Its May in the South Pacific and we are into the dry season. My wife and I have spent the last three weeks, with two other couples enjoying and exploring a myriad of different islands. It is interesting to distinguish the differences between the Melanesians, Micronesians and Polynesians. Also I am reading the wonderful travel book, 'The Happy Isles of Oceania' by Paul Theroux.

Everyone is packing to go home except I am doing a last excursion to Levuka on my own. No one else wants to make this trip and Mrs Sun insists its time for her to return home to see her grandchildren. So after sending them off at Nandi, Fiji to fly to Los Angeles, I start my attempt to hit another WHS.

If you are in this part of the world, most international flights come in and out of Nandi, Fiji. From here to get to Levuka is quite an effort.First of all, you need to get to Suva, the Capital of Fiji which is 4-5 hours by bus across the main island of Viti Levu.

Then you overnight and catch the early bus from Suva to Levuka which is 2 hours by land and 45 mins by ferry to the island of Ovalau and then another 45 mins round island on gravel road where you will be deposited in downtown Levuka. The return bus starts out at 4.00am!

Its a one street town and so you cannot get lost. Look for the Royal Hotel for a room. The hotel was built in the 1860s and is the oldest in Fiji and claims to be the oldest in the South Pacific. They have clean rooms, some with kitchen but no hot water. There are also two B&B places in town with 5-6 rooms each.

I am flipping through the sign in log and notice that there are no more than 5-6 international visitors each month. The rest are local Fijians who come to work at the Bumble Bee tuna canning factory on the outskirts of town. That translates to under a 100 tourists a year. I was told that in 2013 after the WHS inscription there was a flurry of visitors but it has dwindled. Cyclone Winston also hit the town very badly in 2016 and many buildings are still shut from damage.

Its a very small town and I walk up and down the main street 3-4 times looking into every store.

The town was built up in the 1870s when Fiji was ceded to the British here in Levuka. The buildings are built with Oregan timber and is mostly one or two stories with a frontal facade. The foot path in front of the buildings used to be the ocean front. Overtime they built a veranda in front of the buildings and the road in front has been reclaimed land. I am pleased to say that its now paved with a sea wall. Outside town, the road is gravel.

It reminds me of old Hawaiian plantation towns At the end of town, is an old grocery and draper with a facade of Morris Hedstrom Ltd. Built in 1868, its was the first liquor store in Fiji and now its the library, museum and tourist information. I meet Lydia who is the official guide to Levuka and ask her to take me on a tour. The cost is only $10 Fijian and she reluctantly agreed because there is a minimum of 4 for a tour. She confesses that this is the first tour of the year. So if you are there, tell her that you need to do the tour and she is very nice about it. Besides there is nothing else to do in Levuka and you are stuck for at least overnight.

So we start at the site where it all began. The place where the Fijians ceded their country to the British and when Levuka became the official capital of Fiji under the British. Its a place 200 m south of town and now has three plaques. The first to commensurate cessation in 1874, the next is the centenary of 1974 and the last of independence in 1970. We then took a leisurely walk through town to view town hall 1898, Sacred Heart church 1858 (picture shown above) though the tower was originally wooden, Masonic lodge 1875, first public school 1879 etc

The WHS plaque is prominently displayed right by the sea wall mid town.

My impressions are that the town is certainly historical for Fijians and the buildings are authentic enough, though getting funds for repairs from the cyclone using timber from Oregon would be challenging. Its not easy to visit but my rationale is that visiting the South Pacific is in itself a challenge and so tacking on this side trip is ok.

The biggest downside is that the tuna canning factory emits a very strong dried fish odor that is constant everywhere. Its something that I am used to but I can see how it can be nauseating for those who are not used to it.