Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1973-11-21, Page 21ilia ved by Mrs. Ca s. James Smith 301 and Nes, w new t of & dryers bt AD'S PRO- 1WARE BRUSSELS , 11•••••••• K E T • • Deliver • • • • • • • lb. 9c • 73e: • • • • .10.00.1 BRUSH 5 for $2.99 eg. $2.49 , for $3.99 per for 10c ial $3.99 d waxes n special Our daughter and son-in-law (Mary and•Wayne Baker) went to Australia in August 1972. He Ls teaching Secondary school in Lake Bolae and she is nursing in Ararat Hospital in the state of Victoria, This fall, we decided to visit them and see as much as pos- sible,both going and coming. Our first stop was Fiji - some people told us that we were foolish to stop there - even our Travel Agent said we could see every- thing in one day. How wrong they were! One day onlyiroused our desire to see more of the three hundred islands, 100 of which are inhabited, in the Fi- jian group. In Fiji, the greeting word is “Sa hula" pronounced Sahrn boo- lah; (Hello); your reply should be "Bula Vinaka.st (Hello Thankyou); Goodboye is "Sa moce" pro- nounced sah maw-thay. FijianS are well-built, hand- some, hippy people. They•love to have their pictures taken and are quite anxious to make the tourist's stay a happy one. we were told not to tip .in Fiji but sometimes we found that unless we had the correct change, we tipped whether we wanted to or not. Men and women both wore brightly patterned skirts, the men wearing theirs a little shorter than the women. Most natives • • Walton wornap.descri • go barefoOt (even the waitresses in the dining room). Since there are no poisonous Insects or snakes there, it is quite safe to go barefoot, Out on the reefs is the only place where poison- ous creatures abound and .visit- ors are advised to , wear stout footwear. The weather is per- fect all year round according to the natives. We asked a Fi- jian lady what the temperature was and her answer was, "we don't bother with ther- mometers as the temperature is the same today as yesterday and will be the same tomorrow." The population is made up of approximately 272,000 Indians, 231,000 Fijians and the remain- ing 32,000 are Europeans:part Europeans, Rotum ans , Chinese and other pacific Islanders. Most stores, taxis and buses are owned and operated by Indians. Fijians are engaged in the tourist in- dustry and tropical farming. While English ,is the official lang- uage, most children learn Fi- jian and Hindi. A nine-year-old Fijian girl gave me a demon- stration of Hindi writing com- plete with translation. Fiji needs more schooli but they do have primary, and secondary schools and one University on the islands. The tourist industry is ex- ceeded only by the sugar indus- try. On the short bus trip to our es stay in Fiji Witch and Jewellery Repairs — We Sell and Service — BULOVA ACCUT.RON — WATCHES 3 STORES SEAFORTH — CLINTON — WALKERTON REAL, ESTATE [MOM — GENERAL INSURANCE Agent for Howlck Farmers' Muftis' Fire insurance FIRE. AUTO — LIABILITY Phones: Office 8874100 Residence 8874164 WALLACE' BELL, TRANSPORT PCV. CLASS FS. &T. — PHONE 887-6829 — Local and Long Distance Hauling of All Livestock. Bogs Shipped Mondays and Wednesdays Belgrove Co-op For feed & Fertilizer' Petroleum*Pro- ducts — Hardware and Appliances — Versa' Milker Equipment and Cleaners. BRUSSELS WtNGIIA 887-6453 357-2711 BRUSSELS 887-6265 fillicGavin's Farm Equipment We Specialize in a Complete Line of FARM EQUIPMENT SALES and SERVICE J., E. LONGSTAFF —OPTOMETRIST— SEAFORTH — 527.1240 k BY APPOINTMENT: CLINTON fM.on ,lay Only)— 482-7010 ANSTETT JEWELLERS LTD. Business Directory JIM CARDIFF SEAFORTH WALTON, 01 At 527-0245 boat cruise, we saw sugar cane at various• stages of growth and fields of tapioca. In one field, a team of oxen were ploughing and we were told that the sugar cane would be planted in the furrows by laying canes end to end. A new plant would grow from each knuckle or joint of the cane. It came up in straight evenly spaced. rows, There wasn't a weed in the field but with the vigorous growth of the cane, a poor, weed wouldn't have a chance. Sugar cane is harvested once a year depending on when the individual farmer plants it - it is cut by machete (by hand), left on the field, to dry then piled on carts which ran on narrow gauge railroad tracks built alongisde of the road. The empty carts were dumped off the tracks, loaded with the dried cane, lifted back on the tracks by hand then pro- ceeded to the sugar plant a few miles distant. There were some small mod- Think back! How many homes sell for less today than they, did ten or twenty years ago? Be smart today.' Profit tomorrow. Get that property you want right now. Come direct to us for a mortgage loan custom built to fit your _needs. Member Canada' Deposit. Insurance dorporation TRutt tbKnO4Wsk SING tha9 cji stieti tite.oph Manager LititeNVel. Property keeps increasing in value we were late coming back on the boat. The bus ride now was really something to be ,reMituk. . bored - the bus oriveri a younig, Indian, must have been late for a very Important date. Be drove like a fiend on those rough, par,- 'row winding roads, lust missing people and fences by inches. The bus itself was a very old SCh001, bps mostly made of wood, the backs of the seats had been re., covered with grey aroorite, the same as I put on the countertop of my cupboards 