Carolina Kiwis: An Unexpected South Seas Adventure

Thursday

All that swimming yesterday must have really worn Ro out, because he slept in later than us for the first time in recent memory. We ate a quick breakfast at Nuku, then hopped on the South Sea Cruises charter bus which took us to Port Denarau. After checking in and getting our color-coded wristbands (indicating how long we got to spend at which island), we boarded a large motorized catamaran for the 30 minute cruise to the nearest day trip locale: South Sea Island. All the outdoor seating was taken, so we sat inside at a table with Val, a lady from Auckland, and her two daughters (ages 9 and 6) on the journey. Denarau Island, for all its nice landscaping, picturesque golf links, and posh resorts, can't escape its origins; it's pretty much reclaimed swamp land, so the beaches are no great shakes. You have to go to the Coral Coast on the southern side of Viti Levu for decent snorkeling, or one of the offshore islands.

Ro still snoozing at the start of a gorgeous day

Is that our boat, mommy?

As a smaller boat transferred us from the catamaran to the island, there were about a half-dozen Fijian staff on the shore playing music and singing to us. We stepped onto the pristine white sand and coral beach, and our cares eased away as we took in the beauty of the tiny South Pacific paradise. There were plenty of lounge chairs scattered around the island, a selection of sea kayaks laid out on the sand, a little hut that distributed the snorkeling equipment, a salt-water pool, a buffet line, and most importantly an open bar (which everyone headed straight for). Drinks in hand, we were given a quick orientation to the island, then set free to do whatever we wanted.

Semi-sub off South Sea Island

Bula! Bula! Bula!

We were on the shortest of the tours to the island, the "Finding Nemo" adventure (there were also half-day and full-day packages), so we got priority for boarding the semi-submersible for an underwater view of the lagoon. Sort of like the Finding Nemo Submarines at Disneyland, but a lot more claustrophobic (if that's possible), and with real fish and coral. Sherry got separated from us getting off the transfer boat, and had to scramble over several rows of people to get to us in the semi-submersible. All the kids would ooh and ahh every time we passed a cool coral formation with lots of tropical fish swarming around (the pictures don't do it justice due to the thick glass). Sherry was glad when the ride ended, though, as she was starting to get seasick. Mark did notice a big crack across one of the submerged windows on our way out; probably a good thing we didn't see that on the way in.

http://www.ssc.com.fj/South_Sea_Island.aspx

Inside the semi-submersible

Coral off South Sea Island

Ro more focused on his Sprite than the fish

Heading back to South Sea Island

We hit the pool on our return, as Ro didn't seem to have the hang of snorkeling enough to try it in the ocean. We got to talking with Cam, a psychiatrist from Auckland, who was in Fiji scoping out locations for a small hospital to serve Denarau Island. Most resort guests would probably rather wait till they got home than go to the public hospital in Nadi. He was even thinking about starting a drug rehab clinic, as there were far fewer temptations here for addicts than in the Caribbean. Sherry watched Ro while her stomach settled, and gave Mark the first turn snorkeling in the lagoon. Fiji is known as the soft coral capital of the world for good reason. Simply magnificent! Much better than the view from the sub, Mark suspects all the bigger fish were scared away by the ship's motor. But now Mark was able to see tons of big, colorful fish. Alas, no Nemos, but he did see a few Dorys. Most impressive, though, were the bright royal blue starfish the size of dinner plates!

Gradually easing into the pool

After snorkeling for about 45 minutes, Mark was having a great time and planned to upgrade us to the full-day experience. He figured he'd give Sherry a turn and popped his head out of the water. Just at that moment, he heard a whistle from shore and a shout to get out of the water! The other snorkelers were just as puzzled as he was and speculation abounded. Someone said that a kid had pooped in the ocean; Mark didn't buy that one - fish do it all the time. A shark was Mark's main concern, although he thought it unlikely in the lagoon, but he kept glancing behind him as he snorkeled speedily towards shore. When he finally caught up to a staff member on the beach, the real story elicited a collective "gulp!" in all our throats: a tsunami warning.

Remember that nearby Samoa had just been devastated by a tsunami a week ago. And keep in mind that no point on the tiny island, with the exception of the flimsy buildings and the palm trees, was more than about 5 feet above sea level. The tour director called an emergency gathering underneath the palms for everyone on the island and gave us the lowdown. An 8.4 magnitude earthquake had just struck Vanuatu (the island nation immediately to the west of Fiji) and there was a strong chance a tsunami would be generated. If so, it was predicted to hit Fiji in about 35 minutes. Silence. He continued, telling us that we had the option of leaving the island or taking a chance and staying here. They were diverting a boat that had been carrying guests to resorts on outlying islands to come pick us up. Hopefully, it would be here in 25 minutes. Nothing like cutting things close, eh? Most importantly, the bar would remain open in the meantime. Gotta love the Fijians!

Bad news, everybody!

What followed was an interesting study in human behavior. As we all listened intently to the radio, the adults tried to keep things simple for the kids, relaying concern but not trying to scare them too much. As we armed the children with life jackets and floaties, in what seemed to be the equivalent of "duck and cover" for a nuclear bomb, the strain in everyone's voice was palpable. Sherry just told Ro that a big wave might be coming, and if he found himself floating in the ocean to make for the nearest boat or island. You start to wonder just how fast you can climb a palm tree with a kid on your back. Who are we kidding? They could probably climb one better than us anyway. Mark mused, "as last looks go, this wouldn't be a bad one." If it came to it, we were grabbing one of those sea kayaks and holding on for dear life! The word soon came that the option to stay had been rescinded. A tsunami had, in fact, been generated. Everybody off the island!

Watching intently for a tsunami

Let's get the heck outta here!

Fortunately, the rescue boat arrived just in time. As we boarded the catamaran, we urged Ro to make for the top deck. The last place we wanted to be was trapped inside the cabin of a capsizing vessel; we'll take our chances in the water, thank you very much! Life jackets on, we began the agonizing wait, looking for any bulge on the western horizon or receding of the water around the island. The smaller boats still had to ferry a couple loads of passengers onto the catamaran; we wished they would hurry, as everyone was anxious to get away from the island and into deep water. Ro and a bunch of the other kids were crying, but a crew member came around with a bag of lollies to pacify them. It worked surprisingly well!

Queueing up for salvation

Pulling away from the island

Trying to comfort a scared Ronan

We spent most of our time on the boat talking with another family with kids from Auckland. The down side of sitting on the top deck soon became apparent, as we were baking (or is it broiling?) in the hot sun with no significant wind since the boat was basically sitting still, well away from the island...waiting. Port Denarau had been evacuated; not that we wanted to be there either, but it meant we had nowhere to go. After about 90 minutes, the "all clear" came after only getting a few gentle swells. The crew offered everyone the option of returning to South Sea Island. Yeah, right! Ever hear of aftershocks? Surprisingly, about a third of the passengers took them up on the offer, including the family we'd been talking with. The mother didn't seem too keen on the idea, but got outvoted. Sherry was having none of it, telling Ro, "I'm hot, burned, and seasick. We're going home."

Passing the time while waiting for the "all clear"

A brief stop back at the island

This Fijian civil ensign has seen better days

Sherry with Viti Levu in background

When we got back to the port, all the restaurants were closed, so we hopped on the charter bus back to the Hilton. We stopped by L'Epicier, the hotel deli, to pick up a loaf of bread. Sherry made hot ham & cheese sandwiches and Mark mixed up a couple of stiff tonics to wash them down after our harrowing experience. We watched the BBC news as we ate; the Vanuatu quake was now being called three separate quakes, ranging from 7.1 to 7.8.

Port Denarau Marina

Fixing lunch in our room

As much as we would have liked to just relax, Ro was itching to go to the pool. He and Mark played while Sherry checked out some of the shops. There's an ice cream hut placed strategically near the kids pool, and Sherry surprised us with some Cookies n' Cream on her way back to the pool. Sherry sat and talked on the edge of the kids pool with Kyle, a mom from Sydney (who actually grew up in Chicago), while Ro played with her sons Max (9) and Jackson (7). According to Kyle, the guests at the Hilton were all instructed to go to the 2nd floor of their buildings until the tsunami warning had passed. There aren't enough buses in all of Fiji, let alone Nadi, to quickly evacuate the hundreds of guests at each resort over the narrow two-lane bridge that is the island's only access to Viti Levu, and it's still a fair drive to the hills from there. So, the "evacuation plan" is for everyone on Denarau to stay put and just get as high up as possible! The boys enjoyed horsing around in the pool, wrestling and dunking each other, although the older boys took it a little easier on Ro. Eventually, Mark and their dad joined in and an impromptu game of pool rugby was formed. When Max and Jack complained about Ro breaking the rules, their dad calmly reminded them, "He's American, he passes the ball forward."

Relaxing by the kids pool

"He did it!"

Ro might have bitten off more than he can chew

Fighting for the rugby ball

Around 6pm, we were the only ones left at the pool, so we headed for the room to wash up for dinner. The Bula Bus carried us back to Port Denarau, home of the only Hard Rock Cafe in Oceania. Shortly after we arrived, the waitstaff got up onstage to sing along to the Village People's Y.M.C.A., so of course we had to teach Ro the moves. The atmosphere is even more casual than at Hard Rocks in the States, if that's possible. One of the employees had a birthday, so the rest of the staff put her up on a chair, sang a Fijian birthday song to her, then all of them did shots! Mark was able to pick up a souvenir pilsner glass for his collection, and was pleasantly surprised to find his all-time favorite album cover framed on the wall, Candy-O by The Cars (Sherry vetoed the pic going up on the blog for obvious reasons). Ro was caught up watching the Michael Jackson retrospective on the numerous televisions, mostly because he's familiar with all the songs from riding in Carla's car (she's a big MJ fan). Sherry took a hilarious video of him last week at home, singing Bad to himself while playing with his toys.

Helping out with the evening torch lighting ceremony

Ro liked all the memorabilia on the walls

We were in the mood for some good old-fashioned American-style grease, so Mark got the Fiji Burger (essentially a bacon cheeseburger with a fried egg and pineapple chutney), Sherry the veggie burger, and Ro the cheese pizza. Sherry went to the loo at one point, and came back to find Ro dancing on the bar with the waiters, singing an encore of Y.M.C.A. After dinner, we hit the gift shop for some Hard Rock Fiji t-shirts, figuring they wouldn't be too common back home in North Carolina. With his best puppy-dog eyes, Ro somehow talked us into buying one of those overpriced Teddy Bears; we nicknamed him Bula Bear. Now Bear Bear has a friend! Similar to last night, Ro fell asleep on the Bula Bus, but as he was relatively clean, we carried him to the room and lulled him back to sleep with Cartoon Network. Glad to be safe and sound, we hit the sheets early ourselves, knowing we have to get up early tomorrow for another adventure.