10) Sugar Cane - Sugar cane is the major industry on the Fijian islands of Vanua-levu and Vitu-levu. Lautoka boasts the largest sugar cane refinery in Fiji and its influence can be seen all over the city; from the trucks and trains that roll though the city laden with raw sugar cane to the smell of tomato soup and ash that spews forth from the factory.
9) Cheap food and goods - There are numerous stores in the city center of Lautoka which offer everything from tasty snacks to 3 FD haircuts and tailoring. Multiple stores sell used clothing imported from Australia and USA for 1 FD each.
8) Indian influence - stores in Fiji sell indian spices and traditional indian clothes. Indian food and snacks such as curry and barfi can be found all over the city. Even with these influences the, indo-fijians still consider themselves proud Fijians.
7) Hot springs- in the town of Savusavu, hot springs bubble up along the shore and the hillside. The water is so hot it boils and some people even use the springs to cook their food.
6) Timber production- on the island Vanua-levu much of the northern side is devoted to timber farming. It looks like some areas of rural North Carolina.
5) Gold mining- there's gold in the hills and people searching for it. Geologists use their knowledge to search for gold sites around the islands of Fiji. When gold is found, they negotiate mining rights between the villages and mining companies. We also heard stories of gold spewing from the underwater chimneys dotting the volcanic fault line between Fiji and Vanuatu.
4) Free hold land - most land is not available for purchase. Instead it is leased on an extremely long term (such as 100 years). There is only a certain amount of land that can be owned by foreigners and ethnic Indians. A lot of this type of land is located around Savusavu, which results in the large expat community we saw there.
3) Fiji water- the most prominent image of Fiji abroad is the Fiji water bottle. Fiji water is bottled in a small village on the north side of Vitu-levu about 35 miles away from Lautoka. All Fiji water is shipped out of the port while the high quality plastic bottles are shipped in from China. We talked to some of the Fiji water truck drivers as they waited in line to clear port customs.
2) Vaka paddling- we were able to join the local paddling club for a sunset training practice. The club practices every day of the week and was preparing for an inter island race to be held that weekend. The boats go much faster than expected. We were quickly tired by the end of our warm-up, but we continued racing against the three other boats until it was too dark to see.
1) Jelly Ice cream- a unique treat that we have seen nowhere else was a serving of ice cream combined with a serving of jello. It was quite popular with the locals.
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