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| Sabeto hot spring - this spring water pool is very hot! |
We seem to be on the fringe of rain clouds and seemingly trying to flee from the weather. Unfortunately it was not the case on the other side of Viti Levu. More rain was expected, another wet day. But we were in for a pleasant surprise. It didn't rain all day where we were!
I hadn't been assigned a tour so later last night Paul and I made arrangements to go out for the day, with Paul getting permission to go ashore.
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| How do I look??? Beautiful???? |
Paul had a very busy arrival and was still 'on the go' as time ticked by, closing in on the time for us going ashore. Fortunately he managed to get away and was soon changed and ready to go. We met up with Christina (from the shops) and a few other crew members in the Officers' Bar - the pre-arranged meeting point for the group.
We found the tour desk and our
guide, paid for the tour and were
soon heading out. Unfortunately our vehicle was waiting outside the port so we had a bit of a walk outside, towards the main road. Fortunately the day was overcast so it wasn't too hot.
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| Fooling around whilst the mud is drying |
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| Time to rinse off the mud - the bottom of the pool was squishy |
Twelve of us boarded the minibus and headed out to Sabeto/Tifajek Mud Pools, all excited to get muddied. One very young lass from the spa kept applying makeup to her face and someone asked her why. She said that it was mineralised makeup that would protect her face from the sun. Eh? I've never heard about that before. I would suggest a good sunscreen would protect her face, not makeup powder (I could be wrong though). Or mud from the mud pool would protect her face from the sun. Anyway - everyone to their own.
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| 2nd hot spring - the bottom was still a bit squishy with mud |
It was about half an hour's drive the mud pools. There are two next door to each other, owned by a brother and sister. The Tifajek Mud Pool looked quite busy so our driver turned around and backtracked a few metres, and took us to the Sabeto Mud Pool next door where it wasn't so busy. After a quick 'before' group photograph we stripped off (most of us had swimsuits underneath our clothing, one or two had to get changed in the nearby changing rooms) and headed over to the mud pool. Tubs of lovely gooey black mud awaited us.
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3rd hot spring pool - I think I may have some mud underneath my top
by the looks of things! |
Oh bliss.... It was so nice to spread mud all over ourselves. Paul helped me and I helped Paul so that we got good full mud coverage including in our hair and on our faces, with pale eyelids and lips peeping through the black mud. The only person who didn't put mud on her face was the youngster from the spa. She was reluctant to get her hair muddied too but eventually she did have some squished in. We were given time to allow the mud to dry on our skin so wandered around the small garden and had a look at the small craft stalls on the site. Plenty of group photographs were taken as well. With the sun behind the clouds, the mud took quite a while to dry on us. We felt itchy as the drying mud pulled at our skin but it was great fun. Our swimmies may be discoloured but we don't mind 😃
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| 4th hot spring pool - this one was very warm - bath temperature |
Time to rinse off in the mud pool. There were steps going down into the water but we had to be careful once in, and feel for the steps carefully. The bottom of the pool was squishy beneath the toes.... After a wash to get the excess mud off our bodies we headed over to a hot spring pool to relax and to wash off more of the mud. There was another hot spring pool (this time a concrete one, like a small swimming pool) but the water was cooler. Finally we went to the last hot spring swimming pool to complete the process. The water was like a warm bath and I couldn't stay in it for too long - bearing in mind that the outside temperature was warm too. Paul managed to get in up to his waist but the outside air temperature vs his body temperature vs the pool temperature - he couldn't get in any further!
Paul and I headed to have a massage after dipping in the hot spring. A basic but good massage with coconut oil was about 15 minutes long for 10 USD, which wasn't bad. The massage wasn't limited to our backs. They massaged our arms and legs too, and finally our heads. We felt very relaxed afterwards. Christina was glowing after her massage!
Sadly it was time to get dressed. Many staff and brought along a spare set of clothes or sarongs. Paul and I decided to wear our sarongs - very comfortable.
A few staff members wanted to visit the Garden of the Sleeping Giants so we popped in there on our way back to the ship, but limiting our visit to half an hour because one or two staff members had a deadline by which they had to get back to work. The garden was founded by Raymond Burr in 1977 has a fine collection of orchids and tropical plants. Unfortunately the entry price was not what we had been quoted originally, time ticked by and people questioned whether it was worth spending the extra 2 USD or not. In the end 3 people stayed behind, including one who had visited the gardens twice on previous visits, but the rest of us paid the entrance fee and went in.
The gardens were gorgeous, nestled in the slops of the surrounding hills. It was certainly worth the visit. We didn't have much time on our hands to explore too much so we all stuck to the main path and did a loop around the gardens, stopping now and then to take photographs. When we got back to the main entrance we were given a complimentary ice cold fruit juice drink. Yum.
Buzzing, we headed back to the port. The traffic was at a bit of a standstill towards the entrance so we decided to get out of the minibus and walk in. After thanking our driver and our guide, one couple decided to head back into town for a late lunch whereas the rest of us walked into the port to the pier. Paul, Christina, another staff member (Barry) and I had a bit of a wander around a few market stalls that were set up on the pier but Paul had to dash off, soon after, to start work. Barry, Christina and I didn't stay too much longer and headed indoors to the sanctuary of the air-conditioned ship.
Despite the weather predictions we had had a really fab day, and for Christina - it was even better because it was her birthday.
Unfortunately some of the photographs taken from a camera with a waterproof casing didn't come out too well - a bit blurry, and possibly smeared with mud. The photographs from the Garden of the Sleeping Giants fared better as the camera is better.
Tomorrow we anchor off Dravuni Island and once again weather predictions are not good. We shall see!
PHOTOGRAPHS
Sabeto Mud Pools
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| Hot spring (very hot!) |
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| Are you ready to get dirty???? |
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Rubbing the mud on - looks like I'm trying to get some underneath my
bikini top - but I'm sure I didn't go that far! |
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Whilst drying off and taking pictures, one could wader around the small
arts and craft stalls (left) sited around the garden |
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| Nice seat on a tree to dry off |
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| The transformation begins as we rinse off. Note the muddy faces still! |
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| Getting cleaner! |
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| The 4th hot spring pool is warm - almost too warm to put my head under! |
Garden of the Sleeping Giants
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| Having a bit of fun in a hammock |
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| 'Tree huggers' made out of old umbrellas! |
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| Nice lounge area to relax after walking in the gardens |
Time to rinse off in the mud pool. There were steps going down into the water but we had to be careful once in, and feel for the steps carefully. The bottom of the pool was squishy beneath the toes.... After a wash to get the excess mud off our bodies we headed over to a hot spring pool to relax and to wash off more of the mud. There was another hot spring pool (this time a concrete one, like a small swimming pool) but the water was cooler. Finally we went to the last hot spring swimming pool to complete the process. The water was like a warm bath and I couldn't stay in it for too long - bearing in mind that the outside temperature was warm too. Paul managed to get in up to his waist but the outside air temperature vs his body temperature vs the pool temperature - he couldn't get in any further!
Paul and I headed to have a massage after dipping in the hot spring. A basic but good massage with coconut oil was about 15 minutes long for 10 USD, which wasn't bad. The massage wasn't limited to our backs. They massaged our arms and legs too, and finally our heads. We felt very relaxed afterwards. Christina was glowing after her massage! 
A few staff members wanted to visit the Garden of the Sleeping Giants so we popped in there on our way back to the ship, but limiting our visit to half an hour because one or two staff members had a deadline by which they had to get back to work. The garden was founded by Raymond Burr in 1977 has a fine collection of orchids and tropical plants. Unfortunately the entry price was not what we had been quoted originally, time ticked by and people questioned whether it was worth spending the extra 2 USD or not. In the end 3 people stayed behind, including one who had visited the gardens twice on previous visits, but the rest of us paid the entrance fee and went in. 
The gardens were gorgeous, nestled in the slops of the surrounding hills. It was certainly worth the visit. We didn't have much time on our hands to explore too much so we all stuck to the main path and did a loop around the gardens, stopping now and then to take photographs. When we got back to the main entrance we were given a complimentary ice cold fruit juice drink. Yum.
Buzzing, we headed back to the port. The traffic was at a bit of a standstill towards the entrance so we decided to get out of the minibus and walk in. After thanking our driver and our guide, one couple decided to head back into town for a late lunch whereas the rest of us walked into the port to the pier. Paul, Christina, another staff member (Barry) and I had a bit of a wander around a few market stalls that were set up on the pier but Paul had to dash off, soon after, to start work. Barry, Christina and I didn't stay too much longer and headed indoors to the sanctuary of the air-conditioned ship.
Unfortunately some of the photographs taken from a camera with a waterproof casing didn't come out too well - a bit blurry, and possibly smeared with mud. The photographs from the Garden of the Sleeping Giants fared better as the camera is better.
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