Fiji House Sitting travel

Fiji House Sitting

We have been incredibly fortunate to land this house sitting gig in Fiji. We are on the southern coast or Coral Coast, of Viti Levu, the largest of the Fiji islands. It is allowing us to get a taste of living in Fiji, not the expat Fiji, but just the normal day to day Fiji. I thought I would share some of the daily issues and routines of living here.

Private Pool
Having a pool is an essential feature in our books. Being able to pop in for a dip to cool off after some yard work is the perfect way to spend some time in the afternoon heat.
Coconut Treats
The feeding routine for the dogs we are looking after is quite time intensive and they certainly do enjoy their mealtimes. However they also never miss a chance for a treat of fresh coconut.

Utilities here are a bit different than we are accustomed to. The region we are in on the island utilizes a slightly different approach to billing for electricity. It works similar to prepaid cell phones. You go in to an agent and prepurchase your electricity.

Electrical Meter
You give the agent your money and they give you a long pin number to enter into your meter when you get home. It then tells you how much electricity you have left. It works on a count down mode so you always know how much you have and when you need to purchase more. I quite like it.

The other change of pace for us is the water supply. Our water is rain water collected off the roof of the house.

Water Supply
These two 5000 litre tanks are more than large enough to keep us in water. It does help to make you aware of your usage though. As well, we tend to consider rainy afternoons in a slightly different context now.

The single thing I am enjoying most is having some yard work to do. Don’t get me wrong, I still hate cutting the grass but I do enjoy getting back to work with a machete and a saw, trimming trees and harvesting bananas.

Sunset
The view from our location is amazing everyday. However, Mother Nature throws us a bonus every few days just to keep us on our toes.

Our weekly trips into town are quite an adventure as well. The bus ride takes between 45 and 65 minutes, depending on the volume of school children that we pick up. It is entertaining, and they pick us up and drop us off right at the gate to the property. As we don’t have a lot of other tasks on our agenda I rather look forward to our shopping days.

Other than birds, there is not a lot of wildlife. After dark the lawn becomes a bit of a gathering place for hermit crabs and frogs. Oh, and the bats. Big bloody bats. Watching them swoop about just as it is getting dark is an entertaining activity.

Frogs
Once the sun sets there are usually at least 2 or 3 of these guys sitting around on the grass.
Traditional Hermit crab
There are plenty of crabs crawling around. So much so that you really do need to watch where you walk.
Non-traditional Crab
I felt a bit sorry for this fellow as he couldn’t find a proper shell to occupy.
Down Time
It is also important to remember to relax and read a book.

We have settled in nicely and are enjoying our South Pacific lifestyle.

Welcome to our travel blog. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to say, "I'm out of here?" Well we did, and in 2013 we made it a reality. We sold or gave away all of our possessions other than what fit in our luggage and we set off on an endless adventure. Part of our goal is to share our experiences with others and hopefully provide some information, motivation, or just a moments escape. The general idea was to look for a place that would be ideal to settle down in. However in the meantime it is about experiencing life in different countries amongst different cultures and learning how to understand and appreciate each other. A large part of our time is spent housesitting which provides an excellent opportunity to experience more of the "normal" neighbourhoods as opposed to the tourist locales. Though we make sure to enjoy those as well. So through plenty of photographs and a running commentary come and share with us our life on the road.

7 comments on “Fiji House Sitting

  1. Jim Richards

    Peter, This is AWESOME! I had no idea you were doing this, what a courageous decision to go against all (or almost all) of what our society has drilled into us. I’m so pleased for you. I’ll keep a watch now that I know about your blog. If your travels ever bring you to BC, you have a home. Warm regards, Jim

  2. Beautiful…what an adventure…

  3. Hello, I have a website about land hermit crab species.
    http://www.tonycoenobita.com/species_eng.htm

    Can I use your picture on my website?

    If it is ok, I will put your name on the pictures.

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