The first time in 2006 was only 36 hours on Fiji. I wrote a study on organic farming in the South Pacific for the FAO. That's why I wanted to go here, because there is an IFOAM member here. Unfortunately, just a week before the coup had been done. So everything was different as planned. I went to Lautoka to Herbex.com. Rather undramatic. Otherwise I was very surprised how run-down the interior looked. The infrastructure was very ruined, the people seemed rather poor. Question: where does all the money go that tourism brings in here? Only sugar cane, burnt earth (slash-and-burn in the slopes). Accommodation and living standards were very acceptable, as was the weather. Unfortunately I didn't come to snorkel, the time was too short.
In 2018 I visited Fiji again several times with Klaudia, as an important stopover to other Pacific countries. I spent the stop-over close to in a Hilton Hotel, high quality and smart to organize. Half a day I was on the second biggest island of Fiji, on Labasa, spending time at the airport.