25. Fiji (It's Fiji time...)

Hi everyone!

We had a blast of a time in Fiji and I've loved reliving it by writing this blog post.  I hope you enjoy reading about our time spent there and please feel free to comment! :)

Day One

Today we had a real mix of emotions. Saying goodbye to mum and dad was really sad, especially after spending a whole month with them. We were flying to Fiji and carrying on with our travels so we couldn't really be sad about that! That was the mix, excitement about what was to come!

We returned our home for the month :(  .  It was quite sad because we really did have the adventure of a lifetime in that big arse camper! 

 

We hopped in the free shuttle to the airport taking in our last sights of New Zealand. 

We arrived at the airport and proceeded to check in.  It was a sad time :(

No upgrade this time :(

We went to find a place to sit down before we separated.  Mum and Dad's flight was later on in the day so they had a few hours before check in.

 

We made our way though security with tears in our eyes :( Rach wiped them quickly though, she beeped in security and got frisked. She had some coins in her pocket. Tut tut! 

We did some shopping in duty free and then made our way to the gate. 

 

Rach and I had to start getting used to it just being me and her again but I'm sure it won't take long! 

The flight was only three hours and the beauty was that Fiji is in the same time zone as New Zealand so we wouldn't feel any jet lag! 

We had a lovely lunch of a chicken wrap which was very yummy! 

 

We enjoyed our scotch finger biscuit on the flight.  We had a few of them in the campervan so it brought back memories!

 

 

 

We arrived even before mum and dad were due to fly which was crazy! They were in for a long flight back!

Upon arrival we heard the sound of three people playing guitars singing a welcoming song which was lovely! 

Well and the heat hit us slap bang in the face as soon as we stepped off the plane! It was very welcomed though after a month of New Zealand's temperatures especially near the end! 

We collected our luggage and made our way out towards our free pick up. 

 

We were starting Feejee Experience tomorrow and upon check in we were given a necklace. I'd noticed everyone getting necklaces and I'd said 'I want one' so I was very happy when I received one!

We were placed in a free taxi which took us to our hostel. Now, I don't know if it was just because we have been high up driving a campervan for the last month or the car really was that low down!! It felt like I was on a sledge! 

The second thing with the taxi was that I couldn't open the back door from the outside, the driver opened it from inside. That was fine but when I came to get out, I couldn't OPEN the door from inside! Rach was already out of the front seat and the driver was near reception getting paid... I was looking out of the window (the window didn't open!) saying to rach 'I can't open the door!!'. She couldn't either from outside! Luckily I just scooted over to the other door and that door would open! I was FREE!! What a start!! 

The hostel looked nice and we would be staying there on three separate occasions so we were pleased! 

We were meant to be in a double room with a fan but we were upgraded to a room with air con! It didn't actually get used though due to us probably loving the temperature difference from New Zealand! The heat was VERY welcomed! 

We dumped our bags and went for a walk on the beach. We were desperate to get sand in between our toes! 

We had to get used to the sink been in the bedroom. Rach went in the direction of the bathroom to do her teeth and I said 'nope turn around Rach!'. 

The location of the room was lovely, you looked down the corridor from your door and it looked on to the beach! We were excited to see sunset. 

We JUST caught a glimpse of it disappearing. It was stunning with all the colours. 

 

It was dinner time! We were quite hungry! There wasn't a kitchen we could use so our surplus noodles that we brought over from NZ weren't going to be had tonight!! 

We didn't have to go far though. We just ordered from the hostel restaurant. Rach ordered chicken fried rice and I had Fiji typical....sausage and mash!! 

 

Rach got her dinner almost straight away and we thought oh well mine won't be long. After a few minutes I said to Rach she could start, it's a good job she did! I was waiting another hour and a half until mine appeared! They must have ran out and had to kill a pig to make my bangers!

 

 

We were quite ready for bed once we had enjoyed our dinner. It had been a long day! 

Zzzzzzzz

Day Two

Today was day one of the Feejee Experience! We missed breakfast due to thinking we didn't have time before we were picked up. The coach was late though so we could have really! Our first experience of Fiji time!

  

We piled onto the bus and once settled we introduced ourselves to the group. 

  

We went shopping in Nadi town and  were told we would have to buy a sarong. This was due to having to cover your legs whilst in villages as a sign of respect. Rach and I bought a lovely hand painted one each and made our way out. Whilst we were in there it felt like we had a personal shopper. She was helping us look at sarongs then followed us upstairs showing us the pearls. Clearly she was on commission and was disappointed when we said that's all we'd like to buy! 

 

We made a friend and she tagged along on our trip to the market. After going the wrong way and eventually finding the right way we made it! Whilst we were looking around everyone was greeting us with a 'Bula!' or a wave! It was very pleasant. 

We had skipped breakfast so were very hungry! We decided to buy some apples which would keep us going. 

 

We headed back in the right direction and caught the bus. The next stop was looking around a village. This was a real insight into how Fijians live and it was really interesting!
 

Whilst we waited for the group to all come together, these two gave us the traditional Fijian drink kava and played the ukulele. 

