Our next road-trip took us down the south-west coast of the main island, Viti Levu, through Nadi, Momi, and down to Sigatoka on the Coral Coast. We had taken a short drive to Nadi the evening before, checking out our old house in Kennedy Ave in the process. As luck would have it, the place we were staying was just down the road from our old hood. The street was a lot smaller than I remembered it - but then I was 4 when we left and 8 the last time we visited. Mum and dad commented that the street was more built up than it had been when we lived there. Another notable feature of many 'urban' houses, mostly owned by Indo-Fijians, was the high fences and barbed wire enclosing the houses, a legacy of the last two decades of coups. These barricades were really the only visible sign of the political situation while we were visiting.
On a more positive note, we visited the brightly - some might say, luridly (but not me) - painted Sri Siva Subramaniya Swami Temple on the way out of town. It was apparently the week of Lord Krishna's birthday, so there were plenty of people at the temple making offerings of coconuts. The temple was particularly striking against the blue sky and surrounding mountains.
En route to Sigatoka, we took a detour off the Queen's Road - which runs from Nadi to Suva and is one of the few sealed roads on the island - to visit Momi, site not only of a swanky new development, but also of Momi guns. During WW2, the British built a battery at Momi, which covered the only opening in the coral reef on the western side of Viti Levu large enough to allow ships in. Basically, if any enemy ships had sailed in, they would've been sitting ducks. Although they didn't. The guns are still there though and, better still, the site offers amazing views over Nadi Bay. On the horizon, you can just make out some of the off-shore islands. It was still hot too...
That's all for the moment. There's still lots more to show and tell, but it's getting past my bedtime. Oh yeah, and there are pics of white sand, coconut palms and hibiscus flowers coming up...
1 comment:
A great summary of day 2. you should have been an historian Judith. The temple was really something but your 4th picture is a bit of a bore! And picture 5 ,- is that a native Fijian marama in the pink hat?
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