Fiji

Antoine's view

If, like me, you discovered the magic word "Fiji" in a Tintin comic book (do you remember The Mysterious Star, when Captain Haddock meets a former colleague and indulges with him in a ritual dance, utterring incomprehensible words, among which - Fiji, Fiji, Fiji -), you probably wondered what the country with such a mysterious name looked like.

Fiji is actually a huge archipelago, very wide spread, located right on the line determining each change in date: this is where each new day starts. Two of these islands are immense, Viti Levu, where you will find the capital Suva, and Vanua Levu, which is less developed. Both islands are completely surrounded by a galaxy of islands and archipelagos, from the Lau group east to the Yasawa Islands in the north west.
Fijians are very proud of their traditions but one issue remains: the English had brought workers from India to cultivate sugar cane fields in the XIXth century and since then, those workers founded their families and are today as numerous as "native" Fijians. Given both tribes have dramatically different approaches to life (tribal traditions of Melanesia, respect of nature for Melanisians vs. trade and diplomas for Indians), the archipelago suffers from political instability, sometimes giving way to a coup d'état.
It can be quite difficult to get the authorization to visit some remote archipelagos such as the Lau group. This explains why most of the sailboats on call confine to Suva, to the vast reefs that lay south of Viti Levu, and to archipelagos that are well developed for tourists such as Mamanuthas and Yasawa, close to Nadi where the international airport is located.

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