24 yeare ago, There is no need tor a roller- coaster there - one ride on that bus will do the trick nicely, eti, Pecially if it is your first day riding in a vehicle on, what you feel, is the wrong side of the road. Every time approaching lights appear over a sharp hill or around a curve yOu are sure they are on the wrong side of theoyubirolae.d -, and a collision is in- evitable. In the evening, we went to a Meke in a hotel in Lautoka. , A taxi manned by a young. Indian tookm too us tooloe o the hotelsok for u and wse asked hi ten . o'clock. He said fine. When we went to pay 'the 000 fare he said: Wait"Wunhtyil pIabYr imu ge yn000w , home ut y and not pay both fares . at once."' we admired his faith in people. A Mekeshortuticnalssaongss o d concertdauoes given oftra- by Fijians in native costumes of grass skirts, flowers etc. A Meke is held at each hotel in turn and afterward the participants . sit around the lawn where tourists may talk to them, ask questions and take pictures. The Fiji Times claims to be 'the first newspaper published in the .world every day SuVa is just west of the International Date Line where the day begins. Each morning, a copy of The Fiji TiMes is left at the hotel guest's door. It contains local newsia.nd some world news (United Nations, Australia and U.S. • there was nothing about Canada that we could find) The Fiji. Beach Press . is published lortnightly and is primarily tourist news and ad?, vertising. It is distributed free. Tourists in- Fiji are mostly Australians and NeW Zealanders. As yet it is relatively unspoiled but probably in a few years, as more peOple find out about its Merits, it will be as crowded as other popular, holiday places.The next time we go, it will certainly be for more than One day and two nights! While on the boat to Mana, we found the following card: 10 Commandments for Travellers ThoU shalt not expect to'find things As thou 'host them at home for thoU halt left thy. home to find things dita. ferent, 2. ThOU shalt no take anything too seriously - fort a Care- free mind is the beginning Of a holiday. 3. Thou shalt not let the other tourists get on thy nerves for thou art paying out gOod Money to have a good time. 4. Remember thy passport so that thou knowest where it at 'all times • for a voyage without a passport 16 a trap- yeller without a country. 5. Blessed is the man who can say 'thank you? in any hog- hege and it shall be worth more to Min than much ad- vice. 6. Blessed is the man who can Make change in any currency for lo, he shall not he, cheated, 1, Thou shalt not worry, He that wottleth has no pleti. 'ante, and few things are ever fatal. • 8. Thou shalt riot jiidge the people Of a country by the person with whoitt thou hint . trouble. 6, Thou shalt, when do SoiteWhat as the Romans do, if Althoff*, thou Shaft us in CorrittiOnaeriter and ttleodiffiess. 10. neofeinho, thou art ORA in Ott* laid and he Mit tteateth his hoet with tes. tea shall, treated Mit as ur ered gletto l'HE BRUSSELS POST, NOVEMBER .11- 1973.4 DONALD M. LAURIE INSURANCE AGENCY Auto — Commercial — Farm — Residential BOX 129, BRUSSELS — PH: 887-9221 Mrs. Jean Bewley, of Walton, who has recently returned from a trip to Australia and the South Seas with her husband Walter, looks over a copy of The Fiji Times, a newspaper that she brought home with her. Mrs. Bewley, a staff member at the Huron Exppsitor and the Brussels Post has written an account of their experiences in Fiji for both papers. :.‘ern houses but most of the Fijian farmers seemed to live in that- ched huts (bures) without benefit of screens on windows or doors. Apparently they do not need screens as there are no fliei in Fiji. We would have liked to spend a whole day exploring that road but our schedule, said move on, so we had to be content with what we saw from the bus window. The boat trip out to Mana Is- land was delightful with natives singing and playing guitars all the way. Passengers could sit in the open air or enjoy the air conditioning in the cabin as they watched the scenery. we used .field glasses to have a closer look at the islands we passed and this only whetted our cur- iosity to see them more closely. Mana Island itself has a beau- tiful sandy beach surrounded with palm trees and other tropical growth with the inevitable moun- tain providing a backdrop. The mountains are not too high and trees grow right to the top: The sand on the beach is white and is • made of sea shells and dead coral which have,sbeen ground up by the action of the water over the years; the water is warm and clear, shells on the bottom are yearly visible and the only pol- Tution is the odd cocoanut or a hibiscus blossom floating in. This island is developed for tou- rists. The central attraction is a large thateh,•roofed, open-sided bure where a small native ,,or- cheStra plays and sings all the time. The walls are lined with native drums, war clubs, bam- boo fish traps, conch shells, clay kava bowls and countless Other articles' pertaining to the native way of life. A colorful and dell- cioxis buffet lunch with plenty Of fresh fthits was served at one e. Since the people have no spe- cial regard for time Or schedules 1. I".1 Novo AIRS" AMkICAO NEW PRODildr rilZet401/41OUtsie DEVELOP'ED P' Nis lNVENTlor`l, M551415 CLAIM 1-14FY PiscOVERWriT YEARS'' Ago,. NALLY, -Me xJAPAges