Mike and Clare: Onboard the National Geographic Orion

26 February, 2024

Onboard the National Geographic Orion

The time came to meet the team, and our fellow passengers, of Lindblad's expedition ship, the National Geographic Orion. We were all to meet at the Sheraton golf and beach resort on Denarau Island near Nadi. Our taxi passed through Nadi CBD, but it was Sunday morning, and almost everything was closed. We saw some familar banks, a few telecom company offices and outlets, numerous Asian restaurants. The common feature was that the rest-day closed businesses were heavily barred up - obviously crime is a problem here. One bridge joins Denarau to the Fiji mainland, and the minute you cross it, you transition from Fiji's unkempt tropical green-ness, where it always looks as though the undergrowth might completely take over as soon as your back is turned, to a large expanse of finely manicured gardens and golf-courses, punctuated by numerous luxury accommodations who presumably somehow share the recreational resources here.

Lindblad expect many of their American customers to fly in that morning, something we would never contemplate, and they go to great lengths to accommodate them comfortably between their arrival and our transfer to the ship. Everyone, including us, enjoyed a complimentary room at the Sheraton. In our case, it was completely unnecessary - we spent barely 10 minutes in that room. Lindblad spend a lot to make sure we are as comfortable as possible. Our complimentary room included a FJD100 credit at the restaurant, a delightful sand-floored space right on the beach. The service was so inefficient that management refused to charge us, and Lindblad saved their money. But our Caesar salads were excellent, when they finally arrived.

Boarding the Orion involved familar rituals: issuing of swipe cards on lanyards, safety and abandon ship drills, mandatory Zodiac and snorkelling training etc. We had almost the same cabin as we enjoyed on our Antarctic voyage on this same ship almost 10 years ago. We were introduced to the Expedition Team one by one, and were pleasantly surprised to learn that the Expedition Leader, Karla Pound, was an Aussie. On our numerous prior expeditions with NatGeo/Lindblad, we don't think we have had a female Leader before, and certainly no Aussies. Karla's very diverse career included her being a ranger on the Kimberley, and this item on her CV got her a start with NatGeo when they decided to rediscover expeditions to Western Australia. Our 60 odd co-expeditioners are mostly from the USA, with about 15 Canadians, and us two Australians.

Seen from the Orion, this island is owned by a private, luxury resort. [4222]

Our first off-boat excursions were to the tiny island of Beqa, pronounced "benga", about 10km south of Fiji's main island of Viti Levu. Beqa has nine tiny villages with some low key resorts for visitors. Prior to transferring to Beqa by Zodiac (motorised rubber-duckies holding up to 10 passengers) we were advised of the protocols associated with visiting Fijian villages. Respect of the locals obviously, but in particular we had to be modestly clothed, men and women, with shoulders and knees covered, but eyes and heads uncovered. This was a surprise to us, but luckily we carry sarongs on our travels. The no hats and sunnies rule made us pretty uncomfortable in the relentless sunshine of our visit, and the village itself was definitely not shady!

The NatGeo Orion shot from a Zodiac heading towards Naisseuseu. [4240]

This villager on Beqa happily consented to having her picture taken, with no hope of ever seeing it. [4247]

None of this applied in the morning where all we did on Beqa was snorkel at Lawaki Beach, near but not at any village. It's evident that for many of our co-expeditioners, this was their maiden attempt at swimming much less snorkelling - many used noodles or flotation devices and many fussed around with their equipment endlessly. That said, the crew define boundaries clearly and guard ("nanny"?) us from Zodiacs and in the water relentlessly. We guess it would be embarrassing and inconvenient to lose paying passengers. The snorkeling itself was at best "ordinary" with so-so visibility and coral, and not many fish.

In the afternoon, by Zodiac, we arrived at the Beqa village of Naiseuseu where we followed the strict dress code. The village was in a cleared area and picturesque in a rustic way, but heavily exposed to the fierce sunshine. The locals were friendly and many consented to having their pictures taken. It was really hot and opressive here, and we suffered in our hatlessness.

Breadfruit growing in the village of Naiseuseu. [4253]

Scene in the Fiji village of Naiseuseu, basically a too-sunny cleared area in a valley. [4254]

Scene in the Fiji village of Naiseuseu, basically a too-sunny cleared area in a valley. [4258]

Scene in the Fiji village of Naiseuseu, basically a too-sunny cleared area in a valley. [4259]

Than by Zodiac back to Lawaki (where there is shade and a relaxed dress code) for a rousing welcome by a native choir of men and women, and a few children. They serenaded us as we arrived, 10 by 10, with songs that featured many "bula's" (and later, when we left). We tasted the rather unpallatable kava ("yanggona", a non-alcoholic hallucinogen made from vegetable roots), and enjoyed cultural displays, women dancing gracefully and men performing threatening warrior dances (Maori haka-like). Handicrafts could be bought (USD accepted) and our American friends spent heartily, mostly on woven fans.

A village choir welcomed us to Lawaki Beach, repeating their song for each Zodiac arrival, and enthusiastically accompanied by these four children. [4268]

Down to the formailities of the welcome at the Lawaki Beach House. [4274]

And then it was the men's turn, warriors dancing with decorated spears. [4281]

The day's highlight was a late afternoon demonstration of fire walking which involved a lot of preparatory ritual to build up tension before about half a dozen brave men, dressed in leaves, repeatedly walked across the hot rocks. A detailed explanation of the process was given, but because it is considered impolite to raise your voice, we could not hear most of it. We 60 or so enjoyed privileged positions on seats in the shade, but the event was well attended by locals who hung around the edges and on the beach, one of who admitted to us that "fire walking cermonies may be famous, but they are very uncommon" and that she personally had never seen it before. So we felt quite honoured. The fire, heating up large rocks, had been in preparation all day - we could see it from the Orion since early morning. And after it was completed, and the men showed us their charry feet, foliage was heaped over the still hot rocks, emitting occasional bursts of thick smoke.