Discovering Fiji on Foot Can Be a Natural High

The flash of a sari on the riverbank, a mynah bird scolding from a treetop, a bullock chewing sugar cane, village children waving and smiling and calling “Bula!” as you pass. . . These are some of the sights you’ll see afoot on Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu.

Trails lead along Fiji’s rivers, which are important avenues of trade. Motorized launches, drifting bamboo rafts and strings of punts laden with bananas follow the island’s waterways. Fiji’s two largest rivers, the Rewa and the Singatoka, are the only means of communication with some of the remote villages of the interior, a wilderness little touched by 20th-Century technology.

On the fertile delta, hikers travel past fields of rice, tapioca, okra, eggplant, chiles and sugar cane. In the mountains, it’s tougher going. Fiji’s mountainous interior, which is cut by deep gorges and smothered in rain forest, discourages habitation; Fijians live on the coast or on the banks of the rivers.

While hiking Fiji, look for what the Fijians call the “sensitive plant.” At the slightest touch, this low, grasslike plant shrivels up. Not only do the leaves droop, but all the petioles and stems contract; the effect is ethereal. Recovery time for the peculiar sensitive plant is about three minutes, after which the stems rise and the leaves spread out, and the plant is itself again.

A mynah might scold you for trespassing into its domain. The aggressive, yellow-beaked blackbird was introduced from India in 1890, and it has been a problem ever since. Its screeching and bullying tactics have frightened many of the smaller native birds deep into the bush.

A particular delight of hiking Fiji is meeting its people: an Indian woman washing clothes in the river, a fisherman mending his net, naked little boys kicking a soccer ball along the banks. While afoot in the countryside, you have the opportunity to visit both Fijian and Indian villages, the latter identifiable by the red prayer flags fluttering above the palms.

A good place to begin discovering Fiji afoot is in Tholo-i-Suva Forest Park, a lovely mahogany forest just six miles from the capital city of Suva. The park has a couple of miles of trails, which lead to swimming holes and waterfalls. Thatched picnic pavilions invite you to laze away an afternoon.

Mt. Victoria (islanders call it Tomanivi) is Fiji’s highest summit at 4,341 feet. It’s a four-mile climb to the top, on a trail seasonally decorated with red orchids. The trail head is at Navai, six miles south of Nandarivatu, where the Singatoka River Trail begins. The great mountain divides the wet and dry sides of the island. You can readily discern dramatic differences between the flora from the top of Tomanivi. If you’d like to be escorted up the mountain, local guides are available.

The Singatoka River Trail offers a two- to three-day hike along the second-longest river in Fiji. From its headwaters on the slopes of Mt. Victoria, the Singatoka flows 75 miles to the sleepy town of Singatoka and the sea.

Even the least agronomically minded hiker is impressed by the fertility of the land lining the lower reaches of the Singatoka. Fijians call the Singatoka River Valley “the salad bowl of Fiji,” and it’s easy to see why. On the riverbanks grow cocoa and cabbage, tobacco and tapioca, and that staple of the Indian diet, rice. Tall sugar cane lines the east side of the river.

And there’s good fishing: Varieties of perch can be lured out of the Singatoka with live bait such as prawns and grasshoppers. If the fishing’s bad, you can always eat the bait; Singatoka prawns are large and delicious.

The trail begins at Nandarivatu, a forestry station. Its 3,000-foot altitude means a moderate climate and grand views of Viti Levu’s north coast. Forestry Rest House offers dormitory-style accommodations at very modest rates.

The trail is an easy-to-follow dirt road for the first day’s journey, leading through plantations of pine trees. The road gives out and a footpath begins, a bit before the village of Numbutautau. Here in 1867, the unfortunate Rev. Thomas Baker became the last known missionary to be clubbed and eaten on Fiji. Jack London’s short story, “The Whale Tooth,” is a fictionalized account of the missionary’s unfortunate end.

From Numbutautau, you can finish the day by heading west to Mbukuya, where you’ll find bus service back to the island’s population centers.

Hardy hikers will tackle the next section of the Singatoka, which requires two dozen crossings of the river. Forget trying this river route during the rainy season (December through April), but with a stout staff (cut a length of bamboo for balance), you can negotiate the crossings during the dry season. In Korolevu, at trail’s end, you can find transportation back to civilization.

If you want to join a guided trek, Trek Fiji, a division of Rosie Travel Service, offers a six-day, five-night Central Highlands Trek. The per-day charge of $70 per person includes transportation to the trail head, meals and accommodations at remote villages. You walk about five hours a day, and horses carry your gear.

Contact Rosie Travel Service, P.0. Box 9268, Nadi Airport, Fiji. Local telephone: 72935.

Fiji. Mt. Victoria, Singatoka River Trail Where: Island of Viti Levu. Distance: 2 miles round trip through Tholo-i-Suva Forest Park; 8 miles round trip along Mt. Victoria Trail; 25 miles one way on the Singtoka River Trail. Longer guided treks possible. Terrain: Hawaii-sized Vitu Levu has a dry side and a wet side. The latter includes lush tropical forests, Caribbean pine plantations and a fertile river delta.Highlights: Life in the bush and along the rivers has changed little in the last hundred years. Time moves as slowly as the Singatoka River. Degree of difficulty: Easy to strenuous. Precautions: Aovid river crossings during wet season (December-April). All but the most experienced hikers will want a local guide, or sign on with an adventure tour company to trek the remote parts of Fiji. For more information: Contact the Fiji Visitors Bureau, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 220, Los Angeles 90045, (213) 568-1616.