Fiji in the Raw, part ii

And then you have the island of Rabi (pronounced Rambi) which was bought by the British for the Banabans who had to leave their island called Ocean Island because of heavy phosphate mining and war activities in the 1940's. The people on Rabi speak Gilbertese which is not their native language. Herein is another story as told by our new friend Sam (more on Sam a little later). The missionaries came to Ocean Island after having been to Gilbert Island where they learned the language and translated the bible to Gilbertese. So instead of learning the Banaban language, they insisted they learn Gilbertese so they wouldn't have to translate the bible yet again and eventually, over time, the Banaban language was lost.

We spent our first two nights on Rabi at Katharine Bay where you find the village of Buakonikai. The large Methodist Church in the hill is visible far from sea and it is hard to believe that there are enough people on the village to fill the church. I think the Methodists were a little over optimistic when they started the construction.

To visit Rabi on a yacht, you are obligated to 'check in' at the police station in Nuko. Nuko has no good anchorage for yachts so our plan was to take the local bus into town. Well, it isn't actually a bus and it certainly isn't a town. Let me explain. The buses are in total disrepair so for,the past many years it is a truck that makes the daily trip back and forth from Buakonikai to Nuko. It arrives to village at 7AM and we all clamber into the back of a lorry which is equipped with two benches down the side and has a plastic tarp overhead. The lorry stops to pick up and drop off passengers along the way. At one point I counted approximately 60 people aboard which is quite a lot considering you could comfortable sit about 15 people on each bench. It was definitely standing room only at one point. An hour and a half later on a dirt road that climbed up and down several hills, stopping to add water to the overheating radiator every now and again, we arrived to Nuko. It cost us $2.00 per person for the trip back and forth.

Once we arrived, we looked around and quickly saw this 'town' was actually also a very small village. But it too had a large white Methodist Church on the hill and what differentiates it from the other villages is the police station, court house, library and post office. After checking in with the Police, we had about five hours to kill before the truck went back to Buakonikai. We spent some time chatting with a couple of young missionaries from the Church of Latter Day Saints, Erik was from Utah and his companion was from Christmas Island.

The next day we set off for Albert's Cove, said to be one of the most beautiful anchorages in Fiji. We had a wonderful time in the bay which was indeed very pretty with its volcanic rocks and caves at one end, lots of lovely sand beaches and coconut trees and beautiful turquoise water with a good reef for snorkeling. We met Sam when we first arrived and just setting our anchor. He was in his outrigger canoe doing some line fishing and came by to say hello and welcome us to the Cove.

Over the next couple days we got to know Sam and his extended family a little more. It is a two-week school holiday here in Fiji so all the children are home. Normally Sam's family would be at their home in Nuko where the children attend school. Sam refers to himself as 'the old man' in bay and he takes responsibility for that part of Rabi. He was a wonderful host making us feel very welcome. We took a walk to see his yangona (more about this later) plantation and as we walked along the beach we stopped now and then to sample coconuts in their various stages. He sent the two young boys, his son and his grand-nephew, to collect them. They scampered up a tree and knocked down a few green ones. Sam, using his handy machete, trimmed the tops and made a hole so we could have a drink of fresh coconut water. Next we tried the coconut which has just started to sprout. The water in this newly sprouted coconut has turned to a soft sweet sponge and makes a tasty treat. And lastly, we were given some brown coconuts, suitable for grating.

Sam is constructing a new hut in his stretch of the island and the next day Jens gave him a hand with some sawing. It's a simple, but effective construction using materials available to them on the Island with the exception of a few nails. While they were building, Sam's wife was making coconut oil. They husk and grate the coconut and then squeeze the liquid from the gratings. After boiling over an open fire, the water has evaporated and the oil has clarified. Thirty coconuts produces about a gallon of oil.

To earn money, Sam and his family produce copra, collect and smoke sea cucumbers and grow yangona. They basically live off the land and the sea using money to buy rice, flour, sugar and other necessities. A very tragic history these people have of losing their home island and native language, but they are quite content and lead a happy life on their new island.

We watched the dolphins play in the bay for the better part of an afternoon and snorkeled the reef. We left Rabe island early the next morning with our hold full of gifts (a small bottle of coconut oil, six green coconuts, four brown ones, two smoked fish and a lobster) from Sam and his little piece of paradise. With three toots of our horn, we waved goodbye to Sam and set off to see another part of Fiji.