Just wondered if anyone planning a fairly-close overseas birding holiday in
the near-future? Recently Marie and I made a couple of trips to Fiji and
though the political situation is rather unusual the country is a very cheap
destination for Australians and people are very welcoming.
One of the islands Taveuni, has a couple of 'must-see' species, the amazing
Silktail and spectacular Orange Fruit-dove, and the locals around the Bouma
area are very keen to keep their forest-heritage but are being forced to
turn over areas to cultivate staples such as Taro and Cassava just to
survive. I know this is a common problem in the South Pacific but we were
encouraged by the enthusiasm that the villagers showed for their wildlife
and willingness to guide birders.
This morning I received a phone-call from the Vidawa village headman asking
if it was possible for him to come to Queensland and pick fruit and
vegetables to support his family, and as you will no doubt be aware had to
tell him that the prospects for such work would be very slim due to the
extreme weather that we are currently having.
The villagers have a website
http://www.boumafiji.com/vidawa-rainforest-hike.cfm and have even erected a
guest-house for vistors to stay in. A trip to Taveuni can be combined with
visits to the main islands Viti and Vanua Levu and even Kadavu which has
some other 'endemics'.
If anyone is interested in a very exciting birding holiday they should
certainly consider Fiji as a destination, have a look at our trip-report
from a couple of years ago http://www.aviceda.org/wp/?p=39 or drop me a line
directly.
Tom.
--
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Tom Tarrant
Kobble Creek, Qld
http://kobble.aviceda.org
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/aviceda/
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