Written by Gordan Cordona for Wheelchairtravel.org, November 29, 2022
Several years ago, my Mom and I joined the Far West Ski Association on their annual dive trip. That year they went to the islands of Fiji. Even though we don’t scuba dive, non divers are always welcome. FWSA travels to different locales each Fall. We have been on several of their trips, including to Cozumel, Roatan, and Grand Cayman. Wonderful trips!
After a ten hour flight to Nadi, we drove over two hours to Pacific Harbor. The weather was hot and some humidity. Then we took a boat for one hour. Lastly, we went on a very small boat to the beautiful Beqa Lagoon Resort on the tiny remote island of Beqa. The water was very shallow. We had a wet landing meaning we had to remove our shoes and socks and roll up our pants to walk in the shallow water to the resort about 60 feet away. The resort staff carried me in my manual chair over the water to the resort. The same thing with my heavy power chair. Power chairs and water don’t mix. Four strong guys carried my power chair over the water safely. Then they carried everybody’s luggage over the water. My first experience doing something like this. Very cool.
After an orientation by the manager, we enjoyed a delicious lunch in the outdoor restaurant. Then we got settled in in our bure overlooking the Pacific Ocean. They placed a large board over the one step to our bure. It worked well for me. Our room, or bure as it is called in Fiji, was very spacious and cool and I could get around in my power chair easily. There was also a small wading pool in front of our bure overlooking the ocean. The resort itself was pretty accessible for wheelchair users. We had to bring a transformer with my battery charger to charge my chair since Fiji has different electrical voltage.
The next day was Sunday and we asked about church services. We went to church but we had to walk 20 minutes to get there with a guide. One area of path was sandy, so I had to go fast to keep the momentum and not get stuck. The guide helped and pushed me through the sand. Many times during our walk, he had to move big branches and rocks and some areas were very uneven (and I thought LA sidewalks were bad). Just part of the adventure!
The island of Beqa has no roads or cars. Everyone walks to their destination, and everything has to be brought in my boat and person power. When we arrived, they gladly carried me up to the church. By the time I turned around, they had already carried my power chair up about 15 steps to the church! They helped me transfer into my chair. It was an interesting service with Scripture and music mostly in their native tongue. We walked back to our resort and had lunch. I picked out a book about Fiji and read on the beautiful beach. I had a glorious foot massage. The sugar felt good rubbing on my feet and legs. The choir from the church came out for an evening concert just before dinner.
The next morning we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast on our patio overlooking the ocean. After lunch there was a coconut and basket weaving demonstration and we sampled fresh coconut meat and water. Then I went in the pool before dinner. Such is island life. Beautiful sunsets.
The next afternoon we walked to the village and visited the primary school. The kids sang and performed for our group. Then we toured the school and dorms. The kids and teachers live there. Some of the teachers also act as den mothers for the students.
We took a tour of a different village and they took us by boat the next day. I went in my manual chair and the guards helped push me. Some of the paths were barely wide enough for my chair. Some paths were concrete and some dirt. I was glad I didn’t have to drive my power chair along the narrow paths. We took a tour of the preschool and the children sang for us. Beautiful! We toured the village and stopped at a vendor village. Before we left the village, I stopped to give a sweet little girl the bracelet I was wearing. She gave me the biggest smile!