We finally arrived in Fiji after a long journey to get here. The kids all were wondering what happened to June 27th as we crossed the International date line and it just disappeared on us, but rest assured we let them know that we would get July 17th twice!!!
Once off the plane, we hit the ground running and headed to the coral coast and the Naviti resort - our home for the next 3 days. On the way there, we stopped at Jack's for water and Sulu's. Most of the girls bought themselves a sulu for our village and school visit tomorrow.
Then it was off to Kula Eco Park where we learned about all Fijian Crested Iguanas and how they are trying to prevent their extinction. Originally these iguanas were from of Monuriki (where the movie Castaway was filmed) and only 70 were left due to predators in the area. They have successfully been these iguanas and they have released 30 back onto the island. Have learning all about then, they had the opportunity to hold "Ben" and "Kevin" both Fijian Cresteds. They also had a chance to hold a 9-month-old boa constrictor, and yes, even the leaders have fears to overcome. They also met "Charlie" a crested cockatoo who was used in the film Swiss Family Robinson and he enjoyed talking to the students to get peanuts. The students had the opportunity to feed a peacock and saw many different indigenous birds including the Fijian National bird - Kula - which the park was named after.
Believe it or not - the students learned that money really does grow on trees - if you lived in Fiji before Queen Elizabeth II colonized Fiji and brought sugarcane and all the problems with rats and mongoose with it, not to mention bringing in the poisonous toads to help get rid of the rats. The students were warned not to lick the "frogs" (actually the toads) because of the poison they secrete.
After saying good bye to our awesome eco-guide, Miti, we made our final leg to the resort for lunch and some much needed down time after traveling. After lunch, the kids could swim, play volleyball, go to the gym, swim in the pool and got a coconut lesson from Sunni, one of our hosts.
We have just finished dinner and getting the kids down for night for some much needed sleep. We have a full day planned for tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment