DownUnder-56 - Fiji Islands - Viti Levu: One-day drive around the island: The mere existence of a circular road around the island of Viti Levu was way too much of a temptation to me.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

The mere existence of a circular road around the island of Viti Levu was way too much of a temptation to me. No way am I going to stay 7 days on an island and not undertake this "circumnavgiation" by car. The people at the hotel tried to dissuade me, saying that the roads were terrible, and it would take 13 - 14 hours of merely just driving - that presented of course just more of a challenge to me.

So early in the morning on day 5 of our stay, we set out to do this "round trip" in clockwise direction. The roads overall were actually surprisingly good, though there were quite a few sections consisting more of pot holes than asphalt and, particularly in the section north of Suva, there was very heavy and quite lenghty road construction.

You basically follow the ring road around the island, not much chance to get lost, one would think. Nevertheless, we managed to get lost and gloriously stuck in the northern town Lautoka, because at the perimeter one of the roundabouts did not indicate which exit to take and we followed the wrong route into this town and got stuck in a massive traffic jam. Not exactly the thing you want to experience when you were supposed to drive for 13+ hours at a stretch.

Luckily, I eventually rolled my window down and asked the driver of an adjacent car whether this was the right track for the round island drive - he laughed, said "no way" and then offered to lead us out of the mess. So we followed him as well as we could in this heavily congested traffic and eventually saw the clear road again. Just goes to show that it pays to be friendly to the locals and that there will always be light at the end of the tunnel.

Other than this mishap, the drive was actually quite interesting, we encountered nice stretches of ocean shores, discovered a very basic saw mill in the middle of nowhere, drove through a bunch of cute, colorful villages on the eastern side ..... and happened into another traffic jam in the capital city Suva, again because the existing ring road around the city was not properly signalized. But overall it was a very good, adventuresome experience - and I returned to the hotel, telling the staff that I did the drive of 478 km in 8:30 and not 13+ hours, and only got lost once.

I hope you will enjoy the shots I present here from this adventurous day (and no, I did not have any shots from the traffic jam, I was way too busy just to get myself extracted).

Please view in Download.

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1 - North Coast mountains
1 - North Coast mountains...

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2 - Navatu Rock and bay near Vitawa/Rakiraki

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3 - Viti Levu Bay near Barotu
3 - Viti Levu Bay near Barotu...

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4 - Viti Levu Bay near Barotu: Spectacular linear color display and a couple of hard-to-spot boats

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5 - Basic lumber yard at the foot of a picturesque peak in the north-eastern sector near Barotu - and no, this is not a hold-up, these men are waving at us

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6 - Close-up of the picturesque peak, its foliage and two small dwellings

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7 - Small rural dwelling in the north-eastern sector

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8 - North-eastern sector - Lush green vegetation with red flowers

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9 - Wainibuka River near Naibita village in the north-eastern sector

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10 - Naibita village in the north-eastern sector

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RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

Beautiful set of a beautiful country.

fergmark Loc: norwalk connecticut

gorgeous views!

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

RichardTaylor wrote:

Beautiful set of a beautiful country.

Thank you Richard for your kind comment.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

fergmark wrote:

gorgeous views!

Thank you fergmark for visiting my post and taking the time to post a comment - much appreciated.

NMGal Loc: NE NM

Looks like the drive was well worth it. Any time I get stuck in a traffic jam, the air turns blue.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

NMGal wrote:

Looks like the drive was well worth it. Any time I get stuck in a traffic jam, the air turns blue.

Thanks Barbara - yes, the drive was definitely worth it. But you lost me there with the air turning blue - what am I missing?

NMGal Loc: NE NM

weberwest wrote:

Thanks Barbara - yes, the drive was definitely worth it. But you lost me there with the air turning blue - what am I missing?

Turn the air blue means you are cussing.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

NMGal wrote:

Turn the air blue means you are cussing.

Thanks Barbara - I learned another American idiom today - never too old to keep advancing one's knowledge - and yes, I can understand that you would turn the air blue in these instances, I certainly was not too kindly disposed either!

J-SPEIGHT Loc: Akron, Ohio

weberwest wrote:

The mere existence of a circular road around the island of Viti Levu was way too much of a temptation to me. No way am I going to stay 7 days on an island and not undertake this "circumnavgiation" by car. The people at the hotel tried to dissuade me, saying that the roads were terrible, and it would take 13 - 14 hours of merely just driving - that presented of course just more of a challenge to me.

