A barefoot Santa comes up the drive

Christmas Day is never complete without Santa, and sure enough, he arrived at lunch with a sack of presents. There were 20 guests, and everyone received a small gift. Santa ho-ho-ho’d around and then disappeared off again whilst we went through to a fairly traditional lunch of chicken, ham, roast potatoes, pumpkin and carrot followed by Xmas pud.

Santa and the kids

Santa handing out the gifts

Fran and Dave from Christchurch, New Zealand – our intrepid explorers of the month.

Climbing the 137 steps to the top

Many of our guests at Daku enjoy strenuous hikes, and I knew these two were up for a challenge by the way they skipped up and down the steep muddy slopes of our waterfall path (which we have subsequently re-cut with their advice).

So it’s Fran’s picture that now graces the description of the trip to the Nakabolou hot springs, and the photos on this blog of the Bagata hydro-electric system are taken by Dave.

The hydro system is up a very lovely valley outside the village of Bagata, about a 25 minute drive from Savusavu. The main plant is fed by a water reservoir that you climb 137 steps to reach. Dave actually ran ahead of us to get the photo. Intrepid or mad? Whichever, they are great photos.

One pipe goes up, one pipe goes down.

The reservoir is fed by a huge pipe that runs back up the valley for about 3 km to a small dam. Dave explained how it worked and my physics lessons of so many years ago seeped back into my understanding: water always flows from a high point to a lower point, even if it has to go up for part of the way. Thus the pipe started high up the valley, ran down and finally shot back up the 137 steps to the reservoir – but that point was still lower than the source. (Hope I’ve got that right!)

The source of the water for the hydro-electric scheme

The Bagata hydro makes a very pleasant part of the trip to Nakabolou. The drive takes in stunning scenery and great views on a dirt road which runs alongside a stream. You’ll pass villagers walking to their farm plots and horses wandering into the water and you’ll see profusion of vegetation and lushness of landscape found only in the tropics.

Dam at the top of the valley

As cameras get better and better, lots of people now come armed with digital cameras that can be used underwater; others have small waterproof casings that they can load their camera into. As a result, we all have much better photos. But when you go out with a pro with all the gear – well!! It’s a quantum leap in quality. Normally they concentrate on the dive sites, but this time we went snorkelling to Charlie’s Point with Daniel Schwartz and he came back with some stunning shots.

Charlie’s Point is one of the shallower sites along Lesciaceva Reef just past the point where the Jean-Michel Cousteau resort is situated. We had great visibility that day and there was lots of both coral and fish life to be seen. And a special bonus was a huge spiral triton shell sitting on one of the coral pinnacles. Have a look at these great shots.

Daniel will be back to run a marine photography course in June 2012.

The delicacy and detail of botanical paintings is astonishing. With six days at their disposal, the artists still claimed they were pressed to finish by the end of the week – but their artwork was of a very high standard. Delicate heliconia, robust ginger, and the intricate lacy petals of a hibiscus were all on display as the painters bent over their boards in the classroom set up for them in the yoga shala. It is a beautiful spot to spend your time: a lovely view, a tranquil space and the companionship of all the others, chatting quietly, offering tips and giving support. Plus tea and coffee and cakes brought up during the morning! And of course the excellent teaching of Leonie Norton, who manages to squeeze unsuspected genius out of everyone.

The artists move into the yoga shala

It is unfair to single anyone out but……a special mention of Jeannette who has never done any painting before but produced a really stunning picture of a flowering ginger (Alpinia purpurata). She was there with her daughter Helen who had come to us as prizewinners of a competition run with Eckersley’s art shops: Helen painted a hibiscus (Hibiscus schizopetalus), with immensely delicate petals. Leonie taught her the value of painting in the petals in the foreground, but leaving those in the background half- coloured so as not to overwhelm the eye with detail.

