June 29, 2013
Turns out the Waitavala Waterslide was close by where the boat was anchored. Jack got us a cab, and it was only a short ride to the trail leading to the waterslide. What a beautiful walk! (click to enlarge and scroll)
We soon found ourselves at a lovely pool, above which were a series of falls and rushing water. We jumped into the pool and while I don’t know what temperature that water was, it could not have felt more refreshing.
Not content to just swim in the pool, though, I continued up the path to check out the waterslide area, accompanied by Rich who went along to talk me out of doing anything stupid. I looked at the water rushing over smoothed rocks and decided this had potential for broken bones if I just tried it on my own.
Our Lonely Planet Guide had suggested if you come to the waterslide, ask some local kids, often hanging out here, to show you the ropes. After sitting and assessing the situation, I noticed three local boys had arrived. They were maybe 10 or 11 and headed my way. They spoke little English, and I spoke no Fijian, but they saw I wanted to slide down the falls and motioned for me to follow them. When the rocks got slippery, one of the boys took my hand and helped me along.
When we reached the top pool, they demonstrated what to do. One went first, showing me where to sit to start, while the others followed and urged me along. The lead boy would go and land in a pool, then turn and wait for me. We descended about 3 falls into pools before getting to the longer, wilder, and more intimidating slidey part. The first boy went, then the next one got into position. He spoke enough English to tell me it was important to relax, then he pushed off and I watched as he careened down the slide and into a lower pool. Now it was my turn. I was nervous looking at the water rushing over rocks ahead of me, but I trusted the boys.
I got in position, relaxed, and off I went. It was like being on a log ride where the log just flows with the water. There is one wild corner that was so fast, and then a big splash as you get shot into a pool. After that you swim across to one more drop, and then down into the bigger pool. I did it and it was so much fun! Seeing my success, Pat followed me up for the next round, the boys demonstrating for both of us this time. We were all smiles as we splashed into the final pool, having had so much fun Rich and John now had to try it. We all went again and again. By now a tourist couple had arrived and gave it a try, and some local men made a show of jumping off the rocks into a pool below.
After I’d had enough, I enjoyed swimming in that heavenly pool. I could have stayed there all day, but time was getting on and we thought we’d better head back. It was maybe a mile back to where the boat was, and a very pretty walk.
After arriving back at the boat and finding the group not there, we decided to walk up to the nearby Garden Island Resort, a small, casual hotel nearby, and see if they had a bar. They certainly did, and we sat in a large open-air dining room with a view of their pool and the ocean beyond. It was just what we needed: nice enough to have a bar with a pretty view, yet casual enough they didn’t mind us coming in all wet from our swim. We had originally planned to get coffee but couldn’t resist the idea of umbrella drinks served with the resort’s homemade potato chips. After a second round of drinks and chips, we were very happy campers. When the main group finally got back they had to send someone to find us.
The main group never did make it to the waterslide, but they reported that the falls were beautiful and worth the trip. They had just come from another round of shopping in Somosomo and looked hot and tired. The four of us were cool, rested, happy and two-umbrella-drink buzzed. We had a fun time motoring back to the anchorage on this gorgeous evening, the cocktail group singing tunes from old TV series, the other group probably vaguely annoyed but who cares? It turned out to be a pretty great day today! –Cyndi