So early in the morning on day 5 of our stay, we set out to do this "round trip" in clockwise direction. The roads overall were actually surprisingly good, though there were quite a few sections consisting more of pot holes than asphalt and, particularly in the section north of Suva, there was very heavy and quite lenghty road construction.

You basically follow the ring road around the island, not much chance to get lost, one would think. Nevertheless, we managed to get lost and gloriously stuck in the northern town Lautoka, because at the perimeter one of the roundabouts did not indicate which exit to take and we followed the wrong route into this town and got stuck in a massive traffic jam. Not exactly the thing you want to experience when you were supposed to drive for 13+ hours at a stretch.

Luckily, I eventually rolled my window down and asked the driver of an adjacent car whether this was the right track for the round island drive - he laughed, said "no way" and then offered to lead us out of the mess. So we followed him as well as we could in this heavily congested traffic and eventually saw the clear road again. Just goes to show that it pays to be friendly to the locals and that there will always be light at the end of the tunnel.

Other than this mishap, the drive was actually quite interesting, we encountered nice stretches of ocean shores, discovered a very basic saw mill in the middle of nowhere, drove through a bunch of cute, colorful villages on the eastern side ..... and happened into another traffic jam in the capital city Suva, again because the existing ring road around the city was not properly signalized. But overall it was a very good, adventuresome experience - and I returned to the hotel, telling the staff that I did the drive of 478 km in 8:30 and not 13+ hours, and only got lost once.

I hope you will enjoy the shots I present here from this adventurous day (and no, I did not have any shots from the traffic jam, I was way too busy just to get myself extracted).

Please view in Download.

.

The mere existence of a circular road around the i... (show quote)

David in Dallas Loc: Dallas, Texas, USA

Very nice. Having never been there, I enjoyed the views very much.

rmm0605 Loc: Atlanta GA

weberwest wrote:

The mere existence of a circular road around the island of Viti Levu was way too much of a temptation to me. No way am I going to stay 7 days on an island and not undertake this "circumnavgiation" by car. The people at the hotel tried to dissuade me, saying that the roads were terrible, and it would take 13 - 14 hours of merely just driving - that presented of course just more of a challenge to me.

So early in the morning on day 5 of our stay, we set out to do this "round trip" in clockwise direction. The roads overall were actually surprisingly good, though there were quite a few sections consisting more of pot holes than asphalt and, particularly in the section north of Suva, there was very heavy and quite lenghty road construction.

You basically follow the ring road around the island, not much chance to get lost, one would think. Nevertheless, we managed to get lost and gloriously stuck in the northern town Lautoka, because at the perimeter one of the roundabouts did not indicate which exit to take and we followed the wrong route into this town and got stuck in a massive traffic jam. Not exactly the thing you want to experience when you were supposed to drive for 13+ hours at a stretch.

Luckily, I eventually rolled my window down and asked the driver of an adjacent car whether this was the right track for the round island drive - he laughed, said "no way" and then offered to lead us out of the mess. So we followed him as well as we could in this heavily congested traffic and eventually saw the clear road again. Just goes to show that it pays to be friendly to the locals and that there will always be light at the end of the tunnel.

Other than this mishap, the drive was actually quite interesting, we encountered nice stretches of ocean shores, discovered a very basic saw mill in the middle of nowhere, drove through a bunch of cute, colorful villages on the eastern side ..... and happened into another traffic jam in the capital city Suva, again because the existing ring road around the city was not properly signalized. But overall it was a very good, adventuresome experience - and I returned to the hotel, telling the staff that I did the drive of 478 km in 8:30 and not 13+ hours, and only got lost once.

I hope you will enjoy the shots I present here from this adventurous day (and no, I did not have any shots from the traffic jam, I was way too busy just to get myself extracted).

Please view in Download.

.

The mere existence of a circular road around the i... (show quote)

Very nice!

roder10 Loc: Colorado Springs

Well, you had an adventure in beautiful country and able to get some nice shots. What's better than that. Loved the lumberyard.

Rowedean

Blair Shaw Jr Loc: Dunnellon,Florida

Simply gorgeous vistas and skies and not too many neighbors I gathered.......lonely for my tastes but I am certain the locals have ways to overcome the isolation syndrones......ha.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

Beautiful pictures. Hard to believe you had enough time to take these pictures while on that drive!