Suva is the capital of Fiji, and the wettest big town you are likely to ride into. It sits on a hilly peninsula between Laucala Bay and a harbour, with rain-clouds banking up on the mountains behind, and it receives something like three metres of rain a year, so the vegetation is thick and the air smells of warm earth. Suva became the capital in 1882, when the colonial government moved here from Levuka, and the centre still has a scattering of wooden colonial buildings, a grand government house and a long seafront with a view out to the reef. About seventy-seven thousand people live in the city, and the metropolitan area is much larger.
The municipal market is the heart of it, a huge hall of fruit, root crops, kava, fish and spices, sold by women who have been doing it all their lives. The Fiji Museum, in the botanical gardens, holds a fine collection of canoes, war clubs and relics from the cannibal past, and the history it tells is honest and compelling. The university draws students from all over the Pacific, so the cafés on the main streets are full of languages. In the evening, Albert Park, where Charles Kingsford Smith landed the first trans-Pacific flight in 1928, is a good place to watch a game of rugby.
The Queens Road ends here, after a run of two hundred and twenty kilometres from Nadi along the Coral Coast. The final stretch passes Pacific Harbour, a purpose-built resort area that calls itself the adventure capital of Fiji, with rafting and diving, and then runs through rainforest, river crossings and villages, with sea views on the left. The road is mostly good, though heavy rain can cause delays, and speeds are low and enforced. Take care on wet tarmac and on the bridges, and watch for pedestrians and dogs.
In Suva, fuel, repair shops, hotels and restaurants are all available, and the traffic is thick and noisy, with buses that stop without warning. For something local, try a plate of kokoda, raw fish marinated in coconut milk and lime juice, or a lovo, a feast cooked in an earth oven. A short ride out, Colo-i-Suva Forest Park has walking tracks, pools and tropical birds, and a good opportunity to cool off. Pack waterproofs, because showers can come out of a clear sky.