After a string of days on the islands, I decided to head back to the mainland for a mountain bike tour of the hills outside of Nadi. There were a couple of cycling options, but I chose a bike-and-hike tour that took us up into the hills through some small villages and to a traditional Fijian house. We took a break from peddling, drank Kava (as one does), and began hiking up into the rainforest to a chilly swimming hole next to a large mountain known as “The Sleeping Giant”.
Along the way, we munched on snacks from the surrounding fields, including grapefruit, papaya, bananas, and pineapples. We also gnawed on sugar cane stalks to reach the sweet juice. Afterwards, we hiked back down to the same house for a wonderful traditional Fijian lunch before cycling back downhill to the coastal plain. A good workout and a satisfying day.
An Australian couple who rode with me on this trek had just spent the past week at one of Fiji’s posh resorts. They just decided on a whim to try roughing it for a day to see what life was like outside of their sterile enclave. While for me this day was in the same vein as other eco-tourism experiences I’ve had, they were totally blown away by the richness of immersing themselves in the Fijian culture and rubbing shoulders with the locals.
