Tropical gardens
Saturday 20th June 2015 Yesterday the wet and windy weather eased up a bit and the sun came out. It seemed a good day to visit the tropical gardens about 5 km outside of Savusavu, so we hailed a taxi outside the marina and within ten minutes we were at the gates. We were met by Enoch, a large and friendly Fijian who took our admission fees, gave us our printed guide sheets and invited us to stay as long as we liked. We then spent a delightful hour or more following the boardwalk path through a lush garden of mainly palm trees, many of whose varieties are under threat of extinction. At the top of the uphill section was a deck, shaded by trees, from which there was a beautiful view over the gardens to Savusavu Bay beyond. Here we sat and enjoyed the view, and the calm, peace and quiet, for a while, before continuing the tour downhill. At Fiji Flora Tropica Gardens, Savusavu. The well-constructed boardwalk leading through the gardens. Foxtail palm Fishtail palm. I named this the ‘corrugated palm’ – one of my favourites. Vanilla growing up a traveller palm. A stilted palm. Liked the name of this one – the Diamond Joey. Snakeskin palm, often home to the snake it mimics! Bismarck palms – very grey/silver by comparison. A shady spot under the palms View from the boardwalk out over Savusavu Bay. View from the top deck. A splash of colour. Interesting pattern on this palm trunk. The gardens were established in 1998 and are accredited by Botanical Gardens Conservation International, a plant conservation charity based in Kew, England. They are well worth a visit. |