Exploring Colo-i-Suva

We still haven't managed to do some of the more local tourist attractions here in Suva after being ill last week, so this afternoon, with the sun blazing in the sky, we decided to head over to Colo-i-Suva (pronounced 'tholo'!) forest park for a wander and a swim.

"Ah yes," our taxi driver said when we named our destination, "That's a nice place, you'll have a fun afternoon." Music to my ears!  

It was incredibly cheap to get into the park- less than £2 each, although I was slightly preplexed by the ticket office across the road from the entrance. It was much more of an 'office' than a 'ticket office', with a man chopping wood outside, and had only a very small sign to point the way. Either way, we managed to get sorted fairly swiftly and headed down the road towards the main trails in the park.

It was a pretty decent walk along the road down to the carpark which marked the start of the trails (we saw some people go past still in their taxis) and unfortunately for us, about halfway along, the blazing sunshine very quickly turned into a downpour. With it giving no sign of letting up, we powered on until we could find some shelter.


Hoping the rain might stop...?

Sadly, even after waiting a little while, it was still bucketing down, so we braced ourselves, counted to three and dashed out into the rain. Once we got under the trees, things were a little drier, but there was still rain running down my back and into my eyes as we picked our way along the trail towards the pools and waterfalls. There was a lot of slippery, uneven steps along the way, made more treacherous by the rain, but the walk was fairly easy and didn't take us long. 




Despite the rain, the pools and waterfalls along the way were still lovely and by the time we reached the main pool, where there was a large group of people swimming, the sun was just starting to peek out around the clouds. 



Both Ellie and I went for a swim (though only she was brave enough to use the rope swing!) before we dried ourselves off, packed up our things and headed back towards the main road.

We had decided to walk back on the road instead of risking the slippery up-and-down steps and were surpised to find ourselves back at the main carpark where the trail had begun in only ten minutes or so

Despite the rain, this was a nice walk and a fun way to spend an afternoon- I can see why it's such a popular location with locals and tourists alike!





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