Port Denarau, Fiji

 

This was the second time we have been to Port Denarau in the past 6 months – you can read our Blog post from our cruise on P&O Arcadia here. It obviously hadn’t changed any since February. Last time, we had a simple fishburger for lunch at the Bonefish cafe, but this time decided to have a more complete meal there. We both had Coral Trout. On this cruise, we have seen a lot of Taro and Cassava being grown on the islands and this meal had both incorporated into it. We quite enjoyed the experience and intend to seek these (new to us) vegetables out when we return home.

The current AUD/FJD exchange rate has caused Fiji to be a relatively inexpensive destination for us. I bought a couple of nice “island/tropical type” shirts in one of the shops in the shopping area – very good quality at a low price. I regret now that I didn’t do a bit more clothing shopping there. You could buy “on tap” schooners of Fiji Bitter beer for only $3FJD (approx $1.80AUD) per schooner – this would have to be the cheapest beer within 1000 klms of Australia!!!

One thing that future cruisers to Port Denarau need to know and understand is that this is a slow tendering port. The position where the ship anchors is quite a way from the wharf. This, combined with the advanced age of many passengers and other passenger related reasons for slow loading of the tender boats means that tendering turnaround times for each tender boat can be up to 45 minutes. Thus you can be waiting to get off the boat for up to 3 hours (depending on what time you get your tender tickets). There is no point in whining and moaning about it – no point in accusing P&O of incompetence in their tender operations. Get out of bed a bit earlier than usual and get your tickets as soon as possible – otherwise you won’t get off the ship until 12 Noon!!

	Great to be alive on a morning like this!
	Our lady Captain watching over tender operations. They used large commercial catamarans here. This is the third time for us (including on other ships) where these large cats have been used instead of/complimenting ships’ tender boats. I remain unconvinced of their worth and believe that their use actually slows down the tender boat transfers.That sounds counter-intuitive, I know!
	Lunch at the Bonefish Cafe – recommended! But I need to go on a serious weight-loss programme when I get back home!!