Jeanette and Helen hard at work

Alva back for her third retreat at Daku

And another special mention: this one of Alva, who was back for her second week at Daku. She commanded a table to herself as she painted her heliconia and the tiny lines on the curled leaf beside it. On the next table Helen and Jean (yes, another Helen, with a Jean not Jeannette) concentrated on another variety of heliconia (Jean) and a red hybrid hibiscus Hibiscusrosa-sinensis (Helen) which she examined minutely through a large magnifying glass so as to capture every fold of its petals.
At the front table sat Mary and Kathryn, both of them tackling large plants – Mary a Heliconia rostrata, commonly known as the Lobster Claw, which you grows prolifically at Daku, and Kathryn a Heliconia caribaeaux x bihai. This was Kathryn’s first attempt and despite being anxious, she was thrilled with her beautiful final painting, which will be the first of many, I am sure. They patiently laid down their washes, sat back to let the paint dry, then bent over again to apply the next layer.

Behind them Dawn plugged herself into her iPod and was in another world of her own as she built up her picture. She completed a strong confident painting of a Heliconia psittacorum ‘Andromeda’, the Parrot Heliconia. Robyn was one of the only ones not using the colour red as she painted the delicate contrasting violet flowers and long dark green leaves of a plant growing profusely on the resort.

Marlene and another Dawn sat at the table at the back; more large, sturdy heliconia – one in dramatic reds and the other in pinks and greens. Marlene’s pendant Heliconia collinsiana ranged in colour from vivid orange-reds to deep maroons, with a light blush covering the bracts and huge leaves, which she also painted. Dawn’s painting was of the quite rare Heliconia wagneriana. The bracts are a delicate salmon-pink with soft lemon edges lined with vibrant green.

Marlene and her pendant Heliconia collinsiana

And so there’s everyone accounted for and special mentions all round. At the end of the week we pinned all the pictures up in the big bure and enjoyed the beauty and professionalism of all the work on display before our final dinner and reluctant goodbyes to a week of flowering talent.

Leonie Norton returns to Daku for her next course in March 2012.

Elena Parashko, who comes to Daku to teach a week of Seascape painting in August, is a regular contributor to a number of art magazines. In this article she reflects on the need to sometimes step back and give yourself a break.

Being Kind to Yourself

In every artist’s life there are times when it is difficult to focus and actually create art. When this happens, take time out to reflect on your experiences, thoughts and feelings. Be honest with yourself. Recognize if you are just procrastinating, whether life’s everyday problems are getting in the way of creating or if you have a real crisis to deal with. Then you will know if you need to hold yourself accountable to your goals and just get on with the work or if you need to be kind to yourself and resolve major issues first.

There are 3 main reasons why you may find it difficult to concentrate on being creative:

1. Procrastination
Even if we have very clear goals and know what must be done to achieve them, sometimes we will do almost anything else to avoid starting. This self defeating behaviour may be caused by a fear of the blank canvas – for 10 strategies to deal with this see my online article “Overcoming the Fear of the Blank Canvas.” Maybe you are procrastinating because you have not yet established a disciplined work ethic. Then devise a routine that fits the demands of your life. Perhaps you are not inspired by the work. Then look at the piece in a new way and find a challenge in it that will motivate you. If you have a fear of rejection, then accept that “No” is not personal and comes with the territory in the arts. If you are being distracted by other people or obligations, then give your artwork the priority it deserves by placing it above other demands and not just fitting it in if there is time left over. If you are not sure how to proceed with a project; then ask questions, do some research and find out where to begin. If you realize you cannot meet a goal, don’t beat yourself up about it and not even start. Just change the parameters of the goal to make it achievable. The best cure for procrastination is to get started in whatever way you can. Once immersed in the creative process, the rest will take care of itself.

2. Life’s problems
Everyone has problems to deal with. These may range from annoying distractions to more complicated issues that require your time and attention. While resolving problems, keep them in perspective and don’t use them as an excuse not to work. Art doesn’t just have a therapeutic effect on the viewer; it can be the best medicine for the artist as well. Creating can act as a release valve to externalise internal conflict and stress. Initially you may have to go with the creative flow and let what ever is inside express itself rather than trying to create what was planned. Experiencing and dealing with problems is a normal part of life. As such they can actually inspire artwork with universal themes.

