Fiji: Sun, Sand, and Island Service

Arrive at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) where you’ll meet your Rustic Pathways Flight Leader, who will help get you checked in and through security before traveling with your group to Fiji. Get acquainted with fellow Rustic travelers before boarding your flight.

Today is lost as you cross the International Date Line. Not to worry, though–you’ll get it back when you return.

Bula! Arrive at Nadi International Airport (NAN) and meet your Program Leaders who will be with you for the duration of the program. Head to the South Pacific Eco-Lodge Base and settle in, relaxing after your long flight. Join the group for an orientation discussion about the week ahead, expectations for your adventure, and an introduction to the local culture. Then, it is off to the beach for a few hours of sun and fun for your first day in Fiji. In the evening, participate in a formal sevusevu ceremony (a traditional welcoming ceremony) and begin to learn about the amazing country you have just entered. Dressed in your new sulu (traditional Fijian sarong or skirt), you will sit in a kava circle and begin to learn that it is more than just the world-renowned beaches that make Fiji special. The local staff will guide you through your first step of cultural understanding as you participate in this ceremony. Sharing in a kava ceremony while watching the sunset from our huge deck with new friends is the perfect end to your first day in Fiji.

During your time in Fiji, you’ll be staying at our South Pacific Eco-Lodge Base. Students will stay in small houses that sleep eight to ten on bunk-beds, separated by gender. Each house has an attached bathroom with solar powered hot water showers, sinks, and flush toilets.

After breakfast at the base, head to Sigatoka Sand Dunes National Park. Enjoy a two hour hike through the enormous dunes, with plenty of opportunity to jump and slide in the mountains of sand. Learn about the history of this area, and help rangers with reforestation efforts by planting native species in the park.
Have lunch back at the base, and some time to shower and relax. In the afternoon, meet with a local women’s crafting group. Learn about traditional clay work, and make your own clay creation, which will be ready for you to carry home at the end of the week.
After dinner this evening, relax with your local program leaders and learn about the culture, history, and people of Fiji.

This morning, you will be introduced to one of Rustic Pathways’ primary infrastructure service projects in the area. Conceived in partnership with the leaders of the village, you will partner with local builders to support the UN Sustainable Development Goal to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. In our partnership with the village, we are helping the community to construct toilets at each of the houses in the village. This project has been ongoing for several years. During your morning, you may excavate, lay blocks, mix cement, or do other skill-appropriate carpentry tasks.
After lunch, head to a nearby hot springs. Lather yourselves in nutrient rich mud as the Fijians have been doing for generations, then rinse off, and relax in a series of peaceful, natural hot pools as you take in views of the surrounding mountains.
Wrap your day back at the base with dinner, a bonfire, and fijian cultural storytelling.

Today is all about learning from (and helping out) our neighboring communities.
In the morning, meet with one of our neighbors to learn about his Pineapple farm, then roll up your sleeves and help out. Depending on the season, this may include harvesting, planting, weeding, watering, or turning over fields. During your time at the farm, you’ll have an opportunity to hear how and why pineapple came to be grown in Fiji, and the process of harvesting crops and selling them to market.
Spend your afternoon learning to cook Indian and Indo-Fijian dishes commonly enjoyed along the coast of Viti Levu Island. Your teacher, Shalini, will welcome you into her home and teach you the colonial history of Fiji, and the resulting Indian community she is a part of, all while teaching you to make some of the best food around. When you’re done cooking, pack the food up and bring it into Nadi town, where you will deliver meals to a shelter for vulnerable women and children.
Back at the base tonight, get to see meke, a traditional form of storytelling in Fiji rooted in song and dance.

Today is another opportunity to learn about life in Fiji and help support another of our local development projects. You’ll work as a team to help improve the housing situation for one of our neighbors. This may mean building a toilet, repairing a roof or tiling a kitchen, among other projects. Today is all about learning from the family you’re helping and enjoying the opportunities to share time with our community.

Board a ferry and take a four-hour boat ride through the breathtaking Yasawa Islands. Call one of these tropical islands home for the next few days and explore the white sand beaches, crystal-clear waters, and lush surrounding hills. Live with generated electricity and sleep on cots in large safari tents only a few yards from the ocean. Enjoy a kava ceremony with the locals from Somosomo Village who will make you feel at home under the bright constellations of the Southern Hemisphere.

Embrace Fijian island life by snorkeling, kayaking, and hiking around the beautiful island of Naviti. Study the ridge-to-reef ecosystem while working on grassroots projects that focus on the diversity, formation, ecology, and conservation of the coral reef and surrounding environment. Interact with the local community by participating in a variety of daily activities such as traditional Fijian dance called the meke and learning the craft of mat weaving from the village women. Explore and contribute to projects throughout the village and neighboring marine reserve established near your island home. Join your group for post-service debriefs in the evening, discussing the different approaches to sustainability that you experienced through hands-on work in the community.

Enjoy a final morning adventure on your island home and visit with your Fijian friends before saying farewell to the Yasawa Islands and journey back to Nadi. Enjoy some of Fiji’s best pizza in town this evening before returning to your main base for the night.

After breakfast this morning, you’ll have a chance to adventure into the Nausori Highlands and spend time visiting a remote Fijian village. Step into another world, and enjoy something very few visitors to Fiji have the chance to experience. Present your sevusevu gift to the village elders during a formal kava ceremony and request permission to enter the village in the traditional way. Spend time learning about a way of life that still holds strongly to the traditions and customs of past generations. You’ll spend the day getting to know the locals and helping with an on-going service project within the village before returning to your base for the evening.

Depart Momi Bay and head out on a half day island-hopping excursion to explore the beautiful islands off the coast of Viti Levu. Swim and snorkel these warm South Pacific waters, and pass Cloudbreak, the world famous surf spot. What a way to finish your time in Fiji. You’ll be back at base in time for dinner before heading to the airport for your flight home. Your Program Leaders will take you to the airport for your departure as you say your goodbyes and reflect on your adventure.