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The ‘Sabeto Hot Springs’…
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No Wait, We Mean the ‘Sabeto Mud Baths
Sabeto is one of Fiji’s true hidden gems. Halfway between Nadi and Lautoka, ambling down the main access road off the Queens Highway, you will head past the famous Land of the Sleeping Giants and its beautiful array of orchids as well as the location of Fiji’s renowned Stony Creek Resort sunset views.
Continuing down the increasingly narrow dirt road until you reach a point when you are just not sure that you are still headed in the proper direction, you will eventually happen upon the Sabeto Hot Springs also known as the Sabeto Mud Baths. Welcome to the tropical paradise version of a double entendre.
The odor is unmistakable, for there is sulphur in the air. While the smell is by no means overwhelming, it is certainly appropriate given the natural phenomena that you are about to witness. You will be greeted casually and requested to pay a few dollars for the opportunity to enter. Over the last few years, the locals have decided to charge a nominal entry fee to support the nearby village and for a bit of grounds maintenance.
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The odor is unmistakable, for there is sulphur in the air
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Subtle, but with Strongly Sensual
The small stream has steam rising up from it, and it marks an obvious trail to be followed. From there you will be able to soon take a dip in the 3 mud-based chili sauces of Mother Nature… a mild, medium and hot pool for proper natural hot tubbin’, Fiji style.
What makes this ‘hot’ place all the more ‘cool’ is the mud in the pools… Apply it generously all over your body and reinvigorate and replenish your skin, or so goes the local legend. Applying it all over your head and face and then raising your head from underneath the water and you uncannily resemble Martin Sheen from ‘Apocalypse Now’, Arnold Schwarzenegger from ‘Predator’ or any one of a thousand other Hollywood heroes in an jungle action film. You will absolutely need to get a picture. How many times will you find yourself completely covered in mud, looking totally unrecognizable and yet somehow feeling clean in the whole process?
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A Social Experience
Here’s another great part about this experience; depending upon the time you visit, there is a more than strong chance that you will be seeing other people from all over the world with mud on them too. All of a sudden you have found yourself in a mini-social experiment where everyone really does look just like everyone else. It will surely give you pause for good thought.
The water is quite warm to hot… there are spots around where you can boil dinner if you so choose. This whole environment is purely natural and unencumbered by commercialism; it has a ‘laid back’ charm and a ‘set back’ location, and it offers a tremendous reward for taking just a bit of risk and trying something not on the regular tourist menu.
Nature’s Infinite Balance
The Sabeto Hot Springs are thrilling to see, it’s a science project come to life. The Sabeto Mud Baths are so much fun, they’re a funky, fresh and totally unique adventure. The fact that they are one in the same, well, that’s just part of the wonder and magic of Fiji.
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