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PEOPLE WATCHING IN SANTIAGO PAGE 24 + ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE MALDIVES PAGE 31

Wet and wild

FIJI’S GARDEN PLAYGROUND PAGE 4

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*Travel restrictions and conditions apply. Please ask us for further details. Prices and taxes are correct as at 29 Mar 11 and are subject to change without notice. Prices quoted are on sale until 8 Apr 11 unless otherwise stated or sold out prior. Prices are per person and are subject to availability. Cruises are based on twin share unless otherwise stated. Seasonal surcharges and blackout dates may apply depending on date of travel. Prices shown are fully inclusive of taxes, levies, government charges and other applicable fees. Airfare not included unless otherwise stated. Prices shown are for payments made by cash in store. Package/Accommodation Conditions: Advertised prices include the $100 saving. NZ & Australia: Valid for departure 12 Dec 11 & 6 Jan 12, Cat 11. Queensland: Valid for departure 28 Mar 13, Cat 12. Singapore: Valid for departure 23 Nov 12, Cat 12. CRUISE ONLY. Flight Centre Limited (ABN 25 003 377 188) trading as Escape Travel. Licence Number: 31089. mshs_03apr_6x7_Cruise

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Garden playground Fiji

Plunge into wetand wild thrillsAway from thewell-trampledtourist haunts,Taveuni’s secretgarden beckonsthose seekingnatural relaxation.Roderick Eimegoes head overheels to find out

Go2F I J I

Cruise to TaveuniTui Tai Expeditions,www.tuitai.comCaptain Cook Cruises,www.captaincook.com.auBlue Lagoon Cruises,www.bluelagooncruises.com

Fly to Taveuni(TVU)Pacific Sun flies 12-seatDHC-6 Twin Otters daily fromNadi. Seewww.airpacific.com

FerryConsort Shipping Lineoffers mixed passenger/vehicle/freight services fromSuva aboard MV Spirit ofFiji Islands. Seewww.consortshipping.com.fj

Travel information: Go towww.fijime.com and click onDiscover the Islands andcontinue to Taveuni.

THE JUMP: Daredevils take the plungeat Bouma Falls. Picture Roderick Eime

THE raging torrent of water surgesover my head, hurling me down theslimy chute at a ferocious pace. Isplutter, gag and spit as my feet shootup over my head, nearly spinningme around.Then, all of a sudden, the wild ride

ends and I’m ejected into a cauldronof foaming water, upside down, and Igrab my first desperate breath.

‘‘Whoo hoo!’’ yells Gemma, ourguide, with obvious approval. Clearly Ihad made the local kids’ waterslidelook like the climactic scene from TheDambusters. ‘‘You wanna do it again?’’Today’s shore excursion is at

Waitavala Falls on the gorgeoustropical haven of Taveuni, the thirdlargest of Fiji’s 300-plus islands. It’s adistant third though, less than a tenththe size of Vanua Levu, the secondlargest. But size isn’t what Taveuni isall about. Still heavily foliated, itenjoys the local title of Garden Islandand is largely free of destructive feralpests such as the naughty mongoose.Taveuni draws birders, bushwalkers,

divers and frolickers like theproverbial bees to a honey pot, butthankfully not in swarms.From our berth on the delightful

24-passenger motor schooner Tui Tai,we’ve come ashore to revel in thetropical delights of this secludednatural playground. The massagetable is laid out beneath the shady

fronds bordering anOlympic-sizedfreshwater pool fed by the energeticBouma (Tavoro) Falls, part of thenamesake heritage park that occupiesalmost half of the 436sq km island.The 25m drop creates a din that is

hard to talk over and positivelydeafening if you try to swim into it.The local lads, who can shoot theWaitavala chute standing up, divefrom a platform behind the falls intothe pond and encourage us to makethe leap too. Cliff diving was never mystrong point, but a couple of fearlessvoyagers take the plunge, earning theadmiration of the timid onlookers.Taveuni is everything you imagine

that mythical tropical island paradiseto be. It’s sparsely populated, intenselygreen and dissected by streams ofliquid silk. Narrow paths guide youthrough the undergrowth to the nextwaterfall, and then the next.Every so often a cranky, bright red

land crab will challenge us to pass.Had we not spent so much timecavorting in the falls, we could havetrekked all the way to the volcaniccrater at 800m, where LakeTagimaucia nurtures its legendarynamesake bloom.Despite its status as the national

flower of Fiji, the tagimaucia bloom isso rare that songs and legends havesprung up around it. Translated,tagimaucia means crying tears in vain,supposedly from amythical chief’sdisobedient daughter whose tearsturned into flowers.The island’s population of about

10,000mainly Indo-Fijians farmscopra, taro and kava alongside a fewspecialty crops such as vanilla, fruitand coffee. The fewer native Fijiansare apparently banished formerTongan allies whomoved there afterdefeat by the great chief Tui Cakau inthe mid-19th century.At the little outpost ofWairiki on

the northwestern coast, the 180thmeridian makes landfall and youcan stand simultaneously in todayand tomorrow.The village boasts the first shop to

open in the world, right across theroad from the quirky, now abandoned,Meridian Cinema, location of the silly2004 docu-drama Reel Paradise.Up on the hill is the imposing,

century-old CatholicMission andschool, while offshore in SomosomoStrait, a Tongan invasion force wasrepelled in 1860 by local warriors withstrategic advice from a Frenchmissionary, Father Favre.Taveuni’s colourful past is largely

overlooked by the trickle of touristswho arrive either by small cruise ship,ferry or light aircraft and disperse totheir respective activity or resort.It’s possible to stay at any of the

dozen or so B&Bs, hotels or resortscatering to all tiers of the travellingpublic, from the $20-a-night DolphinBay Divers Retreat to the ritzy $1500 anight Taveuni Island Resort & Spa.

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. . . A N D I T ’ S J U S T A S T O N E ’ S T H R O W A W A Y.

T H E R E ’ S A P L A C E Y O U C A N D I S C O V E R T H A T W I L L

leave you lost for words.

The Tasmanian Coastline. Mile aft er mile of perfect white sand beaches. Wave aft er wave of crystal clear, blue water. And endless natural wonders that leave you mesmerised. Like the famed bright-orange boulders at Coles Bay. Or the towering sea cliff s of the Tasman Peninsula. Be awestruck. Visit discovertasmania.com.au or call 1300 TASSIE to speak to a local.

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