to escape stress – for me, swimming is about the flow and the challenge. The swim in Savusavu Bay is just perfect.”

It took her 4 hours – and once again the tireless Michelle Rutzer accompanied her in a kayak.

And now we’re working on the idea of another 10k Ocean Swim in 2013, probably in September. Drop us a note if you’re a swimmer and reckon it’s something you’d like to do. And check out Sol’s website at www.bodymindsol.com

Elena’s painting retreat was a journey to new places for everyone. The journey to Fiji was just the beginning. It turned out to be a voyage of both artistic growth and self discovery.

The landscapes and seascapes that the group painted were explorations of new vistas, experiments with new techniques and exercises in viewing the world with a new perspective. Elena teaches a highly realistic style in which you see the glitter of sand beneath the waves and feel the leaves on the trees. She instructs the group both collectively and individually, showing everyone the objective for the workshop and then moving from person to person to guide a brushstroke, suggest a colour highlight, correct perspective and give constructive feedback.

On the first two days the group went to paint at Harman’s raintree near the Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort 5 km down the road. It’s a well known landmark in Savusavu: a huge spreading raintree planted many years ago by Hector Harman, one of the early coconut plantation owners in Savusavu. His children are now grown up and living overseas with kids of their own, but they still have houses on the hill above. The raintree has direct access to the beach, and Elena’s class set up their easels on the sand. As the tide went out they took chairs and placed them in

the water to get a better view around the curves of the headland. This really put an end to the speed painting mindset. When painting “en plein air” (on location), the objective is to capture the essence of the landscape as quickly as possible as nature does not stand still to pose. Shadows move, the tide goes out, clouds appear and disappear, boats move in and out of view.  Painting on location is all about observing the landscape and interpreting it as quickly as possible. But the process of sitting in the water to paint changed the experience from one of simple observation to personally interacting with the environment. It brought a great sense of calm and peacefulness to the whole group so the speed of their painting slowed down. That’s when the group really acclimatized to “island time”. But that was not a problem as they had the opportunity to return to the raintree the following day to repeat the experience and complete their painting.

Later in the week the group visited the market and took in the scene; another day they went to the harbour to capture the boats. On a rainy day everyone set up their easels on the deck of Elena’s villa at Daku and painted under cover – and enjoyed easy access to coffee and cakes!

At the end, one workshop was dedicated to completing all the paintings from the week that were slightly unfinished. It was also an opportunity to cover the topic of how to paint a figure into those scenes. The students appreciated going home with fully completed paintings rather than lots that were slightly unfinished.

As for the self discovery – that is surely half the point of a retreat – to get away and find out about your relationship with painting and in the process, your relationship with yourself. By chance, several members of this group were re-assessing large chunks of their own lives. The remoteness and tranquility of Daku and the gentle, supportive nature of the group, made this a comfortable process. This was more than just a painting holiday – it was an opportunity to make peace with life.

Elena returns to Fiji in June 2013.

Sophie in full flow

“Stay with it……”

That’s the phrase that stays with me from Sophie Marsh’s Nia week.

Others too:  “Relax your jaw… and breathe!” or “[there are] no mistakes!” and “Feel the joy”. But that first was my favourite.

“Stay with it…..” she calls out….with the music, with the movement, with the moment, with the joy. She stays moving with it herself, swaying gently as the music changes to a new track, a new rhythm, a new pace. And then she’s off again, this time to a foot stomping beat accompanied by guttaral yells; or maybe to a melodic number with waving arm movements; and occasionally to a slooow drawwwwwn out curling on the floor with aaaaahs and great wide smiles of bliiiissss.

Feel the joy!

Nia is many and various in its musical numbers, and Sophie is a true master of them all. She is quite literally a master, in that she is the only Nia teacher in Australia who is qualified to teach other Nia teachers, one of only 50 in the world. But she’s also a master in her ability to lead and inspire her class. They follow her in sweat, in song, in soul; they love her. Of course they love her: she is leading them down a path to joy. That is what Nia is about: connecting with joy, grounding yourself in an energy that leads to casting off stress and finding happiness.

