Grand Pacific Hotel, Fiji

Once the most famous hotel in the Pacific, the  Grand Pacific Hotel is located on the main sea front, on Victoria Parade in Suva, Fiji. 

It was built by The Union Steamship Company in 1914 to serve the needs of passengers on its transpacific routes. 

It was a popular place to stay for famous guests such as Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, Somerset Maugham, James A Michener and even Queen Elizabeth II.

All rooms were on the second floor, and guests could step outside on a 15-foot wide veranda overlooking the harbor and walk completely around the building — as if walking on the deck. 

The Hotel has been empty for over 20 years, and after several stalled attempts to rebuild, it looks like it will remain empty. A testimony to an earlier time of travel in the Pacific .

Fiji Defence Club

Stuck in Fiji due to cyclone Daphne, I joined the Fiji Defence Club.  

This is an old colonial relic (in the nicest sense). A club established in 1915, originally for members of the defence forces, it still retains strong links to the military (a smart move in a country under a military dictatorship).  The club is still in the same location, a colonial wooden palatial building of huon pine.  Inside it is steeped in the history of Fiji:

 The bar boasts the longest bar top in the Pacific:

The club made me especially welcome,  and I intend keeping up my membership.   Cheers guys....

See more of the club and its members here: http://www.defenceclub.com.fj/index2.html

Denarau Island sunset

I had just got back from months of living on a remote island, and had to stop in transit in Fiji for a few days.  I booked into the Raddison on Denarau Island to enjoy a little luxury after months of cold showers and VB beer.   

After checking in I walked down to the beach bar and saw the sunset, sitting in a beach chair drinking Fiji Gold.