One new crop that we saw on the northern, "dry side" of the island is sugarcane. This crop fills sprawling fields that lead from the edge of the road to as far as the eye can see. These plants are tall, with wide bases and long palm-like tops. We saw multiple trucks filled to the brim with sugarcane stalks heading into the city. There was even a small, narrow-gauge railroad line that ran parallel to the road, once used to carry sugarcane directly from the fields to port.
Another new, unexpected crop we saw were pine trees! When we first saw a pine forest, we remarked that the area looked and smelled like Pittsboro, North Carolina. There were rows of pine trees that littered the roadside with pine needles, and in some areas controlled burns were being conducted at the forest floor. We also passed some big logging trucks loaded up with cut trees, and even witnessed one truck coming directly out of the forest on a logging road. Closer to the city of Labasa were sawmills with the finished pine boards stacked up. What a mix of island crops and a more familiar one, all on Fiji!
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