Rafting the Navua River, near Pacific Harbour
Summary
Good fun if nearby. Paddling down a river, getting to see some of the luscious interior of Fiji, some of the inland villages and families of the organisers, and the guides add a lot to the overall experience through their sheer enthusiasm. Only problem is doing this in between June and August, when the rainfall is lower – means it’s more a pleasant paddle down the river rather than actual white water rafting (which must be cool here when the rain hits)
We did this from Pacific Harbour, although they’ll pick you up from basically anywhere on the main island. Be prepared for an early pick up, 1.5 hour drive inland; around 6 hours (with breaks and lunch) on the river; and around a 45min drive back
You’re not going to visit Fiji, or this part of the world, just for the rafting. If looking for ideas or tips for other experiences to be had in this part of the world, have a look at this 2 weeks in Tonga, Fiji and Samoa itinerary. We had some truly unforgettable experiences on this trip and, in particular Diving with bull and tiger sharks off Beqa Island nearby really does fit in that “unforgettable” category
highlights
#1 Seeing the beautiful and luscious interior of Fiji
#2 Paddling down the somewhat gentle river!
#3 The super enthusiasm of the guides - really made the experience. Sadly this is not my photo as didn't get a chance to take one and had to take it from the company website
Experiences nearby
The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences
Other Adrenaline Experiences around the World
Score Detail
Background - how many times have you asked someone what a travel experience was like and the response was "amazing" or "awesome"? That response is nice to know, but it makes it hard to differentiate that experience compared to others. That is exactly what these scores are trying to do - differentiate the experience by giving a score out of 10 based on 6 categories and then giving an overall experience score
This overall experience score is calculated by: take the highest of the "Culture" or "Nature" score (1-10) + "Fun factor" (1-10) + "Avoiding the crowds" (1-10) + highest of the "Unique" or "World Famous score" (1-10). Then convert into a score out of 100
Extra detail - the logic being that I find all of the 6 individual scores important, but I don't want to mark an experience down just because it doesn't cover both "Culture" and "Nature", or because it isn't both "World Famous" and "Unique". Take the examples of Safari in The Serengeti and walking through Rome - they both appeal at opposite ends of the nature / culture spectrum, and you can have a fantastic time without needing to appeal to both sides. So, their overall scores aren't penalized for their lack of one or the other, and I've done the same for "World Famous" vs "Unique". But . . . I do think that the "Fun factor" of an experience is important, irrelevant of other factors, and so is "Avoiding the Crowds" (or where there are crowds that add to the experience). So, both of these scores are standalone