Deuba, Fiji – Moving into the unknown

Today I wake up for the day’s adventure of single parent travel, and reality hits home – we are off on a new adventure.  We are late! The Kava and drinks from last night had relaxed me. This was too much a luxury that our luxury travel experts should have warned us against.

Now I had a headache and a room of too much stuff to madly pack before the next stage of our family travel. We head down to breakfast, and I make enough sandwiches for 2 days. Juice and milk in flasks, and grab some fruit. We barely make packing up in time, and I down a strong coffee.

Fortunately one of the Fiji staff has given me the low-down that the coach driver would not help us with our luggage, box, and bags; 5 in total due to the stuff we have to give away later; but a mini-van in a different location is the best, and the driver will take us to the door of our accommodation in Deuba.

©Exploramum and Explorason – moving in the minivan

At more than double the price, we have to pay for a seat for the luggage, as I refuse to have it on the roof in case it flies off. I swing a deal and get $10FJ off.

We have to wait nearly an hour, as the mini-van and bus terminal is also the Department of Motor Vehicles for driver’s licenses. So we sit on the bench and watch in amazement at the basic way they run a government business in the car park.

©Exploramum and Explorason – Fijian drivers licenses are produced in the car park

Eventually, we have enough passengers, as the vans will only go once packed to overflowing with people as we head to Deuba.

The driver is playing ‘chicken’ at top speed, and I have my feet on one bag on the back of the seat, and another arm on a huge rolling backpack that threatens to fall down on us both and squash us, but better than it flying off the roof, and I am glad I was firm with my request.

©Exploramum and Explorason – Stormy skies

I daresay it is closed due to a lack of customers, which is a bit sad. But the lady is just lovely, and the setting in the garden is pretty, and the room is so-so, and I like it.

©Exploramum and Explorason – our accommodation in Deuba

There was a cat and also some puppies, and that makes my son happy and the sleeping area looks nice enough in our room.

©Exploramum and Explorason – Deuba accommodation

In fact, we discover the sugar ants march up the kitchen wall, through a hole into the bathroom, and straight through all of my vanity bags, and into a drainage hole in the toothbrush holder, and are having a feast – on our toothbrushes and toothpaste. Yuck!

I am proud of how he cares, and he talks about all the things he has chosen and who he will give them to when we find these less fortunate people.  We have to walk a good half hour to the town of Pacific Harbour – a manmade effort to make a wealthy area, that has been a bit of a flop. I am fast learning when Fijian local people say 5 or 6 minutes, it can be much more which surprises me, as Fijians are not in any hurry.

It is all ‘Fiji-time’ which really can get on your nerves if you are not in the right frame of mind. We pass this house by the side of the road and wonder the poverty among Fijians here at Deuba.

©Exploramum and Explorason – Fiji local life

My son spots a supermarket, and we are surprised at how little we spend to get food for the next two days.

Armed with two bags of groceries for $10, we head home via Deuba curry house we had spotted (we had checked the local upmarket and near empty eating houses, and were shocked the prices were more than the resort). Dinner is a reasonable bargain and as it is nearly dark and starting to rain (our first rain in Fiji), so we get a takeaway for the remainder and do a quick walk down the main road home.

We are now in the wet-dry zone with grey skies here in Deuba, and where we head to Suva in a couple of days is the wet zone.  It is windy and bucketing down outside – there is a stack of strange noises outside, heavy truck road traffic, sheep out the back, barking ‘strayhounds’ (as my son calls them), the noise of Geckos outside, and I also heard a noise in the kitchenette, and discovered a tiny albino lizard running up the wall – glad all our food is in zip-lock bags. We are also lathered in mosquito repellent, but I have been bitten underarm – at the armpits, causing me to have actions somewhat like a gorilla.

We watch one of our DVDs on the laptop, and I sit back and enjoy a drink, and a night in. The curtains blow with the wind through the missing louver glass, but I feel safe in our little haven. I am pleased we have finally ventured into new areas of Fiji.

Here are two pictures of the river at Deuba near us, taken during the day.

©Exploramum and Explorason – The river nearby

©Exploramum and Explorason – Mum by the river

This is our 4th visit to this island of Fiji, and it is time to get off the beaten track; away from resort living and do some real exploring tomorrow – I hope?

Where to next? Read our article to find out.

Questions and Comments

• Have you been to Deuba Fiji?
• How was your experiencePlease share your opinion with us.