Day 172 Drive

Mark and Jim contracted with the owner of the restaurant to drive us to Labasa (pronounced Lambasa) - the larger town on the other side of the island. Tonda is originally German from near Bad Tölz. She is married to a Fijian and has lived in Fiji for 14 years.
The road leaves Savusavu and snakes over the mountain for an hour and a half. At its midpoint we pass a small national park that advertises a rain forest walk with a waterfall and pool for swimming. The waterfall is currently closed from landslide but we decide to take the 90 minute walk anyway. The path, funded by New Zealand, consists of a steep and narrow gravel track with wooden sides. The soil is a slippery yellow clay and would not be negotiable without the gravel. The jungle hangs over forming a canopy that blocks out the sun. This is fortunate as the day is hot and humid without the cooling effect of the sunshade. The pool is cold and clear and a welcome relief half way through the trek. Many birds can be heard but almost none seen due to the thickness of the jungle. This island has several bird species (like the orange dove) that are very rare and only found here.
Savusavu gets over one hundred inches of rain a year but Labasa on the North side of the island gets less than one fourth of that amount. The island looks a bit like Hawaii (for those of you who have flown over Hawaii) where the side of the island facing the prevailing winds is lush and green and the other side is grassy and almost arid.
At one point, we pass through a section of road that could easily be mistaken for Georgia. Both sides have been planted with pine trees. The bare earth side of the road is red clay and wherever there are low bushes and trees they are overgrown with vines (like the kudzu of the U.S. Southeast).
The north side of the island is filled with sugar cane plantations so it is the place where most Indo-Fijians live. Labasa is a hot and dusty town lined with shops that blare Hindu music. Tonda takes us to restaurant where she guarantees that the food is nothing special but at least "you won't get sick". After lunch, we wander through town just as the school kids in starched white uniforms are filling the streets. Here the languages are English and Hindu. Tonda correctly described the shops as having "a thousand different items of which you may want one".
On the way back to Savusavu, Tonda takes us to the home that she and her husband rent. The 25 acre property is directly on the beach and we arrive in time to see the tail end of the sunset. Two native caretakers prepare coconuts for us to drink and we relax on the black sand beach as darkness falls.