On the West coast of the Fiji main island, a series of bits of land popped out of the ocean surface. These sandy mounds group together in 2 archipelagos, the Mamanuca and the Yasawa. To get there, it's rather straightforward since everything gets organized from Nadi and most of the people take a package including the bus transfer up to the Denarau pier, the shuttle by boat then an all-inclusive option on one of the islands. But if we have a little bit more than a few days, we can hop from an island to another one and stay as long as we want.
When I get on the morning bus full of young westerners, a great dose of a priori overwhelms me as for the kind of tourism on those islands. The harbour check-in area reinforces my suspicions and I'm very far from the serenity of Taveuni. I don't really feel comfortable among this flock of tourists. We board the « Awesome Adventures » catamaran and leave the bank. The sight of the first island clears away my bad thoughts on the mass tourism because this outcrop of wild life symbolizes the happiness for thousands of holidaymakers. This idyllic image often related but seldom precisely located. As if the one who knew its site doesn't wish « his » shangri-la be visited by other people. To talk again about this first island called South Sea Island, a hardly-50-meter-wide disc encircled by a broad white-sand beach and in its center, a few bungalows nestled in banana- and coconut trees. The ideal site to perform the XXI-century's Robinson Crusoe. In this connection, it's on one those islands the « Castaway » movie was shot. We pass by some other islands of the Mamanuca group such as Bounty, Treasure and Beachcomber islands and head for the Yasawa archipelago to finally arrive on « my » island, Kuata.
A wooden boat comes to pick up the tourists (only 3) who set their heart on this bit of land. A nice committee starts the invigorating welcome song and we land on the beach. Flowery shirts, large smiles, relaxed rhythm and brief introductions, we already feel well.
The gathering of bungalows belongs to village located on the opposite island. A fair-tourism since all the spent money goes to the community. And this island has a human dimension that cheers the heart up. Because in addition to the superb beach, the breathtaking view from the top of the rock and the lavish submarine scenery what we keep in mind of such an experience is the encounters that sum up with this sentence: At Kuata, you arrive as an unknown person and you leave as friend. Perpetual, infectious smile and exhilaration, and despite all the tourists who get to these islands every year, the inhabitants kept real ties in their traditions with the kava ceremony which happens every night at the bottom of wooden hut. Special slice of life where we chat, joke and play music and each one, whatever his origin and colour is free to take part in.
After sharing a lot during my sojourn here and having the feeling to know each member of the community, it's with the heavy heart I move away from the shore to go back to Nadi. Because in addition to the emotion of the departure, this last crossing sounds the end of my Fijian escapade and the unpleasant feeling of not staying enough time.
