Fiji's gateway — Mamanuca diving, Sabeto hot springs, and the bula spirit
Nadi is the main arrival point for Fiji and the transport hub for the entire archipelago — the international airport, ferry terminals for the Mamanuca and Yasawa island chains, and the main concentration of hotels and tour operators are all here. The town itself (pronounced 'Nan-di') is predominantly Indo-Fijian — a legacy of indentured Indian labourers brought by the British to work the sugar cane fields — with the Sri Siva Subramaniya Temple (the largest Hindu temple in the Southern Hemisphere) as its most striking landmark. The Sabeto Mudpools and Hot Springs, Garden of the Sleeping Giant…
The Fiji Islands were first settled by Austronesian peoples roughly 3,500 years ago; the Lapita culture's distinctive pottery has been found extensively in western Viti Levu (where Nadi sits). British colonisation began in 1874 when Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau ceded Fiji to Queen Victoria; the British imported 61,000 Indian indentured workers between 1879 and 1916 to work the sugar plantations — their descendants now make up roughly 38% of Fiji's population and dominate the commercial life of Nadi and the sugar towns. Fiji gained independence in 1970. The 1987 coups (led by Lt. Col. Rabuka) and…