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

A trip to see dolphins with a couple of guests – and we could not have been more blessed. The weather was beautiful – warm sun, blue skies with a scattering of clouds, a light breeze. Our boatman Joe was a warm, confident young man who had spent his life growing up around the waters of the bay. He took us out along the eastern coast line of Natewa Bay (the largest bay in the South Pacific) to a spot he obviously knew, and cut the engine. Then he stood up in the back of the boat and whistled – long shrill whistles, four or five. Story book fables, I thought – but how wrong that was.

Within moments the water 400 metres away rippled and gleamed black; a few shapes broke the surface and then there were five, ten, twenty dolphins leaping and racing. Joe turned the engine on again and powered the boat through the water; some of the dolphins stayed about 150 metres away but many others came streaking in, diving under the hull, weaving in front of the prow, showing off their magnificent speed and graceful movements. They are quite small , perhaps one and a half to two metres in length, and they seemed to love playing, happily staying alongside us, speeding up when we did and cruising forward when we slowed down. Off the starboard there was one who decided to give us a display of leaping and spinning, and we cried out our admiration.

When we finally stopped and turned back towards the reef, we came across two things. First, a floating plastic bottle. Giselle, who is deeply committed to the health of the seas, saw it and got Joe to turn back so we could pick it up. And as we did so we spotted a small turtle very close to the surface, swimming along in apparent exhaustion. We circled again and Jo leaned over the side of the boat, grabbed it and brought it on board. When we got to the reef he delivered it back into the ocean near the food supply it needed.

The reefs in Natewa Bay are spectacular, with vast beds of hard coral and a rich fish life. We spent a happy half hour snorkelling there, returning to the beach where the tide had now dropped a long way.

It was the perfect trip. There’s a more than even chance of seeing dolphins – Joe says it depends on weather, tides and chance, but reckons he finds them 3 times in 5. My own experience is that I’ve been out 3 times and seen them twice. Even if you don’t find them, it’s still a lovely drive to Natewa Bay and the boat trip and snorkelling are wonderful. But this day, we had the dream trip – it doesn’t get any better.

Savusavu is known for its geothermal hot springs, and many more are to be found scattered around the island of Vanua Levu. There’s a particularly notable outcrop in the remote village of Nakabolou, where a series of specially constructed stone pools were once built for the use of the village’s chiefly rulers. Much of the complex is now overgrown and inaccessible, but we’ve been encouraging one of the local landowners to cut back the vegetation and open up the area. He’s been working hard and has created a very pleasant setting: bamboo chairs and a table, and small garden around the two hot pools.

Sailosi and Fran at Nakabolou Hot Springs

They are VERY hot; you can just about get your feet into the top one but it would be a painful submersion; the lower one is a little less hot but probably a bit too muddy to want to actually lie in. You can also walk up to the shed where the landowner is drying out the copra. He’s laid a corrugated iron sheet over the hot spring and the steam heats it to a high temperature which acts as a hot plate to dry the coconut flesh. All around he’s been cutting back the bush: we know that there are the remains of an ancient village somewhere, so we are waiting to see what emerges with interest. It’s still a work in progress but well worth the trip.

Fording the river

The magic of the outing lies as much in the drive there as anything else. The road is tar sealed to Vunavesi, and then it’s a dirt track up the valley. You need a four-wheel drive vehicle as the road crosses a couple of rivers and goes up and down some sharp and rough hills. It follows the river, dipping up and down. The hills rise steeply on either side; down in the valley there are bamboo groves and occasional cleared spaces for growing cassava and dalo, but higher up its covered with thick vegetation in many shades of glorious green.

Journey through the Jungle

We always arrange the trip with Sailosi Qomate, who has been a friend for many years. Sailosi has quite exceptional knowledge of the area and knows just about everyone. He comes along as our mata ni vanua – spokesman – to ensure that we observe the correct protocols with the local villages, and make introductions along the way. He’s also a font of information on Fijian life. So ask us to pack up a picnic and we’ll take you off for a fascinating half day trip. And – here’s a fun extra – take along your bathing costume (actually, it’s best to wear it as there’s not much privacy for changing) and on the way back we’ll stop by the river and you can have a plunge in the fast flowing fresh stream.

Nakabolou Hot Springs picnic area

Sailosi and Koko the landowner