Every Fijian says bula, hello, to every child, every time, with a smile that means it, and within a day the kids are saying it back to everyone. It is the first thing about Fiji and it explains the rest.
A village visit is offered by every resort and it is the day to take. A boat or a bus to a village on the coast or in the hills, a sevusevu, the gift of kava root presented to the chief, a welcome in the community hall, a walk through the village, lunch cooked in a lovo, the earth oven, and the school if it is a weekday, where the children sing for the visitors and the visiting children stand in the line and sing back. Bring school supplies as the gift.
The kava ceremony is the part to explain before. Kava is a root pounded and mixed with water into a muddy drink that numbs the tongue. The men mix it in a wooden bowl, the chief drinks first, then the guests, one clap before, three after. Adults drink. Children watch and clap. The kids will want to try a sip and it is fine.
Dress, church and the meke
Shoulders and knees covered in the village, a sulu, the sarong, for everyone, no hats, and quiet voices. It is respect and the village notices.
A Sunday church service, if the dates line up, is the best singing in the Pacific. The meke, the traditional dance with the warriors and the fans, is the show at the resort on a set night, and the fire walking on Beqa island is the other one.
Fijians are the best with children of any people I have sent families to. The staff will carry a toddler off to the kitchen to show him the fish and bring him back with a biscuit. Let them. That is Fiji.
Planning Fiji with kids? Start with the full Fiji family travel guide, or send me the ages and the dates and I will come back with what is really available.
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