Merry Christmas everyone! It’s pretty bizarre to be sitting here on Christmas morning with “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas” playing in the restaurant. Fat chance of that in 30 degree heat!

The staff here rose to the challenge of finding something for me to do on the Sunday before Christmas and sent me to Kula Park, which is about 20 minutes’ drive from here. I arrived expecting a water park, but found more of an eco/wildlife park with a zip wire and water slide, which suited me just fine as I was feeling rather fragile. The park has a lovely focus on plants; hundreds of species are labelled with signs containing interesting facts (shout-out to my friend Adele who would appreciate this!). Conservation is also an important part of the park’s goals and the quality of animal husbandry was impressive. The majority of the animals there are birds, most of which live in free-flying enclosures that you can walk through. I met some interesting animals, including:

• baby Hawksbill turtles, which are reared by the park until large enough to be released;
• adorable fruit bats, which “walk” on all four legs, sleep hanging from the back two, and go to the toilet hanging from the front two!; and
• the Fijian banded iguana – the male I’m holding in the photo below saw another male and got stressed, meaning that his dark green bands gradually darkened.

(I clearly haven’t been away from work long enough to stop doing bullet-point lists…)

On the way back from the water park I decided to try to get something for my cough, which was still troubling me a lot. The pharmacies and clinics were all shut so we ended up at the hospital in Sigatoka. I waited for about 20 minutes to see the doctors (NHS, take note!), who were friendly and knowledgeable Indians. They were concerned about my high temperature and pulse, so asked me to take some electrolytes and wait an hour. The quality of care was good but the hospital understandably quite basic. At one point in the triage room, there was me, an elderly Australian man with a heart condition, and an Indian girl being brought round after an asthma attack (I’m pleased to report that all survived the experience). Once my vital signs had come down a bit, I was given a penicillin shot and a prescription for antibiotics and sent on my way – for the very reasonable sum of £30! I also tipped my driver a similar amount as he waited with me all afternoon. The people here have been unbelievably helpful and caring. Unfortunately the dive shop only gave me a 50% refund on my dives scheduled for yesterday morning, which I thought was a little mean in the circumstances, but I’ll have to claim it back on my travel insurance, I suppose.

When I was feeling sorry for myself the other day, I suddenly recalled that Paul Theroux – whose wonderful book about the South Pacific shaped this trip – got sick in this part of the world too, in either Fiji or Vanuatu. Thankfully I don’t share his affliction, which was both male-specific and very embarrassing – so it could be worse, I suppose! I’d highly recommend his book if you’re keen to learn more about this part of the world.

Last night the staff here were kind enough to share some of their local drink, “kava”, with me. I wanted to try it before I leave and had thought that perhaps they could bring me some after dinner. I didn’t realise how much of a production it really is! The “drink” arrives in the form of a crushed herb, with a similar texture to ginger. It’s then strained through a cheesecloth and mixed with water. The resulting concoction tastes like whiskey and dishwater mixed together, with a strange numbing after-effect on the gums. It’s served with great ceremony and lots of clapping, and as the “guest of honour” I was asked to drink the first bowl! It was a great experience to sit around the huge ceremonial kava bowl and chat about our respective cultures. I was tempted to ask about cannibalism – whether they believe it used to happen here – but was worried I’d cause offence so decided not to risk it.

After my special Christmas lunch here at the resort, I’m transferring to a hotel next to the airport for my flight to Vanuatu early tomorrow morning. I’ll post again when I can, but in the meantime I hope you all enjoy a very happy Christmas.