Fiji Viti Levu Abaca Village

Using a gravel road, we went from Lautoka up into the mountains over a distance of over 30 km, gaining more than 400 meters of elevation, to the village of Abaca. From here, we hiked with a guide from the village to Mount Batilamu, the second highest mountain at over 1100 meters, and got an impression of rural village life.

We barely made it to the village with our slightly elevated but only 2-wheel drive pseudo off-road vehicle. We gave up the ascent to the lodge after just 200 meters of steep uphill, as a deep rut in the road was impassable for our car. So we had to reverse and turn around on a rock slab in the stream. What an adventure. They offered to carry our luggage on a horse, but we found that too adventurous. So we packed the essentials for the 2 nights in our backpacks and walked on foot. The car stayed in the village and was meticulously guarded by Kuna, the "tourist manager" of the village.

The so-called "lodge" for the guests was a very simple large cabin for 12 people, located about 1 km above the village. Apart from running water from a rain barrel, there was no infrastructure here. We had the cabin to ourselves. It was a bit exciting at night, being in the middle of nowhere. We always had our meals in the village at the home of a family. Although "home" is a bit exaggerated in our imagination, there was a large room with cooking utensils, we ate on the carpet in front of it, and with curtains hanging down, there were mats for sleeping. The food was simple, but always delicious and plentiful.

Kuna always organized the meals with a different family, so we got to know several families. However, we mostly met the women and young children, as serving guests is mostly a women's job and the children, from the age of 6, stay at the boarding school in the city during the week.

The hike the next day to the mountain and a waterfall was impressive, but also extremely exhausting. It was a constant steep uphill climb, with the first stretch going through grassland with the merciless sun shining down on it. Even Martin was completely exhausted when we reached the top. But the view made up for the struggle.