An ‘anti-tour’ of Suva shows visitors another side to Fiji

Poet and gay rights activist Peter Sipeli wants tourists to see beyond the ‘Bula’-fied resorts in his two-hour walking tour

“My tours are overtly critical. This isn’t a gorgeous city – it’s a broken-down city, but it’s the city of my birth,” says Peter Sipeli, a Fijian poet, gay rights activist and our tour guide. “But you’re frustrated and have problems with the things you love the most,” he adds.

I’m on a walking tour of Suva, Fiji’s thronging, fractured capital. This tour isn’t for travellers looking for the cheery, “Bula!”-fied version of Fiji, nor is it about discovering the city’s hidden gems or hole-in-the-wall cafes. Really, it’s an anti-tour: unravelling Fiji’s complicated, postcolonial past and present; its racial tensions and religious dogma.