My home town is called Sigatoka, pronounced as Sing -a-toka.  Sigatoka Town is the only urban centre for Nadroga Navosa Province,  one of the 14 provinces in Fiji.  The area covers some 127 hectares on both sides of the Sigatoka River on the Queen’s highway.  Sigatoka is the main commerce and trading centre for the coral coast region of Fiji, with its close proximity to the resort and tourist attractions on the Coral Coast. Sigatoka has become a very important centre. When I have time I normally spend some at the new library at the Sigatoka Town Council building.

Don’t expect to see large department stores and the type of sophisticated shopping centers that you have at home.   The shops in Sigatoka town are mostly small, family run businesses and you won’t find the hustle and bustle of big cities.

The local market in Sigatoka is a highlight for tourists visiting the Coral Coast and a most interesting place to visit. The market is important as it connects the whole of Fiji – to the wide range of fruits and vegetables that come from the famously fertile farming district known as “Fiji’s salad bowl”.  Every day locals come to trade and sell their produce. The Saturday market is extremely busy and active with farmers bringing their products from all over the Sigatoka river valley.

It’s fun and interesting to wander around the market to see the wide variety of tropical fruits, vegetables, root crops including yagona roots (kava) and spices, freshwater mussels, fish etc.  I forgot to mention that we also have one of the biggest Hindu temples here.  The temple’s grand opening was in November 2010. Our town council is doing a fantastic job by keeping our town clean and further developing “My Town”. More updates to come soon…