WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I ARRIVE?
You will fly into Nadi International Airport on Monday and make your way across the island of Viti Levu by bus, truck or taxi to Fiji’s capital city, Suva where you’ll spend a night in a local hostel. Early on Tuesday you will fly on the small 8 seater light aircraft over to the island of Gau ($85Fijian Dollar/ £35 each way cost not included). From the Gau airstrip you can take a water taxi or the Frontier boat (£25 cost not included) to the Frontier beach camp at Naviavia.
If you are an independent traveller arriving outside the main project start dates you are welcome to join the project any Tuesday, please be aware that 8 seater light aircraft from Suva to Gau only runs once a week and the service depends on calm conditions, so book early to avoid disappointment.
The island of Gau can be reached by ferry (usually sails once a month) or on a hired fibre glass boat at a cost of about £300 one way. We will provide you with up to date costs and further travel information nearer to the time of your departure. The Frontier field staff will be there to meet you on the camp.
WHERE WILL I BE STAYING?
During the project you'll live on a remote beach camp on the Fijian island of Gau. We aim to provide you with a unique and memorable living experience. The Frontier marine camp has been constructed by local craftsmen, using traditional building techniques and locally sourced, environmentally friendly, building supplies. The camp which is situated in a clearing on the shore was designed to blend harmoniously with the surroundings.
Camp life is very simple, unsophisticated and fun. You will be staying in communal dwellings called bures made from locally woven vegetation. Your "shower" may be a jug or a bucket of water – perhaps even a shower of rain – and you cook over an open campfire: so prepare for the basic, unencumbered, virtually footprint-less lifestyle! On occasions you may have to travel further from your beach camp to reach a distant work site, and then you might stay in a “satellite camp”, usually a mosquito net pitched on a beach.
As well as the beach conservation work, you will help with the scientific data entry and daily camp maintenance, taking turns to cook, tidy and clean the camp, clean the boats, rinse dive kit, collect firewood, prime hurricane lamps, collect and treat water, and help with a wide variety of other essential camp duties.
WHAT WILL I BE EATING?
Camp food is simple and nutritious and consists largely of rice, split peas, pancakes, flatbreads, tinned fish, pasta and fruit, all of which are purchased in-country or made on camp in order to help support the local economy. Luxuries such as sweets, biscuits and drinking chocolate have to be brought over to Gau from Suva, so make sure you stock up before heading to the field! Part of your role on camp will be to help with the cooking, so get your cookbooks out now and start practising! Also, with luck you'll be invited to local feasts and festivals – a great way to integrate with the local communities in the nearby villages and absorb the fabulous and welcoming local culture.
Some local dishes to look forward to include taro, breadfruit, sweet potato, cassava, and cassava chips, coconut and fabulous shellfish and seafood. A delicious Fijian speciality is a lovo feast, which is a meal cooked in a hole in the ground – unusual but very tasty!
What Next? Apply Now!
