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The wind blasted into my face so hard I could barely hear anything other than the roar of the engines. The acceleration of the speed boat was so powerful that my white knuckled wife Kirsten was gritting her teeth and Teyauna had a shocked look on her five year old face.

Only half an hour before boarding the speedboat had there been any foreshadowing into the type of trip we about to experience. “Please sign the back of this form.” the check in agent asked Kirsten? There was a two page long waiver of fine print that she needed to sign before any of us could get on the final shuttle that took us from Sigatoka to the speedboat launch site. It seemed like standard procedure for an outdoor adventure experience but even so, it had me wondering.

We had been advised to bring along sunscreen, snacks and an extra change of clothing. We placed some of these items into storage lockers as we donned on fluorescent yellow life-jackets and carefully boarded one of the bright red speedboats perched on the edge of the river.

As the engines were revved up, I could tell that this was no ordinary boat. The roar of each engine as it started up had some obvious power behind them. As we accelerated up the river I could feel the force of this incredible speedboat. I glanced over to the others and that’s when I noticed the shocked look of Kirsten’s and the thrilled grins on Dailin and Eli’s faces. I couldn’t really see Teyauna too well as she had her face nestled into her mom. Zakary was perched on Dailin’s lap and smiling with the wind blowing into his face. “This is so awesome.” Dailin shouted into my ear above the roar of the engine. But he really didn’t need to say anything, his face said it all. Jaeden, Orin and Alyssa who were seated in front of me all turned around with gigantic smiles, eyebrows raised and wide eyes as if to say, “Wow Dad, this is soooo cool.”

For the next hour we were treated to an incredible experience as we rounded dozens of twists and turns along the river. “The driver had incredible control of the boat.” I shouted to Dailin. I could feel the back end of the boat sliding out from under us as we sped up the river.

As we motored further and further up the river we caught a glimpse of what life is like in the rural river villages of Fiji. Something we had not seen until now. We were gliding up the water source that supplied dozens of villages along the banks of this, the largest river in Fiji. The noise of our boat broke the silence as we passed someone bathing in the river who must have heard us approaching from a mile away. Further along, a group of men were fishing along the banks silently hoping that the wake and noise of our boat would not scare away all of their fish. A lady, waded knee deep in the water to scrub a bucket full of clothes as a few kids splashed around her. Cattle were grazing as a Fijian man on a bright white steed sauntered along in contrast to the rich red soil of the riverbank. This was a side of Fiji I never knew existed and now we were exploring it in a way that excited the members of the entire family.

We soon reached a long dock of lashed driftwood jutting out from the side of the river. Neori waved as we approached, “Welcome to the river village of Koroua” he greeted with a few missing teeth and a crooked toothed grin. “Family, please come.

For the next few hours we were referred to as “Family” toured around the village and then were brought to the community hall for a Meke (song & dance) show and lunch. This couldn’t start however until after we had completed the traditional sevusevu ceremony. Neori explained, “When a new person enters a Fijian village they need to approach the village chief and present him with the traditional offering of a kava root. We then grind it up and made into a drink for both the village chief and visitor to drink.”

It was the first time our family had the opportunity to see this cultural demonstration since arriving in the islands. One which is still practised today by locals, boaters and tourists alike who approach a village. After the person representing our “tribe” drank the offered Kava we sat down to a delicious local lunch while listening to the villagers sing with melodious voices. This soon turned into a family dance where everyone was approached by villagers to dance as the Fijians. Not one single one of our children were left out and we all enjoyed dancing with our new friends.

Before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye. The community members and children all walked with us down to the river to say goodbye. The kids jumped into the water to catch the wave of our speedboats as we roared off down the river.

The return ride home was a wet one as we spun around in the boat doing 360 degree spins in the water. It was an incredible end to a beautiful day. One where us parents, our teenagers, young children and baby all were entertained, amused and inspired by the fast boats, Fijian traditions and our new Fijian family.