Geckos are little, harmless lizards with adhesive pads on their toes. Ohhhh, Have you ever seen a cuter little foot?!

Geckos are mostly nocturnal, they wander the walls and ceilings, cack-cacking, mating and keeping the mosquito population down. Their name actually comes from the chirping/clicking sound they make when socialising or threatened. They have excellent eyesight and reflexes.

Repeat – they are harmless!

I’m repeating that because of a resort in Fiji that told me they had quite a few American tourists complaining that they had baby crocodiles in their room. This resort shall remain nameless but they actually have a wing they try to keep gecko free for these types of guests.

I actually like the little critters – although one made a nest in my computer in Vanuatu, which resulted in a real mess. I needed a new computer anyway.

If you pick one up (did I mention that they are harmless?) and the tail comes off, you won’t have hurt it, that’s a defence mechanism design.

Photo: Wikipedia on Geckos

The coconut palm has to be the world’s most versatile tree. In the tropics, not a part of the tree is wasted. It provides shade and shelter, the trunk can be fashioned into bowls or part of an outrigger canoe, the leaves can be woven into baskets, the husk turned into fibre and the leaves matted together for roofing.

And, of course, the flesh of the coconut is nutritious, the juice is a great thirst quencher and, once you know how, the trees are easy to climb to access the fruit. There are actually two liquids in a coconut – the fresh coconut juice from the green coconut (which is so pure you can use it as a saline drip in an emergency!) and coconut milk, which is extracted from the flesh of mature coconuts. The jewel of the coconut tree is the heart of the palm. This is a delicacy and ‘heart of palm salad’ is known as millionaire’s salad because you have to kill the tree to get to the heart.

In some Cook Island wedding ceremonies, couples seal their vows with the planting of small coconut palms (otu). The symbolism is that while the coconut palm matures and grows stronger, so too will the relationship.

There is a saying referring to ‘island time’ in the Pacific – “the coconut will fall when it is ripe”… Oh! And it is a good idea to check for any ripe hovering ones above before lying down for a sleep in the shade.

Photo: Coconut Palm at Erakor Island Resort in Vanuatu

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas and tropical holiday cheer!

Like in other parts of the world Christmas in the tropics is celebrated with carols, church services and family gatherings. Of course, December 25 in the tropics is hot and humid unlike in parts of the northern hemisphere where they can have a white Christmas. Having said that, the northern hemisphere Christmases still inspires Xmas decorations, especially in shop window displays. And, who know, you might come across Santa in his hot red suit and beard dashing through the sand. Mind you, he would be flat out finding too many chimneys to get down. I guess he just piles up the pressies under the nearest coconut palm.

(Photo: Fiji Tourism)

The Samoan currency is the tala (also known as the Samoan dollar), which is made up of 100 sene (cents). The note denominations are $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100. All major foreign currencies are exchangeable for tala in Samoa. For a quick conversion, think two tala to the Australian dollar.

Fijian dollar notes are available in $2, $5, $10, $20 and $50. There is no limit to the amount of money that can be taken in to Fiji (although there may be a limit on how much you can take out of your home country). An Australian dollar buys about FJD$1.50.

The currency in the Cook Islands is the New Zealand dollar. You may receive strange shaped coins occasionally (Cook Island currency) – these can only be used in The Cooks – once you board the plane they become souvenirs. And you may like to pick up a three dollar note as a souvenir.

In Vanuatu the currency is the vatu. Australian currency is widely accepted in Port Vila. One Australian dollar buys around 80 vatu. For an approximate exchange rate, just move the decimal point – so, 100 vatu = $1 and 1000 vatu = $10 etc. AU$13000 makes you a millionaire in Vanuatu!

Cook Islands Three Dollar Note from Banknotes.com

When thinking about tropical weddings a lot of couples picture the ceremony venue to be a beach with swaying palm trees or lush gardens – there are a number of wedding chapels that give couples a combination of tradition and tropics.

Fiji is the chapel capital of the Pacific.

There are resort chapels at the Shangri-la Fijian and Outrigger Beach Resort on the Coral Coast, the Intercontinental Golf Resort & Spa south of Nadi and the Sheraton Denarau Island near Nadi.

In the Mamanuca group of islands the resorts with chapels are Treasure Island, Musket Cove, Mana Island and Tokoriki Island Resort.

I don’t know of any resort chapels in the Cook Islands (but there are lots of churches!) and in Samoa the only one I have been to is the cute coral church at Sheraton Samoa Beach Resort. It is a ‘working church’ and allows Catholic weddings only.

In Vanuatu there is a new wedding chapel at Tamanu on the Beach and the oldest chapel in the South Pacific is at Erakor Island Resort. It is an historic open-air chapel with only the original altar and bell as part of the spiritual experience. Even if you’re not religious, it is a peaceful and spiritual place to tie the knot.

Photo: Erakor Island Chapel in Vanuatu by Groovy Banana