3. Crisis
When a real crisis hits you, then be kind to yourself and give yourself permission to temporarily put your artwork on hold if you need to. You may feel physically exhausted, emotionally drained or so depleted of resources that you have nothing left to give to an artwork. Forcing yourself to paint under these circumstances can be counter productive. You will not produce your best work and may even be using it as an escape to avoid dealing with serious issues in your life that need to be addressed. Self imposed work pressures may be enough to push you over the edge from a state of coping to feeling completely overwhelmed. If you have a physical or mental health crisis, your first priority is to get yourself well and give your body and mind time to rest and recover. If you have an emotional crisis, then allow yourself time to go through the grieving process. If you are facing a social crisis, then deal with that personal relationship or be there to support a loved one. If you are struggling through a financial crisis, then make it a priority to do what is required to support yourself.

When you have a passion for art, it can never be lost. The creative spirit will find a way to express itself in one form or another as you are able. All these challenges will require you to draw upon strength and resources you never imagined you had. And when the crisis is over, returning to your art may be a very important part of the healing process.

“Being Kind to Yourself” by Elena Parashko as published in Professional Artist Magazine
www.ProfessionalArtistMag.com

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View details of Elena’s upcoming Seascapes and Landscapes Painting Retreat at Daku Resort in August this year.
Elena Parashko is an artist, teacher and writer based in Sydney, Australia. Her artwork can be viewed at www.elenaparashko.com and she can be reached at info@elenaparashko.com

Diana Plater attended Jan Cornall’s writing retreat in March and this article appeared in The Weekend Australia on 23 April 2011.

The benefits of a creative writing course at a simple resort on the island of Vanua Levu.

by Diana Plater

TEN years is a long time for a manuscript to sit in a bottom drawer, especially when it hasn’t been completed. But that’s the situation with my latest book. I’ve done most of the research and interviews, written an outline and a couple of chapters, given it a title, attempted to turn it into a play and considered a chick-lit conversion.

But two chapters do not a novel make.

I am greatly in need of inspiration and ways to break writer’s block. As Jackie Collins once advised: ‘‘Write, don’t talk about it.’’

So when an invitation arrives to do a creative writing course in an exotic location how can I refuse? And especially when it’s titled Breakthrough Writing in Fiji.

The course, taught by playwright, novelist and performer Jan Cornall, is one of several types run each year at Daku Resort, on Fiji’s northern and less-visited island of Vanua Levu, just a kilometre or so up the road from the colourful town of Savusavu.

Cornall runs courses in Australia and overseas destinations and this is her second at Daku. Delia and John Rothnie-Jones, who own the resort, have been running courses since 2004 in subjects as diverse as literature appreciation, painting and bird watching.

This year they are also including painting, singing, beading, snorkelling and marine life and yoga workshops on the agenda.

Daku Resort offers friendly, no-frills accommodation, which in some ways makes it easier to concentrate on the craft of writing.

The lush gardens and gorgeous views through the coconut palms help play on the senses, another aspect of the course.

As I arrive earlier than the other five members of the group, Delia takes me on a boat trip across the bay where we swim and collect shells. That evening the group arrives, looking a bit worse for wear. They’ve flown from Sydney to Nadi and then Suva to Labasa followed by a hairy taxi ride across the mountains to Savusavu.

Air Pacific assures us that when its two new TwinOtter aircraft arrive in June it will resume frequent services to Savusavu and other islands from Nadi andvisitors won’t be faced with cancellations
and mountainous taxi trips (although I do enjoy the ride on the way back).

The next morning we get stuck into the first of our daily three-hour lessons conducted in an open-air room overlooking palms and sea that Delia says is the only ‘‘custom-built yoga shala in the south Pacific’’.
We are working on a variety of books on very different themes: a memoir, a historical novel, a war history-cum-memoir  and three contemporary novels, including mine.