After shopping we went to the village. 

It was really interesting, we went into their meeting place where all the villagers come together for meetings etc. 

 

We walked passed the chiefs house and learnt that every village has a chief. It is voted as to who becomes chief and you are chief until you die, no exceptions.

What was interesting is when the Fijian President goes back to his village. Once he steps into the village, what he does for a living doesn't matter. He is treated like each and every other member of the village. He comes from a fisherman's family which is a low status and because he is President now still doesn't matter. This was really interesting and we loved this fact! It was very humble. No matter who you are, once you are back in your village you are once again equal and the same as each and every other villager. 

We were shown the drum which is beaten when there is news to tell the village. Each bang has a meaning and everyone knows not to play with this. One bang means a villager has died and others mean church service will begin etc. 

We enjoyed our village trip, everyone was once again so friendly. We were walking around and shouting Bula (hello) to everyone.

The toilet people used during our visit. 

  

We piled onto the coach and headed off to the beach for lunch and a relax.  We were excited to see if it would look like a Fiji beach you see in the pictures!

   

We arrived and couldn't wait to have a swim!

 

 

We were all starving and ready for this.  We all sat in a circle by the beach and enjoyed a BBQ made by our Guide and Driver.  Yummy!

 

We packed up our food and headed off to our last activity of the day - sand boarding!

On our way though we could smell clutch and could see smoke from the gear box. We all piled off and were stranded at the side of the road.

 

We had the fire extinguisher handy just in case but luckily we didn't need it! 

We caught a taxi and piled in with our luggage plus sand boards! We had to laugh! 

 

The sun was setting and we were heading to the sand dunes at dusk. This was going to be fun!

We got there and were the first group there. It was only a small group and we were all laughing and joking about the situation. It definitely was an ice breaker! 

It was a massive dune we had to climb,  and it was hard work but wow it was totally worth it! The view was spectacular and unfortunately I could only capture it for myself as I wasn't going to sand board with my camera!

I've never sand boarded before but the hard work of getting up the dune was definitely worth it! Oh and it was so much fun!!

 

We waited in the dark looking at the stars for the coach to arrive. We were grateful it was a different one. The driver apologised but it wasn't anything to do this him, bless. 

We made our way to our first accomodation as a group. It was called Mango Bay Resort and we were placed into dorms. We were all starving and were excited for dinner! 

We dumped our bags and got ready for dinner. All of the group were placed in a dorm but us latecomers were placed in a quieter dorm which suited us!! Sometimes it pays to be slow! :) 

We all had dinner together and got to know each other better discussing each other's travels and today's activities! 

 

After dinner activities were crab racing. Rach and I had never watched this happen before so we went to have a look at what happens! 

 

We betted on England to win with our fingers crossed the crab would do better than our football team! 

Really we should have seen our crabs before betting but Fiji rules and all that! 

  

 

We were all excited and cheering on our crab.....but Canada had it in the bag! :( 

We quit while we were behind and let others lose their money. 

 

We had our fun, watched the bonfire on the beach and hit the hay! Ready for an early start tomorrow.

We met this fella that had sneaked into the ladies toilet! lil perv!

Day Three

We enjoyed breakfast all together with our new friends. We enjoyed a continental buffet. We were spoilt for choice!

We had some time before the coach picked us up so we joined in some fish feeding which was different. There were tons of fish!! They get fed every morning and they definitely know what time that is!!

I had a little lie down before the coach came plus we also had a game of table tennis which was really good!

 

 

We were all packed, checked out and boarded on our new coach. 

Today we had the option of doing a jungle trek or just heading straight to the next hotel and spending time there. We were definitely doing the jungle trek! 

We were dropped off and hopped on the back of a pick up truck. It took us back to a truck taxi we caught in Thailand. We were bopping all over the place! Some of them pot holes were nasty! 

 

We jumped out and started the trek with three guides. We had our boots on and straight away we were walking through the mud. We were going through 6 river crossings so we were in for a tough time! There was no way of avoiding getting our boots dirty or wet so we relished it and trooped right into the mud! 

 

Some parts of the trek were tricky and there were some hilly bits. I of course went down but I'm proud to say I wasn't the first or the only one! I was happy I had some old shorts on. I looked like i'd lost control of my bowels though for the rest of the trip!

  

Next came the first of 6 river crossings. It was time to get our shoes wet but really it was alright. It gave us chance to wash off the mud on our shoes and our legs! 

 

 

Our trek went on for a while but we were finally at the waterfall. We left our belongings with our guide and followed the other two to the waterfall. We stripped to our swimwear and with us still having a 5 minute woody trek we kept our boots on. It was definitely a new experience - swimming with walking boots on!! It was hard and your legs kept on being pulled down with the weight of them! 

We made the trek and could take our boots off. This was a challenge in itself with them being drenched in water and clinging on to your feet! 

We had the option of cliff jumping or a swing. Rach did it first as well as a lot of our group and then I decided to give it a go. 

 

 

 

It was tricky getting up there and it was slippy but the guide showed us the best way of getting up and where to jump from. It was very high! It was about 6metres! Once you were under the water it seemed like you were under for ages!! 