The women this week span an age range of some thirty years – there are three mother/daughter couples, and all ages in between.  Many of them have danced with her back in Australia, but some are entirely new to Nia. It’s a week that takes plenty of energy – but then there’s plenty of time to recoup between classes and the group go off  snorkeling, visiting a village, trawling the local shops in Savusavu, lie by the pool reading and enjoy a massage.

And plenty of little extras too. Michelle beats me soundly at Scrabble. Simone helps me redesign one of the villas. Stefanie plays tennis with JJ. Belinda gets me interested in the idea of a lifestyle week but I’m not yet sure what that means. Sally’s 5 – year old daughter Lola makes a good-bye speech that has us all cheering.  We all feel the joy one way or another.

Next year’s Nia week will run August 17 – 24 2013.

Everyone!

Tables and sewing machines set up in the yoga shala

It was a week of liquid focus and fascination, flowing easily from day to day. Each morning the quilters climbed the stairs to the yoga shala where their sewing machines and tables were set up, commanding the most beautiful view of any quilting workshop. There they stayed until George beat the lali for lunch – and sometimes they’d still stay on, piecing together their pictures, stitching a line, ironing a corner, whilst their skill and creativity flowed into their quilts.

The colours were the blues and greens of the ocean and the oranges and reds of sunsets which were laid out before us every evening.

The sounds of the day were muted: the amiable murmur of quiet chat, the occasional exclamation of irritation when a mistake was discovered, the calm instruction of Gloria putting it right or demonstrating a technique.

Gloria and Ann

These were not to be traditional quilts: Gloria teaches landscape art in which the quilter creates a wonderful fabric artwork. Gloria’s own quilts are masterpieces of the genre. The inspiration for the week lay outside right before their eyes.

The quilts on display

And at the end of the week there were some glorious quilts displayed: Glenyce’s dying sun sinking behind the stark trees, Petal’s fiery sunset lighting up the palm trees, Andy’s view across the bay to the distinctive peak of an extinct volcano, and Ann’s palm tree swaying over a fading sunset.

In between there was time for exploration and swimming and snorkeling. Most memorable of all was taking Ann snorkeling: this a woman who was taking swimming lessons for the first time in her life back in Australia, and had the courage to don a life jacket, strap on a mask and snorkel, and come out into the ocean to enjoy the underwater world. I gave her a guiding hand as we floated over the corals and at the end she sat on the beach and gasped: “Brilliant!” She had been just that.

Ann after snorkelling

Phil Gregory of Sicklebill Safaris, a highly respected bird watching guide, came to Daku for a week in June. His report of the week follows – or you can open the pdf to see it with pictures.

Fiji Bird Week Jun 13-20

Led by Phil Gregory

This was a very enjoyable, laid-back and successful inaugural Bird Week, set up by Daku Resort at Savusavu as a part of their programme of diverse activities, focussing on the accessible endemics of Vanua Levu and set during the winter season when the temperatures are very pleasant and the nights even cool. Rain is theoretically much less likely, though in fact we hit a few days of distinctly adverse weather, so much so our Islandhoppers flight from Nadi to Savusavu was cancelled and we came on one of the larger ATR 42 planes of Pacific Sun later that day. Weather for the rest of the time was mixed, but it stayed overcast and cool for the important Silktail trip and we had were able to work around the conditions and relax most afternoons.

Itinerary
Wed Jun 13 Nadi to Labasa depart 1200 and transfer across to Savusavu, Daku Resort 1430 on. Heavy showers.
Thurs Jun 14 Daku Resort area, showers.
Friday Jun 15 Daku Hill walk 0700-0800 Savusavu Bay boat trip 0930-1045. Drive to Tukavesi Village along coast of Natewa Peninsula (3 hrs) for overnight stay. Overcast but dry.
Sat Jun 16 Tukavesi village to Natotovo D 0530 A 0630-1100. Return to Savusavu after lunch. Overcast, some sun later.
Sun Jun 17 Waisele NR D0600, A 0700-0900. Rain. Birding roadsides back to Savusavu
Mon Jun 18 Oneva 0700-0900; Waisele 1030-1130 Rain and fog.
Tues Jun 19 Savudrodo 0630-0800, overgrown and slippery! Birding road around Waisele in bright sun.
Wed Jun 20 Depart Savusavu on Islandhoppers for Nadi 1115.

