It rained a lot in Savu Savu but that didn’t stop us exploring, on Sunday we hired a car and drove across the Island of Vanua Levu to the main town of Labasa.

We stopped at an old Fijian village on route and introduced ourselves to the locals and had a Chinese lunch in the town.

Fiji is very much run by Indians who make up around half of the population. The Indians were bought to Fiji by the British in 1874 to work the sugar plantations and, being a very industrious race, they now run most of the businesses in Fiji which has caused some unrest with the indigenous Fijian population.

English is the official language but Fijian and Hindustani (Indian) are widely spoken.

This ethnic and cultural blend results in a wide mix of foods, lots of spicy curies and Indian dishes, and religions, Christianity alongside Hindu and Islam with mosque churches visible everywhere. In fact, just like England !

The main crop is still sugar cane and much of the land is given over to growing it.

The town at Labasa was a bit drab, just one main street with lots of Indian shops selling anything from spices to saris.

Savu Savu was similar although the market was very colourful and lively.

The strange roots hanging up are Kava roots which are ground down and mixed with water to make a communal Kava in a big bowl that is passed around and drunk at social gatherings. It looks like dishwater and tastes a bit like milk of magnesia !