Scott Crawford, Lees-McRae College, North Carolina, USA:
'I’ve led a lot of trips and observed a lot of guide-companies in action. The fact is many of them miss the mark. They offer an experience that is either fun for travelers but destructive or offensive to locals, or is as hardcore as it gets with the local experience but fails to provide travelers the support they need to cope with the challenges of unfamiliar territory.
'After 16 days in Fiji I can say this: Tamarillo Active Travel is a company that does it right. The formula seems pretty simple: they support the local economy, they invest significant time cultivating relationships with local villages, chiefs and families, and - most crucially - they use local guides.
'Our guides were not only experts on local habitat and culture. They were responsible, kind, knowledgeable in safety procedures, fluent in English, and - vital to any good travel experience - side-splittingly funny. The upshot of such a formula in such a place is an authentic experience full of fun, challenge and support, from which both travelers and locals benefit.'
Our close connection with Fiji goes back to 1995 and the establishment of our sea-kayak company in Kadavu Island.
The kayak tours continue, and these days we run educational adventures also. Our Fiji study programs include guided sea-kayaking, snorkeling, hiking and ‘cultural immersion’ experiences, where students stay in villages and participate in the day-to-day lives of the local people.
The indigenous people of remote Kadavu Island live in traditional communities, with lifestyles largely unchanged from previous generations. Most live lives of ‘abundant subsistence’: fishing and gathering food from their gardens and surrounding forests. The island has very few roads and no large towns. It is covered by lush rainforest and fringed by one of the world's largest and healthiest coral reefs.
As well as getting around by sea-kayak and on foot our modes of travel in Fiji include small boats, local buses, inter-island ferries and planes. We often take groups to Fiji’s capital city Suva where students learn about aspects of local history and contemporary life through lectures at the University of the South Pacific and from various guest speakers.
Off the coast of Suva are the islands of Ovalau and Leleuvia, each with their own story to tell. Through visiting different parts of Fiji students' preconceptions are replaced with a more meaningful understanding of the reality of Pacific Island life.
Most groups come to Fiji with their own program leaders who run the trip together with our team of indigenous Fijian guides and New Zealand-based outdoor educators. This combination provides international-standard risk management and facilitation skills and in-depth local knowledge.
Each program is customized to suit the visiting group's curriculum, timetable and budget. Some programs are primarily recreational/experiential while others have a specific academic focus such as environmental science, recreation management, social justice, health, education and cultural studies.
Accommodation options for student groups in Fiji include backpacker resorts, guest-houses and home-stays in traditional Fijian villages. Group sizes normally range from 12 to 24 students, and programs from one to three weeks.
