On our second day in Fiji we went on a 2 hour long hike on the sand dunes where we learned about the anthropologically caused sand dunes that are a byproduct of deforestation in Fiji. The hike was wonderful but the other students and I were all rather surprised that the hike would last for two hours! Standing at the top of one of the highest sand dunes was absolutely spectacular! There are very few moments in life that truly make you feel so happy and alive but that was definitely one of them!
Our tour guide was a Fijian man who lived in a nearby village who led us through a series of stretches and a brief warm-up before the hike. The first part of the hike consisted of walking uphill to an open, grassy area that revealed a scenic view of the hills of the Fijian terrain as well as an overlook of the Pacific Ocean. Upon this first part of the hike, I witnessed an assortment of different wildlife such as many species of wildflowers, shrubs, and insects. Colorful butterflies gleefully fluttered around us as we hiked upwards as the hot island sun shone on our warm, glistening skin. As we continued to hike upwards our tour guy informed us that the sand dunes were then visible from where we were standing. I remember looking up in awe as I saw that the man was right - I could see what appeared at the time to be miles of endless, grainy, tan hills of sand that stretched upon the horizon.
The group and I were informed by our tour guide that the Sigatoka Sand Dune area actually use to be a rainforest that went through unnatural, anthropological deforestation. The deforestation led to a lack of plants and trees which in turn began a positive feedback loop in which sand from the ocean was blown onto the island and collectively formed the sand dunes.
The SIT group and I then literally ran down the same extremely tall and steep sand dune that we had climbed earlier. Many students including myself thought that the tour guide was joking was he informed us that we would be running down the sand dune to reach the shoreline below. However, the tour guide was not joking and the other students and I proceeded downhill as instructed. I noticed that although many people were nervous and timid about running down the very steep sand dune that frowns of anxiety rapidly turned into smiles of joy and laughter as students filed one by one to proceed down the sand dune.
Overall, I had an amazing day at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes in Fiji! What an amazing opportunity!