Remembrance Of Hikes Past-Fiji Islands
South Pacific / Fiji / The Sea Years
Coming Home to Fiji
Coming home to a place I had never been before. It is Fee-Gee—Fiji.
Opening Bearing
You cannot get any farther away before you start coming back. Imagine sailing across the blue waters of the South Pacific, passing idyllic islands teeming with exotic fish and majestic coral reefs.
Oh, wait—I do not have to use my imagination. What you see is what you get. Bula.
Coming home to a place I had never been before.
Fiji / South Pacific Field Note
Archive Image 01
Sunshine on My Shoulders
The scenery paints itself. I am just the middleman.
Cue John Denver
Sunshine on My Shoulders—South Pacific edition.
Island Archive
Five Fiji Field Notes
Suva, Dravuni, Beachcomber, Savusavu and the bottled-water paradox.
Fiji 01
Suva / Pineapple Express
From the sea, Suva looks promising despite the oil slick. In town, paradise appears to have committed suicide. I thought cyclone season was over.
It is like Biggie Smalls met Afghan Kush and they had a baby.
Open SuvaFiji 02
Dravuni / Escape to Reality
Fiji has more than 300 islands. I had seen about 25 on this trip and wondered whether the wow factor still applied.
One imaginary drive down Southern California’s Interstate 405—smog, gridlock and all—was enough to make me want to escape back to my reality: the South Pacific.
Open DravuniFiji 03
Beachcomber / Freedom for Sale
Freedom can certainly be purchased in a seven-day vacation on one of these idyllic islands. I visited one of them and stayed for the day.
Priceless.
Open BeachcomberFiji 04
Savusavu / Cue the Sun
Natural, lush and beautiful. Where the hell is Fiji—near Florida?
Open SavusavuFiji 05
Fiji vs. Voss
East of the International Date Line lies an exquisite garland of islands. Smiling people bid you bula while Fiji water is bottled at “the source.”
Open Fiji vs. VossVideo Field Note
Glamping on Crystal Serenity
Five-star cruising through the South Pacific. Roll video.
Crystal Serenity / South Pacific Run
Glamping at sea, one island at a time.
Archive Images 02–03
Rock Star / Country Roads
The high-seas numbers and the island satire, preserved in full.
The Wilt Chamberlain of the High Seas
Putting up port-of-call numbers so high that mere tourists could never come close.
Country Roads, Take Me Somewhere Else
Not Studio 54, New York City or the Long Island Rail Road. This 28-day Tahitian Treasure voyage had gone completely off-script.
The Fiji Islands are the Paris Hilton of paradises—not necessarily the best-looking, but certainly among the most photographed for the travel brochures.