Today was an epic day in Fiji. Myself, Dave and Rob along with two Fijian students set out to climb Mt. Korobaba a few kilometers outside of Suva. We had heard a lot about this mountain and finally decided to take on the challenge.
The students we took as our guides, Tuma and Biu, brought us to this rock quarry just outside of town. This was our starting point. It was a very different experience than hiking a mountain in America. There is no park or marked trail, we literally just walked into the forest and began to climb.
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| The Entrance |
We actually chose a really bad day to climb to the top of Mt. Korobaba. It rained the entire time we were climbing up the mountain which made for a really slippery path. Going up was strenuous. Coming down was dangerous.
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| Slip and Slide! |
About an hour and a half and 460 M (about 1,500 ft) later, we were at the top. Unfortunately, this is the view that awaited us:
We waited patiently at the top of Mt. Korobaba. It rained and rained. About an hour later, the mist and clouds began to break and we started the see the incredible view we set out to see.
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| Suva Harbor |
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| Stunned |
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| The Fellowship of the Ring |
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| Victors! |
It was a pretty great day. It was one of the most physically strenuous hikes of my life. The ascent and descent of Mt. Korobaba were pretty miserable but the view from the top was worth it. We're very thankful that the clouds broke and we were able to see all that Korobaba had to offer! Just another day of life in Fiji!
We used to do this all the time as children. The rock quarry you mention is actually the cement works and frequently the workers used to give us the shells they found in the sand. And as for climbing in the rain, it keeps you cool so much so that after a very sweaty descent you don't have to dive into the spectacular waterfall that's just around the corner at sea level that you appear to have missed spotting. Also, on one occasion, during a descent during a rainstorm, I slipped and came down that entire mountain on my bum. That unfortunate descent put an enormous hole right through my levi jeans, my underpants and took out large chunks of flesh and I had to spend a very long time under that waterfall trying to take the heat off.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your experience Brian! I will be attempting Mt Korobaba for the first time in a few weeks so you've helped me prepare mentally.
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