31 Oct - 3 Nov: More from Levuka, Fiji's laid-back colonial capital on the island of Ovalau. It's a small town with a population of 1500 and takes only a few hours to explore, yet every vista is cluttered with ghosts murmuring its history. The building above is one of the town's many remaining 19th-century structures.
Marist Convent School, built in 1891.
This Freemasons Lodge, built in 1913, was destroyed in the aftermath of the 2000 coup by villagers from the inland village of Lovoni who believed they'd find tunnels running to Suva and Scotland -- yes, Scotland, as in the U.K. -- beneath it. Why? Freemasons were seen as a devil-worshiping cult plotting the demise of Christianity worldwide. 'Jesus is my saivor' (sic) is spray-painted on the side of the ruined building.
Fijian boys make the most of tires and mud.
The Ovalau Club dates to 1904, several decades after Levuka's reign as Gomorrah of the South Pacific. The tiny town once had 52 hotels to liquor up sailors, drifters and pirates who landed on Ovalau's shores. Modern-day Levuka is as docile & friendly a place as you'll ever find.
The Royal Hotel sits like a land-locked battleship in a tiny port. It's the last of Levuka's colonial-era hotels. 
Morris Hedstrom is Fiji's most prominent retailer. This original MH store is now home to a funky collection of Levuka memorabilia.
A stand of monuments at Levuka's southern end commemorate Fiji's ceding to Queen Victoria in 1874 and the country's cessation from the crown in 1970.
Prince Charles represented the crown at 1970's cessation and stayed at this odd amalgam of colonial architecture and traditional Fijian bure.
A little local plays peek-a-boo at the entrance to Mary's Holiday Lodge, where I stayed for 2 nights.
Mausi, owner of Mary's and several other hostel-like accommodations in Fiji, holds his great-grandson.
Hospitality, Levuka-style: A friend of Mausi's named Kevin offers a bilo of kava in his home, where Mausi and I were invited to watch an international rugby match on satellite TV.
Sunny morning on Beach Street.
Shy? No.
Privately owned Wakaya Island as seen from the hillside above Levuka. Bill Gates honeymooned there. A bit pricey ...
31 Oct - 3 Nov: More from Levuka, Fiji's laid-back colonial capital on the island of Ovalau. It's a small town with a population of 1500 and takes only a few hours to explore, yet every vista is cluttered with ghosts murmuring its history. The building above is one of the town's many remaining 19th-century structures. 
No comments:
Post a Comment