“The slower you go, the more you see.”
That’s the adage cycle tourists Merryl Park, 58, and Ian Flux, 62, live by as they travel around Viti Levu on two wheels.
The New Zealand couple arrived in the country on July 24, and began their tour from Nadi to Sigatoka, then to Suva. From Suva, they cycled to Natovi where they boarded the ferry to the “old” capital.
The Fiji Times met the couple in Levuka, Ovalau last week where they also completed a cycle around the island.
“We’ve been cycle touring since our early 20s,” said Park, who is a part-time general practitioner for older adults while Flux is a conservation scientist.
“We like to cycle tour because we like to travel slowly, meet the local people, eat the local food and stop in places where there aren’t a lot of tourists — just to see how life is in other countries,” they said.
Unfriendly dogs and gravel roads were cited as challenges on their tour around Viti Levu.
“In some places, the road goes like this and then it drops like this and then there’s lots of gravel, so that’s probably been the most challenging thing. Sometimes, you fall off.
“We navigate that by just being careful and alert. If we hear a big truck coming, we just pull over. Some of the sugar trucks are really wide (so we have) to be careful.
“People have been really friendly but the dogs — not so much. I did have one dog latch on my bike at one point, so the dogs are a slight challenge as well.”
For Park, a highlight of her years of cycle touring was the journey from Karachi, Pakistan to Singapore in a year, and for Flux, it was cycling in Iceland in summer.
Back home in New Zealand, the couple have a 100-hectare organic farm where they “have lived off grid for the past 30 years”.
After leaving Ovalau island on August 2, the couple continued their journey on the old Kings Highway.
“We were not able to reach Rakiraki in one day. We were very grateful and humbled that a family in Namarai offered to host us.
“We are grateful to the friendly people we met who waved to us, took time to talk with us and offered us cups of tea, breakfast and lunch. We would like to thank everyone for their friendly greetings and kindness but we give special thanks to the people of the village of Namarai.”
