Marine Service and Adventure

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 Island of Kuata 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.

For the next 3 nights you will stay in Kuata. Students will sleep in dorms separated by gender and will have access to electricity, flush toilets and showers.

During the next two days, spend the majority of your time in the water participating in various types of marine conservation efforts and observational research with local marine biologists. Before you set out each day, your leader will give a short lesson on the various types of reefs that you will be encountering and the types of fish species you can expect to see. Certified scuba divers will also have the opportunity to join an add-on shark dive with Kuata’s resident shark researcher. Some of the projects that you will be participating in include coral cleanups, fish counts and identification, crown of thorns sea star removal, invertebrate counts and identification, coral gardening, and reef mapping. Your initial research and collection of data will aid in setting up and extending a Marine Preservation Area in the Yasawa Islands.

Enjoy a final snorkel in the morning at Kuata and then pack up and get ready to board the Yasawa Flyer again at late morning. Arrive at lunchtime to your new home of Naviti Island and Somosomo Village. When you arrive, there will be a village ready to welcome you with open arms. After lunch, you will present a traditional sevusevu to the Chief and go on a village tour to meet the people your service will directly be affecting. Once you have finished in the village, throw on your swimsuit, snorkel, and fins and head out to explore the exotic marine habitats of Naviti Island. You can often spot a multitude of fish, squid, and rays. If you are not up to snorkeling, spend time relaxing in the sun or pull out a kayak and paddle through the aqua waters. The evening will consist of a welcome ceremony and lesson on Fijian traditions.

You will spend the next 4 nights in Somosomo. Students will be sleeping on a comfortable cot in a large safari tent, separated by gender, meters from the beach.  There will be cold showers and a low impact compost toilet for use. There will not be electricity.

The next three days of service will be both in the water and on land and will focus on creating a more sustainable marine environment. Along the way you will get to know the kind-hearted locals from Somosomo village. This island village has a population of approximately 350 people and still maintains strong cultural traditions.

Each morning after breakfast, your group will continue with its community service projects. In the village, work on construction projects that impact the health and environmental standards of the island. Help plant mangroves, monitor sea grass growth, and contribute to a large-scale environmental initiative to make the mudflats near the village more productive. In addition, help the young children at the local primary school gain greater knowledge of the marine environment that surrounds their home. Afternoon activities will depend on your group’s progress, and several afternoons may also be spent working.

When not participating in service, go on a kayak adventure, take a sunrise hike, play volleyball with the locals, or enjoy interesting conversation and laughs with local villagers over afternoon tea. Most days end with an incredible Fijian sunset. In the evening, join the villagers to celebrate new friends with a traditional Fijian dance called meke, or enjoy a bonfire on the beach while admiring the constellations of the Southern Hemisphere. The nights are always a wonderful spectacle of traditional Fijian culture, laughter, and fun.

Wake up early and join in on a final sunrise hike over the hills that you have begun to call home. Finish up your service projects before packing up to head back to the mainland in the afternoon. Say goodbye to your new family and remember that you will always be welcomed back into the tiny village of Somosomo. After your boat ride back to the mainland, enjoy some of Fiji’s best pizza before heading back to the Eco-Lodge to prepare for the next leg of your journey. Join your group for a post-service debrief in the evening, discussing what you experienced and learned through hands-on work in the community. Get a shower and a good night’s sleep before you set off to explore the mainland the next morning!

The next 3 nights will be spent in 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, head out onto the ocean for a half-day kayaking adventure. You will get to explore the river system that flows from Fiji’s mountains down to the coast. Explore Fiji’s coastal mangrove channels as you float through this aquatic exploration adventure. You will continue to learn about the ecosystems that are critical in the Fijian environment and make the islands one of the most diverse areas in the world. Spend the next two days helping us with marine conservation initiatives right in the home of our South Pacific Eco-Lodge Basehouse, Momi Bay. Through new partnerships with local communities, we are working to collect data that will help us improve the marine environment in our own backyard. The lessons you’ve learned from your time at both Kuata and Somosomo will come in handy as we work to bring these practices to Momi Bay.

After a good night’s rest, you will embark on a coastal drive to the Eastern side of Viti Levu. Before you reach your boat transfer to Beqa Island, hike the unique Sigatoka Sand Dunes, where four miles of windswept mountains of sand unfold along the coast. The area has been granted protected national park status and is administered by the National Trust of Fiji. In addition to admiring the towering hills of sand that lead straight into the ocean, you can sometimes find pottery shards from the Lapita Era (1,000 years ago) that were buried by drifting sands. Your time on this side of Fiji will be spent exploring the coastal ecosystems of this area and the impact of tourism on this pristine environment.

Your last 3 nights will be spent on Beqa Island. Students will sleep in dorm-style rooms separated by gender. Students will have access to electricity, flush toilets and solar-powered showers.

Your last two days will be spent on Beqa Island, just off the coast from Fiji’s capital, Suva. Between snorkel trips and lessons on traditional Fijian sailing techniques, you will have discussions exploring sustainable ecotourism practices and begin to understand the pressures of limited resources on an island. You will examine the various industries on the Eastern coast and learn about different initiatives companies are taking to make more positive environmental impacts.

At the end of each program, students reflect on their experiences and the issues they engaged with, and talk about how to apply this new understanding to their own worlds. During or after their closing discussion, groups participate in Rustic Ties, a unique and powerful activity that allows students to capture the memories and learning moments of their program to process and share with their communities back home.

After breakfast, board boats back to the mainland and make your way to Sigatoka town for lunch and another glimpse of Fijian city life. Your Program Leaders will take you to the airport for your flight home or to your next Rustic program as you say goodbyes and reflect on your adventure.

If you’re staying in Fiji, your Program Leaders will take you to your next accommodation to meet your new group. If you’re continuing on to another Rustic Pathways destination, you’ll board a connecting flight to that country.