Daku Resort was a very pleasant place to base and we made ourselves at home amongst sundry Tom Robbins motivational course participants, snorkelers and sundry beaders from Australia and NZ. JJ was an excellent and convivial host, and the staff were great, particular thanks to multi-tasking and hard working Keni who bore the brunt of our early mornings and odd requirements, and to his lad John who helped us on the Waisele day and clearly has some talent at bird-related things- I am glad he did not get suspended over the stone-throwing punch-up at his school! Thanks to Sue Gregory and Delia Rothnie-Jones who put together the logistic framework, we look forward to future bird weeks.

Thanks also to an easy-going and convivial group, I hope you enjoyed the birding and the various activities, sorry about the lack of Many-coloured Fruit-Dove, Blue-crested Flycatcher and Polynesian Starling on Vanua Levu, but those who went to Colo-i-Suva after the bird week saw all except the fruit dove, a night or two here may be worth adding to the itinerary for 2013. Vinaka vakalevu.

Phil, Kuranda, Queensland June 2012

Species List

Endemics or near endemics in bold; Introduced species (I)

Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa
One en route from Labasa and two near Savusavu at the fishponds.

Pacific Reef Heron Egretta sacra
Small numbers seen, all dark phase except for one white phase that flew over the resort one afternoon. A bird on the sports field near Savusavu looked like a pale grey type Reef Heron, with a white chin and throat, but also seemed structurally more like a White-faced, raising the intriguing possibility do they hybridize here/ I have some good photos and will ask the great and the good for their opinions. Personally I think it is an immature White-faced Heron.

White-faced Heron E. novaehollandiae
A couple near Labasa airport, this is quite a recent colonist of the islands.

Brown Booby Sula leucogaster
A couple seen on the boat trip off Daku Resort. A distant booby seen from Daku may have been a brown morph Red-footed but I left it uncertain.

Lesser Frigatebird Fregata ariel
3 seen over Daku in the stormy conditions after we arrived, with one next day.

Great Frigatebird Fregata minor
This proved to be the commoner frigatebird this trip, with up to 6 seen and some nice white-headed birds over Savusavu

Frigatebird sp. Fregata sp.
Several unidentified distant frigatebirds were seen from Daku.

Swamp (Pacific) Harrier Circus approximans
Just one single over mangroves near Tukavesi, unexpectedly scarce.

Fiji Goshawk Accipiter rufitorques
Common, with 3 or 4 seen each day, often heard calling.

Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva
6 on a reef near Tukavesi and then 28 at Savusavu airstrip.

Wandering Tattler Tringa incana
5 on a reef near Tukavesi, and one near Savusavu.

Great Crested Tern Sterna bergii
A few off Daku Resort.

Black-naped Tern Sterna sumatrana
12+ on the boat trip out of Daku, fishing with Black Noddies.

Bridled Tern Onychoprion anaethetus
3 offshore from Daku Jun 14 then 2 out in the bay on the boat trip.

Black Noddy Anous minutus
Fair numbers >60 off Daku during the rough weather earlier in the trip and 40 on the boat trip.

Feral Pigeon Columba livia (I)
A few in Nadi and Savusavu, much to Dugald’s delight….

White-throated (Metallic) Pigeon Columba vitiensis
Great views of up to a dozen near Tukavesi, one at Waisele and then 10 on a tree near Jerusalemi village near Savusavu.

Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis (I)
A few around Daku and Savusavu.

Orange Dove Chrysoenas victor
A male at Natovotovo Silktail site gave fantastic views, and we saw another up on the Waisele Trail in the rain, with one heard at Savudrodo and another near Savusavu. The birds were singing well, depressing the tail slightly with each call so the bird gave a quiver, and making the bizarre “click” call.