I am pleased to see the other writers have similar problems to mine. They have their stories, characters and themes worked out, but are stuck and none has a completed manuscript. A couple have some trepidation about reading to the group, but we all find the encouragement gentle and genuine. And breaking into pairs to work on mapping plots and themes is also helpful.

Cornall’s aim is to help you focus on what’s swirling around in your mind, access it and get it down on paper in your own voice. She uses meditation and creative visualisation; yoga on a few mornings as well as swimming and snorkelling also help, giving us time to think (or not think), as does the solitude and
peace of writing in a bure.

After a daily 6pm reading session together, we have group dinners with other guests at Daku; meals are simple but substantial with all meals included in the week-long course’s cost.

I’ve had a few distractions since returning home but I’ve almost completed another chapter and I’ve made a big decision: this book is definitely not chick-lit. The course has given me the breakthrough I needed.

Jan returns to Fiji in 2012 for another week of Breakthrough Writing from 17 – 24 March, 2011.
Read more here »

Writers Get Creative Amid Palms in Fiji – News article from Yahoo!7

We’ve carved out a whole new entrance to the resort with a new drive and car park. The only problem is, there’s a 90 foot coconut tree in the corner and it bombs two of the spaces beneath.

Have you ever looked at a coconut? It has three “eyes” in it, and the Fijians say that it’s so the coconuts can see people and avoid smacking them on the head. But we weren’t too convinced that they could avoid cars in a similar fashion, and that we would end up with a rash of shattered windscreens and dented bodywork.

So we put out a call to a coconut tree trimmer and a few days later Mr Tower arrived: a cheerful, knotty muscled man of 70 with spiked boots. He clomped his way up the tree with terrifying competence, and breakfast was forgotten as all our guests stood open mouthed watching him. He hacked down 25 coconuts, a great clump of seed pods and the odd branch and they all sailed to earth on the breeze. It was the best morning’s entertainment in a long while!!

Meanwhile back on the ground we’ve put in entirely new wooden decking around the pool and built a new covered area which is proving a real asset. The lounge lizards can continue to bask in the sun and those who want some shade have a comfortable place to sit and read and chat.

Sydney Yoga Instructor, Tara Er, who led an Iyengar Yoga retreat at Daku this August entitled “Discover Yourself” shares her experience of the retreat with us below.

It was an early morning start Saturday to embark for departure on an 8:10am flight from Sydney to Nadi. At the airport I excitingly met my students as they arrived. We made our way through customs and regrouped with each other at the gate. Our journey had begun.

Tara and the view from the Yoga Shala

The flight from Sydney to Nadi went well, watching 11/2 movies ensures time passes quickly.
We arrived in Nadi to the beautiful heat of Fiji and I was in heaven. Here we had less than an hour to change planes for Savusavu. We very quickly learned the meaning of Fiji time, which is quite different to Sydney time. Our 3pm flight to Savusavu didn’t depart until around 5pm, an interesting way to be pulled out of Sydney time and introduced to Fiji time.

The plane to Savusavu was a 20 seater and the flight was only one hour. So around 6:30-7pm we arrived at Savusavu airport and then took a shuttle bus to Daku Resort, the sun was just setting and we were ready to unpack our bags, change and reconnect for dinner.

The Fijian staff welcomed us as family. We shared our week with a creative writing group and so joined them at the Dining Table. This meant dinner usually commenced at 7pm, and found us still sitting at the table chatting until 9pm. For lunch and dinner we were summoned by the kitchen drum.

Early Morning Yoga

We began the retreat with a Welcome gathering circle to introduce ourselves to each other and familiarize ourselves with the venue and how the retreat was to run. It was up to the individual of how much she/he wanted to obtain from the retreat. Classes started at 6am for a Silent sitting Meditation followed up by a 6:30-7am Pranayama class, followed up by a 7-9am active asana class, with the focus changing daily. If one arose early enough one could watch the moon setting, it was a beautiful full moon setting over the water, just magic. I had never seen anything like it. It was nature at her best.

