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Fiji
Quick Overview:
If there is one thing every visitor remembers about Fiji, it's the enormous friendliness of the Fijian people. You'll see why as soon as you get off the plane, clear Customs and Immigration, and are greeted by a procession of smiling faces, all of them exclaiming an enthusiastic "Bula!" That one word-"health" in Fijian-expresses the warmest and most heartfelt welcome you'll receive anywhere. This relatively large and diverse country's great variety will also be immediately evident, for the taxi drivers who whisk you to your hotel are not Fijians of Melanesian heritage, but Indians whose ancestors migrated to Fiji to escape the shackles of poverty in places like Calcutta and Madras. Now slightly less than half the population, these "Fiji Indians" have played major roles in making their country the most prosperous of the independent South Pacific island nations. The great variety continues to impress as you go around the islands, for in addition to Fiji's cultural mix, you'll find gorgeous white-sand beaches bordered by curving coconut palms, azure lagoons and colorful reefs offering some of the world's best scuba diving and snorkeling, green mountains sweeping to the sea, and a warm climate in which to enjoy it all. For budget-conscious travelers, Fiji is an affordable paradise. Its wide variety of accommodations ranges from deluxe resorts nestled in tropical gardens beside the beach to down-to-basics hostels catering to the young and the young-at-heart. It has a number of charming and inexpensive small hotels and the largest and finest collection of remote, Robinson Crusoe-like offshore resorts in the entire South Pacific-if not the world. Regardless of where you stay, you are in for a memorable time. The Fijians will see to that.
Geography:
According to Fijian legend, the great chief Lutunasobasoba led his people across the seas to the new land of Fiji . Most authorities agree that people came into the Pacific from Southeast Asia via Indonesia. Here the Melanesians and the Polynesians mixed to create a highly developed society long before the arrival of the Europeans. The European discoveries of the Fiji group were accidental. The first of these discoveries was made in 1643 by the Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman and English navigators, including Captain James Cook who sailed through in 1774, and made further explorations in the 18th century. Major credit for the discovery and recording of the islands went to Captain William Bligh who sailed through Fiji after the mutiny on the Bounty in 1789. The first Europeans to land and live among the Fijians were shipwrecked sailors and runaway convicts from the Australian penal settlements. Sandalwood traders and missionaries came by the mid 19th century. Cannibalism practised in Fiji at that time quickly disappeared as missionaries gained influence. When Ratu Seru Cakobau accepted Christianity in 1854, the rest of the country soon followed and tribal warfare came to an end. From 1879 to 1916 Indians came as indentured labourers to work on the sugar plantations. After the indentured system was abolished, many stayed on as independent farmers and businessmen. Today they comprise 44 per cent of the population.
Related Links:
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News Fiji Sun Newspaper |
Offical Sites Fiji Government Online |
Country Guides Fijiguide Offical Fiji Travel Guide |
Education Fiji Education System |