Savusavu, Fiji

Just a word about the photo on the blog header:  I took this near the town of Savusavu, Fiji in August, 2007.  Cindy and I were staying at Tropic Splendor, a few miles outside town; this is the view down the beach there.  No one in sight.  (Though admittedly, there were some people in the water- local women fishing with nets.)  Our stay with Jeff and Susan, owners of Tropic Splendor, was incredible and we have been scheming ever since to return to Fiji. 

Just so everyone is clear, Fiji is perfectly safe for visitors, even at the height of a coup because the Fijians have wisely decided that a rousing game of Who's Wearing the Big Hat Today need not affect anyone else.  So the international airport was built on the opposite side of Viti Levu from Suva and no effort was made to construct anything resembling a major road between Nadi, where the airport and major international infrastructure is located.  (This also prevents tourism from taking over the island and enables Fijians to continue their cultural traditions on their own terms.)

Savusavu is located on the southern side of Vanua Levu, Fiji's second island and is a small town with only about 3,000 residents, including a small but lively expatriate community, centered on the Savusavu Yacht Club.  Don't let the name fool you, the yacht club is a small dock, restaurant, and a few shops in a building built as a waystation for copra in the late 1800s. Determined to keep Fiji Fijian, the government forbids foreigners from buying land- and that includes the thriving Indian population who originally came to Fiji to work on the copra plantations and who now control an overwhelming proportion of economic clout, but are still shut out from the real estate gig.  The expatriates, mostly New Zealanders and Australians naturally, own pieces of the copra plantation, which was "grandfathered in" and later sold under typical common law property rules.  Many of the expats are Rotarians who've adopted a local school to improve, including adding running water and a new roof.  It all makes for a dynamic- if a little isolated- place to stay for as much time as you can.  (The diving and snorkeling is comparable only to the Great Barrier Reef.)