Peale’s Imperial-Pigeon (Barking Pigeon) Ducula latrans
Common and very vocal in the forests of Vanua Levu.

Collared Lory Phigys solitarius
Great views of them feeding in a bottlebrush at Daku Resort, and small numbers were around in the coconuts at various sites.

Maroon (Red) Shining Parrot Prosopeia tabuensis
Distant and rather frustrating views of singles and twos near Tukavesi and up near Waisele, they were both uncommon and secretive on this island even though we had 5 day records. It’s a striking large parrot with a very strange flight, with deep slow wing-flaps, the wings raised very high over the back.

White-rumped Swiftlet Aerodramus spodiopygius
Quite common, we saw 10+ per day.

Collared Kingfisher Todirhamphus chloris vitiensis
A very distinct form, and the whole complex of 49 taxa is way overdue for radical splitting. We saw the pale and rather Sacred Kingfisher-like vitiensis on Vanua Levu, which looks to be sexually dimorphic with one sex being whitish beneath, the other a rich warm buff, and both very unlike Collared Kingfisher.

Orange-breasted Myzomela Myzomela jugularis
Small numbers daily on Vanua Levu, where we had up to 6 per day. it’s a very striking species with red on the rump.

Wattled Honeyeater Foulehaio carunculata
Common at Daku where they were coming in and chasing around the bottlebrush, this is the race taviunensis with a well-developed orange wattle.

Fiji Wood-swallow Artamus mentalis
Quite common on Vanua Levu with up to a dozen per day.

Polynesian Triller Lalage maculosa
Quite common out in the wooded areas, this is the race woodi which has quite dark blackish upperparts in some birds, more brown in others, presumably a sexual dimorphism.

Fiji Whistler Pachycephala (pectoralis) aurantiiventris
We saw two rather distinctive taxa on Vanua Levu which were new for my collection of “Golden Whistler” taxa: The nominate aurantiiventris was quite common in tall forest and is entirely orange-yellow below, with dark blackish upperparts and no yellow collar; the female is drab brown with a pale throat and buffy underparts.

The Natewa Peninsula race ambigua has a narrow black breast band and yellow underparts, and a richer coloured female. I wish I’d been able to tape the calls, but at least I got a good series for aurantiiventris, which is very vocal at dawn at Daku.

The whole complex of 64 “Golden Whistler’ taxa is way overdue for a massive split-up, which the IOC have now begun with Fiji and White-throated Whistler (Kadavu) here in Fiji.

Streaked Fantail Rhipidura spilodera

This was fairly common on Vanua Levu but only in good tall forest. The race here is erythronata, and Fiji birds seem pretty different to the New Caledonian birds too in both calls and morphology.

Fiji Bush Warbler Cettia ruficapilla
Common by voice but hard to see, with the race castaneoptera on Vanua Levu. We saw one quite well up at the Silktail site. Sorry John!

Slaty Monarch Mayrornis lessoni
First seen up at the Devo Silktail site, the harsh scolding call is diagnostic, then again at Oneva.

Fiji (Lesser) Shrikebill Clytorhynchus vitiensis
Good views up at the Silktail site at Natotovo seeing a couple of birds, then a nice look at one at Oneva in regrowth forest. This is the race buensis with 8 taxa recognized here in Fiji, differing in minor colour and size characters.

Vanikoro Flycatcher Myiagra vanikorensis
Quite common on all 3 islands, we saw rufiventris on Vanua Levu. It is virtually a Fiji endemic, as the nominate is only on remote Vanikoro in the Santa Cruz Islands, Solomons.

