Basics - Rough Guide to Fiji - page 44

and white rum are regular ingredients in the gorgeous cocktails concocted by resort barmen -
these usually cost anywhere from F$20 to F$30 although happy-hour prices are substantially
discounted. Locally brewed gin and vodka are less appealing.
It's worth noting that you can buy up to 2.25 litres of duty-free liquor on arrival at Nadi
Airport beside the luggage carousel before clearing customs.
Wine
Wine is usually imported from Australia and New Zealand - a reasonable bottle will cost
F$25 in a bottle shop, and perhaps double that in a restaurant. BYO is not a common practice
but some restaurants do permit this, with a corkage fee around F$10. In the villages, home-
made wine made from pineapples, watermelon or oranges is worth trying if offered.
Soft drinks
Despite the abundance of fruit, freshly squeezed fruit juices and smoothies can be hard to
come by in towns or even resort bars. However, you will find that Fijians are amazingly ad-
ept at shinning up tall palm trees, felling a coconut , slicing its top off and offering the milky
contents as a refreshing drink. Trying one is something of a must-do in Fiji.
Tap water in towns is filtered and chlorinated and on the whole safe to drink, although it's
best avoided after heavy rains when sediment often appears. Chilled, sweetened tap water
mixed with fresh limes is sold from glass tanks at all town markets. At rural and outer-is-
land resorts, water is sourced from natural springs or wells, although for drinking purposes
rainwater collected in tanks is preferable. Brackish well water is sometimes a problem, and
in places of scarcity, especially in the Mamanucas, desalination plants have been installed
which often give a slightly saline taste to the water and anything made from it.
Bottled water , for which Fiji is globally renowned, costs around F$3 for a large 1.5-litre
bottle in the shops, depending on brand, but at least triple that in the resorts. Fiji Water, owned
by a private American company and hugely popular in the US, is sourced from a deep well
beneath the Nakauvadra Range in northern Viti Levu, with a multi-million dollar bottling
plant at Yaqara. Other local brands include VTY, a pun on Fiji Water ( Viti is Fiji and Wai is
water in Fijian), Island Chill and Aqua Pacific, all sourced on Viti Levu.
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HEALTH
Fiji presents few major health issues for visitors. The most common problems are sun-
burn and/or heat stroke caused by overexposure to the tropical sun; fungal ear infec-
tions from swimming, which are easily cured with ear drops; mosquito or sand fly bites;
and on rare occasions, fish poisoning.