January 23, 2026 Suva, Viti Levu, Fiji Day #2

The sun was shining this morning with some scattered clouds floating in the sky. The temperature was 29°C, wind north 4 km/hr and humidity 84%.

We had breakfast in the dining room before going to the World Stage to get our tour stickers. There was no line today. Our tour was called Fiji Museum & Thurston Gardens which required two motor-coaches of 40 each. The first motor-coach was called at 9:30 a.m. and our sticker number was called about ten minutes later.

Our guide was Tim and driver was David. Tim was wearing the Fiji traditional, kilt-like, wrap-around below the knee skirt called a sulu. It was made of dark navy cloth which seems to be the norm for men. IO, pronounced like "ee-oh," means “yes”, while "no" is Sega (seh-nga); Vinaka (vee-nah-kah) for "thank you" and Bula (boo-lah) for “hello.”

The school year starts at the end of January for a 13 week session, a two week break in early May, then another 13 week session, a two week break in mid August and the final 13 week session begins in September and ends the end of November with a two month summer break.

In May 2000 businessman George Speight with an Indigenous nationalist group, stormed parliament and held the Fijian prime minister and cabinet members hostage for 56 days. Many buildings in Suva owned by Indo-Fijians were set ablaze. On the recommendation of Fiji's Mercy Commission, he was released from jail after serving 24 years for treason in September 2024. There have been four coups since the 1980s, each linked in some way with ethnic tension between Indigenous iTaukei Fijians and Fijians of South Asian descent. The second coup in September 1987, deposing Queen Elizabeth II as head of state and declaring Fiji a republic.

The tour started with a sightseeing drive which was just over an hour. We took the Kings Highway north from Suva, past the Walu Bay industrial area, a prison campus, some cemeteries and Saint Giles Hospital. We passed a Mormon Temple, the largest in the South Pacific built between 1998 and 2000, being larger than the temple in Tonga. Continuing on we passed the Australian High Commission, the Indian High Commission, and the Australian Embassy, reaching Tamavua Heights, one of Suva's nicest suburbs, for panoramic views of Suva Harbour and Lathala Bay.

Many villages lined the route. They are settlements on government land for family groups led by the chief of the clan. Should the government decide the land can be used for industry or commerce then, notice is given for the land to be vacated and the people have to move. They are compensated. There were many roadside vegetable and fruit stands scattered along the route.

We passed the University of the South Pacific main campus and returning to Suva stopped at the State House of Fiji is the official residence of the Fijian President on 40 acres of well tended grounds. The mansion was built in 1927. A sole soldier guards the entrance. The State House is located close to the Police Academy and not far from the Thurston Gardens. The motor-coach stopped here for photos then proceeds 500 meters to the entrance to the Thurston Gardens parking lot.

We had an hour to view the Fiji Museum and the Thurston Gardens park.

The Fiji Museum is located in Suva’s heritage precinct, and features displays about the islands’ unique culture, history, and heritage. Inside we viewed traditional sailing canoes, known as Drua, ancient pottery, intricate necklaces made from whale’s teeth, tattooing tools and Masi cloth. A replica of the last Waga Drua was made in Vulaga in 1913. Also on display were beautifully carved mastheads, called Domodomo, used to hold the sail of the canoes.

In the 19th century, the islanders and the Australian colonies, practiced “blackbirdimg” which meant the Pacific Islanders (from Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea also Tuvalu and Tokelau) were tricked or kidnapped for indentured servitude on plantations which was essentially slavery. The British passed a law in 1872 to end the practice. Other displays were a wooden food box inlaid with pearl shell, carved war clubs, an outrigger canoe, an early sailing boast with a carved masthead and examples of Masi, a kind of barkcloth made from the inner bark of mulberry tree grown on Koro Island.

The Fiji Museum had a gift shop of high quality items. On the covered patio, a snack of small sandwiches, a custard slice, tiny Fiji “donuts” sprinkled with cinnamon, small watermelon slices and Kumquat juice was available to guests with a view of the bandstand.

The last stop on the tour was shopping. We asked the guide if we could leave the tour and walk back to the ship - less than three kilometres. He warned to be aware of unwanted attention, we assured him we would be careful and had walked the area yesterday.

We strolled through the Thurston Garden which was more like a park with shade trees ranging from palms and gingers to water lilies and other local flora. The gardens were opened in 1913 on what was once the original village of Suva.

We looked up at one of the 35 meter tall trees and saw bats hanging from the branches. We were approached by a young man who introduced himself as a journalist. He wore a name tag and carried a camera and asked to take our picture, so we agreed. He gave us directions to the Parliament and the Canadian High Commission to Fiji, which were both on the other side of Albert Park, a three minute walk. The High Commission of Canada is located within the British High Commission building called Victoria House.

On January 16, 2026, Canadian MP Randeep Sarai, Secretary of State (International Development) officially opened Canada’s High Commission in Suva, underscoring Canada’s growing presence in the Pacific island countries.

We were on Gladstone Road which intersected with Queen Elizabeth Road near the Carnegie Library that we saw yesterday. We just followed the street to the familiar shopping area we explored yesterday and made our way back to the ship. At the port entrance we just had to show our ship’s card as we passed a security guard post. The distance from the Fiji Museum to the ship was 2.73 kilometres and took less than 45 minutes with photo stops. As we made our way to the ship entrance, there were several motor coaches discharging passengers from tours. It took less than ten minutes in line. Many of the passengers were wearing the same sticker as our tour group who had departed the museum when we had and were taken to shop for their final destination.

The ship’s staff were handing out ice cold facecloths and ice water to any passenger who wanted to cool off while waiting in line. We were back to our stateroom for showers by 1 p.m.

Again today, we spent the afternoon in the Library Café by the windows with a view of the container port. We enjoyed ice cold frappés as we reviewed our tour photos and notes.

At dinner Sue and Sandie detailed their Zip-line excursion and reported that they were able to secure an excursion tomorrow at Savusavu for a two hour snorkel adventure to Lighthouse Reef for the final excursion of the day at 3 p.m.

The last tender of the day leaves the island at 5:15 p.m.

We gathered for coffees in the Library Café as usual after dinner and departed before 7 p.m. to get reasonable seats for tonight’s 7:30 p.m. show. A local indigenous dance company came to perform. They were even more energetic than our singers and dancers. The show was called Island Rhythms: A Spectacle of Fiji Culture.

Total steps 9,083