Silktail Lamprolia victoriae
Probably the highlight of the stay was the finding of the rare kleinschmidti taxon of Silktail in the forest at Natovotovo, at the site of the former Silktail Lodge. Eddie the landowner took us right to the spot after a fairly easy walk crossing one shallow creek, and we had nice views of at least two birds. I was surprised at how small they seemed, and the way they were foraging high in branches and creepers, picking about like a creeper. The head had a dull bluish iridescence, and the tail was silky satin white with a narrow black border and tip. No vocalizations were heard. It occurs only on the eastern part of the Natewa Peninsula and must be pretty darn rare as the forest is pretty disturbed and not too extensive, though they have 2500 acres here, which they are currently preserving. It’s also amazing how Blue-crested Flycatcher does not overlap with it.

Pacific (Scarlet) Robin Petroica (multicolor) boodang
Good views of a male at Oneva and another at Savudrodo next day, this is the race kleinschmidti. It was heard up behind Daku Resort as well but was very skulking.

Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica
A few around Savusavu.

Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer (I)
Small numbers on Vanua Levu; it’s actually quite an attractive species!

Layard’s White-eye Zosterops explorator
Common in the wooded habitats.

Silvereye Z. lateralis
Not as common as the endemic white-eye, but still seen most days with one or two birds.

Jungle Myna Acridotheres fuscus (I)
A few around Daku and Savusavu, much less common than the abundant Common Myna.

Common Myna A. tristis (I)
Common around the coast on Vanua Levu.

Red Avadavat Amandava amandava (I)
Small flocks abound Savusavu and at Tukavesi, quite an attractive small finch and probably harmless here.

Fiji Parrot-Finch Erythrura peali
A group of about 4 feeding by the roadside en route to Waisele was a good find and gave nice looks.

Mammals

Samoan Flying-fox Pteropus samoensis
A few up near Tukavesi may have been this species, they looked paler and more silvery, but these Pteropus are hard to distinguish in the field.

Pacific Flying-fox Pteropus tonganus
This was quite common on Vanua Levu with camps of 40 + and 100+ in day out in the degraded woodlands, and often seen flying over Daku. The buffy neck fur seemed to go onto the mantle, which I think, makes it this species and not the rather larger Samoan Flying Fox.

Indian Mongoose Herpestes auropunctatus (I)
Regrettably seen every day on Vanua Levu where it is obviously abundant and explains the lack of Buff-banded Rails and Purple Swamphens!

Phil Gregory, Daku Resort, Vanua Levu, Fiji June 20 2012

info@sicklebillsafaris.com
www. sicklebillsafaris.com
www. cassowary-house.com.au

Open up this file Report Fiji Bird Week June 2012-1 to see the same report with pictures.

Lessa and Jenny (left)

When doctors go on holiday, they are all too often beset by other people asking them for a quick opinion on whatever aches and pains they have that day. When quilters go on retreat, it’s a prime opportunity for the rest of us to sidle up to them with rips and tears in our favourite garments and ask if they couldn’t just…….well, I was shameless and thanks to Jenny, my husband now has a beautifully mended shirt.

Kay at her machine

Which is all slightly irrelevant to the quilting itself but it’s a nice little story about quilters, who are some of the jolliest, best natured and most obliging groups we ever get. The sheer volume of laughter they produce is wonderful. What’s so funny each day? I have no idea, but whenever I walked up to see them and admire their work, I approached on a rising wave of burst of gaiety.

They had a lot to be happy about, of course. A week with one of Australia’s best teachers of traditional quilting. A truly stunning location : we put them up in the yoga shala with its fabulous views of the sea over the tops of the swaying palm trees. Good weather: sunny days with enough breeze to stay cool. Cheerful company, augmented by the enchanting Angelique, the baby granddaughter of one of the quilters Cheryl, who was enjoying a 3 generation outing: herself, her daughter and her granddaughter. And some fun outings, including snorkelling on the reef which was a first for both Lessa and Jenny.

Lessa demonstrating a technique on the machine

And in between all this, they produced marvellous work, swirling swathes of colour in the Fractured Circles design, and intricate patterns in the Mariners Compass design. On the last evening we had a Show and Tell, and all the other guests at the resort gathered to admire and applaud the work on display. A very happy week and Lessa will be back next year in August.