For anyone determined to break with the tourist pack and discover the real Fiji, this is it - a fabulous colonial cottage in one of the loveliest little towns in the South Pacific. Levuka is truly in a time warp, totally unspoilt and much as it was when it was the capital of Fiji in the mid to late 1800s. You can stroll to where the chiefs of Fiji handed the islands to the British in 1874 and have a beer at the faded Ovalau Club, where some of the old town's luminaries stare down at you from the walls. You can almost feel the ghosts of old Fiji as you make your way along the waterfront and its backwaters, so perfectly preserved the place is up for world heritage listing. The house itself is perfect, with everything a would be ancient mariner or beachcomber would wish for, except, of course, for the beach. The bed in the main bedroom is supremely comfortable ( usually the biggest drawback in my experience ) and we slept like babies under the breezy ceiling fan. And the shower head is wide and the pressure strong, always nice at the end of a long day. Bring your own CDs and DVDs coz the radio signal is faint and there's no local TV available. And bring your books coz this is a great place to just loll about and read. It's a short stroll to fabulous hot bread from the bakery down the road and you can get most things at the supermarket, including passable wine. Any exotic food and alcohol fetishes you'll need to bring with you. There are a few eating options locally and we judged the best of them to be the Whales Tale, where the burgers are great along with the local fish. But there are no big city-style cafes and you'll need to forgo your latte hit unless you can find a local with a home machine. The residents are very friendly ( vinaka Marilyn, John and Mun for making us welcome ) and all in all, we had a fabulous time doing nothing in particular but feeling very connected and rested. This really is a get-away-from-it-all vacation in a comfortable house reeking of colonial Fiji atmosphere but with all those mod cons like a hairdryer, blender and washing machine to take the sting out of being away from civilisation. It'll be even better when the local authorities move the power station out of town ( plans are afoot ) and the low-level drone is replaced by only the sound of the lapping waves and the ghosts of Levuka whistling through the trees. A fabulous house in a fabulous place.