Nadi to Los Angeles - Thursday, 3 July 2019

We can hardly believe that today we will leave the South Pacific and head home. We were able to sleep in a bit this morning since checkout wasn't until 11 a.m. So a leisurely breakfast and some last minute organizing were the order of the morning. 

There was another optional tour today that we took that would help us pass the time until we headed to the airport. As we drove out of Nadi into the countryside the poverty of the area was startling.  

 The title of the excursion was The Garden of the Sleeping Giant. Jo, our guide for the day that the Sleeping Giant was actually the mountain that loomed in the distance. It was hard to take a picture of the formation from a moving coach. The head of the giant is to the left with his stomach and feet to the  right. 

Further on the tour we bumped along on some barely paved roads that were quite jolting. We finally arrived at our first destination - Vudu Lookout Point. From here the vistas over the countryside and water were wonderful. The property is also the home to Rose Whitton, widow of Roy Whitton who founded Rosie Travel in Fiji. We were served fruit and juice in a gazebo and had some fun on the property. 

Back down the bumpy road and then to visit an authentic Fijian village, Vieisei, the site of the first settlement on Fiji. In a typical Fijian village all of the descendants of a family live in proximity without fences. It is quite common that, even after living away for numbers of years, members of the family come home.  We were greeted by women and children selling their handicrafts and observed a typical home with no door. 

At the center of the village is a church and the chief's home. The first Methodist missionaries arrived here in 1835

Also in the center of the village is the Centennial Memorial where celebrations are held on Fiji Day (October 10) every year. 

 
From the village we headed to the Garden of the Sleeping Giant. The garden of over 50 acres was established by Raymond Burr, yes Perry Mason and Ironsides Raymond Burr, in 1977 to cultivate hybrid orchids. Burr had a home on a neighboring island, but because of the soil makeup, it was not conducive to orchid breeding. This was a perfect end to our time in Fiji. We did a 20 minute walk into the tranquil gardens and were in awe of the beauty of the orchids and other plants, including pineapples! I had never seen a purple anthurium, one of my favorite flowers. 

Pineapples

Purple Anthurim

Lily pond

Fijian outdoor oven

At the end of the tour we were treated to a refreshing fruit punch. 

Back to the hotel where we grabbed a quick bite before heading to the airport. 

At the airport we negotiated with the desk agent to get our bags checked through all the way to PIT. We really didn't want to have to change terminals in LAX and drag our ponderous luggage with us. 

Goodbye South Pacific and Down Under. It has been an incredible trip and one for the ages.