Fiji’s sweet ride: Cycling along an abandoned sugarcane railway – صحيفة الصوت

This is the Fiji of my dreams. I am sitting on pale gold sand, impossibly blue water stretching endlessly before me. I am nibbling on the sweetest banana I have ever tasted, in between slurps from the reusable straw poking out of a fresh coconut.

But before you accuse me of being a “flop and drop” tourist, I am far from a resort beach. I have put in the hard yards to reach this particular piece of paradise, pedalling along an 11km trail under the sweltering morning sun.

Except this is not your usual cycle trail – and what I am riding is certainly not your usual bike.

Earlier, I had arrived at a century-old former locomotive shed, tucked away off the main road on Fiji’s Coral Coast. This ramshackle building is the home of Ecotrax and, despite its humble exterior, it is the launchpad of one of Fiji’s top-rated tourism experiences.

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Ecotrax is the brainchild of Kiwi expats Mandy and Howie de Vries. Originally from Central Otago, the couple had a tourism photography business which saw them making regular trips to Fiji.

During one of these trips, they fell in love with the Coral Coast – the stunning stretch of coastline between Sigatoka and Suva on the southern shores of Viti Levu – and wanted to figure out a way to spend more time there.

Train buff Howie’s curiosity had been piqued by the tracks running around the village where they were staying. It turned out it was part of a railway line that had been laid by the Fiji Sugar Corporation in the 1800s to transport sugar cane around the country.

Though still used in other parts of the country, the tracks in that area were decommissioned in 2010 after a tropical storm took out two local bridges.

While repairing broken bikes to gift to local children, the gears in Howie’s head started turning. He set about mounting a bike on a carriage, thinking the wheels of the bike could act like a train. As it turned out, it was not an entirely new concept – he came across a 19th century patent for the “velocipede”, a bike with an outlying wheel designed to roll along the tracks.

But he did add a few updates for modern times. Mandy thought it would be cool to be able to ride alongside someone and have a chat, so he created the dual bike system. Then he installed an electric battery – solar-powered, so the velocipedes would leave no carbon footprint.

Realising they might be on to something special, they next approached the Fiji Sugar Corporation, asking if they would be willing to lease them the track.

“They thought we were nuts,” said Mandy.

“They didn’t get it at all – these crazy New Zealanders who want to pay us to ride bikes.”

Even so, the corporation granted them a 10-year lease of the 28km section of line and, after clearing the tracks and fixing up the bridges, by the end of 2017, they were ready to open.

The beauty of the bikes is anyone can ride them, no matter your age or ability. There is no balancing involved because of the carriage – so you can even ride hands-free. Each carriage also has a rear bench seat and child seat attachments can be added for the little ones.

It would be a pretty smooth ride anyway, following the tracks – trains don’t go uphill – but the electric function takes any real exertion out of the equation. You are on holiday, after all.

The three-hour tour begins with a safety briefing at the Ecotrax base, where we are introduced to our charismatic guides, Britney and Doli, who demonstrate the hand signals we will need to use to let those behind us know when we are slowing down or stopping (“these are not bumper cars”, Britney warns).

And then we are off, cruising along the rails at a top speed of 20kph. We whizz through a lush forest passage known as the “tunnel of love”, making our way over a thrillingly rickety bridge before breaking through into windows of sparkling coastline. It is the perfect showcase of Fiji’s diverse scenery – so different from the manicured beauty of the resorts.

At one particularly postcard-perfect point, we pause to admire the vistas.

“Take a picture, it will last longer,” says Britney, striking a cheeky pose. “And the scenery behind me is not bad, either.”

Along the way we encounter plenty of animals – goats and cows that sometimes have to be shooed off the tracks – and pass through villages, where our quirky convoy’s arrival is met with a warm welcome from local children.

In non-Covid times, there would be opportunities to stop but for now we make do with big waves and a hearty “Bula” or “Yadra” (good morning) as we carry on through.

As relaxing as the ride is, the heat starts to take its toll but we are soon gliding to a stop beneath a canopy, next to a neat little path that leads down to one of the most glorious beaches I have ever seen.

There is not a soul to be seen on the beach – these tracks are the only way to access it – just a rocky outcrop, which we hang our clothes on, before wading into the pristine water.

While we enjoy our refreshing dip, beneath the shelter of the trees Britney and Doli prepare our fresh coconuts and platters of fruit – those candy-sweet bananas, chunks of juicy pineapple and slices of papaya that Doli suggests we drizzle with a squeeze of lime. “It goes together like gin and tonic,” she says.

After an hour at this dreamy destination, our guides turn the bikes around and we make our way back to base, smiles on our face from our morning full of life’s simple pleasures – the joys of riding a bike (or a velocipede), of going for a swim in the sea, of biting into the perfect piece of fruit.

While the tracks in these parts may no longer be used for transporting sugar cane, the experience they are now delivering is just as sweet.

Details

Getting there: Fiji Airways flies direct to Nadi from Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington. See fijiairways.com

Staying there: Shangri-La Yanuca Island Resort is a 10-minute drive from the Ecotrax base, with family rooms as well as an adults-only wing. See shangri-la.com

Being there: Ecotrax offers morning and afternoon tours Monday to Saturday. Bookings are essential – at least three weeks in advance is recommended. Tours cost FJ$149 for adults and FJ$79 for children aged 4 to 15 (children aged 3 and under ride free). See ecotrax.com.fj

Stuff Travel deal: Book the Ecotrax experience at NZ$129 per adult. See travel.stuff.co.nz/ecotrax

The writer travelled courtesy of Fiji Airways.