After our morning practice we would have some time to ourselves before we reconnected over breakfast. Each day unfolded a little differently with rest or activities taking up our time. We would then gather at the Yoga Shala for our afternoon Restorative practice to recharge our batteries. There was then a short break of free time before we would again gather for dinner.

The Resort had organized some activities for us between our yoga classes and we added a few other activities onto our timetable. Throughout the week we rested, snorkeled, swam, scuba dived, hired a couple of scooters to venture around the island, received a massage, shopped, walked, watched Tapa being made, visited the local village and heard their choir sing – they sounded like Angels, had a meal in Town, checked out a waterfall. Before we knew it our week had come to an end.

It was such a wonderful week and I found myself to be a little sad to have left this exquisite island of paradise. I’ve been encouraged by the responses from the students who participated, assuring me that they will return next year.

Tara’s 2011 course will run from 6 – 13 August next year. You can read more about the retreat at Paradise Courses or Yoga in Fiji. Read more about Tara and her practice at Cronulla Yoga Centre.

Anemone Clown Fish at Split Rock

Who cares? you might say…..but in this day of search-engine driven marketing, it matters. When we put up details of our snorkeling weeks, the Americans will find it – but if we want the Australians and English to come along, it has to be snorkelling. Well, I’m probably exaggerating a bit because people trawl around and have a look. And once the quibbling is over, the snorkel(l)ing is fantastic. I’ve already blogged about it, but there’s always more.

Our recent group of singers had a lot of keen snorkellllllers amongst them and we ran trips out to the reef on a daily basis. Here’s what one of them said:

We came to attend a singing course. The opportunity to combine two of our favourite activities (singing and snorkelling) on a daily basis was incomparable. Easy access to posh resort (Cousteau) for diving, Savusavu for trinkets and Indian tailors, reefs for snorkelling and even a local scooter hire place. Who could complain!

Catching the early morning reef activity is always great – when I’m at Daku I often take people out to Split Rock at 7.00am, which is when there’s an abundance of fish feeding around the rock and the nearby coral gardens.

And in July and October we’ve got snorkelling weeks with lectures, so people can learn more about what they’re seeing.

Delia on the boat (oh!! the hair!!!)

The runners are off.....

On April 10th Savusavu held its second ever Fun Run and we were hosts for the event.

Organised by Sharon Wild, it raised over $400 for the PTA of Khemendra Primary School.

We had a beautiful (and very hot) morning and with 80 participants and a fair amount of noise and chaos early on, but things soon got sorted out and the runners were off.

The first run was just 1km and a pretty easy foray; I (Delia) ran it myself accompanied some of the way by Sharon’s 5 year old son Dylan. Like many little kids, Dylan’s method of running is to sprint as fast as he can for as long as he can; he then stops completely and wanders along red-faced and exhausted; then picks up his energy and darts off again. Anyhow, he still got back over the finish line in a respectable time and I was close on his heels.

The 5 km event was more serious, with older kids and several adults. The runners all disappeared off down the road and seemed to take a long time coming back which was a surprise because there was a top runner from Australia amongst them (my daughter’s boyfriend so I can say that!). His normal time would have been well under 20 minutes so when it was 25 minutes we all got a bit concerned. It turned out that the policeman marking the turning point had wandered off and the runners had to guess for themselves. Still, they made it back safely.

Afterwards we had a big BBQ and prize presentation of prizes that local sponsors had given: a fabulous trophy by local metalwork sculptor Shane Bower, resort dives with Jean-Michel Cousteau Dive Shop and dinner at Surf and Turf.

Sharon presents the Esava with the winner's trophy made by Shane Bower

Winners:

1KM Race BOYS:
1st place: Esava Ikanidevo, 13yrs old.
2nd place: Mosese Tuidama 13yrs
3rd place: Rashneel

Elliot and Christol

1KM Race GIRLS:
1st place: Ashna Lata
2nd place: Joy Qalita
3rd place: Tepola Fonohea

5KM Event
1st place: Elliot Wise
2nd place: Christol Dheggdd
3rd place: Armani Drake