When we got back to our things our guide had being busy making us a special halo made of bush. It was very nice!

  

It wasn't too long till we were once again caked in mud and going through a swamp!! 

We had to walk up a steam (literally wading through a stream!) to get to the boat. It was deep in some parts and we were quick to put our bags on our heads! This trek was always changing! 

 

Once we were on the boat it was fab though. We loved seeing the jungle from the boat and it was well deserved after our trek. There was just one hurdle left and that was a very low tree across the river.  We had to duck down on the the floor of the boat and duck under it! 

We followed the river all the way to it's joining of the sea. We got off and washed our boots plus socks. Wow they were cream but now brown! We said thank you to our wonderful guides and got back on the bus. 

 

We made our way to the next hotel. It was a nice dorm! 

 

We were starving headed straight to lunch! We sat all together which was nice. It means that you all get to socialise and chat about the day instead of just sticking to your travel buddy. 

Rach and I enjoyed a pizza each and it was very yummy! 

 

We let our lunch digest and sat by the pool. It was nice to rest our feet! 

 

After a shower we socialised before dinner and played cards.

We were still full from lunch so Rach treated herself to just a desert and I had some garlic bread.

 

We were late to bed after we were introduced to a new game of cards. We headed back to the dorm and people were asleep so we had to sort ourselves out with torches and definitely had to pack in the morning! 

Day Four
 

We woke up at 7 and packed our bags. We went for a cooked breakfast - we were very excited about this! 

The restaurant over looked the pool and it was a lovely start to the morning. 

                                                                       Elvis bird!

We checked out and made our way to the coach.  Our first stop was calling into the capital city of Suva. We drove around looking at some buildings that still stand from when the country was under the British colony. 

 

 

 

We went outside the presidents house/mansion and saw the guards. They are similar to the guards near Buckingham palace. They have to keep still and not move. 

We also all signed a card to the school which we would be visiting later, thanking them for inviting us to visit. 

This is a present of kava which we will give to the Chief for welcoming us in to their village.

 

We were lucky enough to be able to be welcomed into a village. We enjoyed the traditional introductory ceremony with the Chief of the village. In our group we had to vote to have someone become our Chief and they would sit together with the village Chief and represent us. 

When we arrived at the village we were given a lovely necklace made from flowers. 

 

This little boy gave us the thumbs up! So cute! :)

 

 

We then took off our shoes and walked into the village hall and said Bula (hello) when we walked in. 

The ceremony began and it was really interesting. They were talking Fijian so I couldn't tell you what was said! But basically they were thanking them for welcoming us with open arms. 

                                     

 

We enjoyed seeing the process of how they make the drink kava. They don't drink alcohol and kava doesn't contain any but it contains a suspicious edge which numbs your mouth and if you drink a lot then it may spread and numb your whole body!! 

We were invited to drink some and to accept. You cup clap your hands and say BULA (hello) then when given a cup you swallow it down like a shot, don't sip it! You then cup clap again, 3 times and say Vinaka! You feel the numbness sensation in your mouth. 

We had a walk around the village and looked at the bracelets and necklaces the families had made to sell for proceeds to go towards their children's education. 

We returned to the village hall and were greeted with lunch. We washed our hands.

 

The food was laid out on the floor and we sat down crossed legs. 

There was a wide selection of food available to try. Three women of the village had prepared this spread and it was yummy! This village is a farming village so they know and can provide for themselves from their land. 

 

Once we had finished I turned around to the chief and fellow villages and said Vinaka. We could then leave and visit the school! We were very excited about this! 

We walked down the street to the school. 

 

 Why did the chicken cross the road??? HA HA!

 

You could hear the excitment of the children before we even reached them! They were going to have an assembly and sing and dance for us. 

We had to sign the register and sit down whilst we did this they were singing, the voices of the children were lovely! They were aged from 3 to 15 and were so cute, you couldn't help but smile! 

 

They were singing and dancing then it was our turn to get involved. We had to introduce ourselves in front of them. We had to say our names, where we were from and what we do for a living. 

 

All of a sudden the children were up and walking over to us. We grabbed their hands and all got in line. We were doing the conga! 

 

It was lovely getting involved and after that we could mix in the crowds for pictures and had the chance to talk to the children. They really were excitable and loved getting their pictures taken!

Rach and her bestie Kilki!

 

It was time to say goodbye and head back to the village which was a shame.  We had such fun! 

We changed into clothes we didn't mind getting wet and made our way to the river. It was time to go BILLI BILLI rafting!! We didn't have to do anything except sit there and take in the views. It was very relaxing but not too comfortable of the behind!! 

 

We dried off and got changed ready to attend our closing ceremony. Luckily we didn't have to have anymore kava if we didn't want any. We didn't find it too bad though. Apparently due to the Chief been present we had prestige kava so I presume that's why it wasn't that bad! We said goodbye to the Chief. 

 

It was time to say goodbye.  We loved our time as fellow villagers and waved goodbye to the fellow villagers.

 

We arrived at the hotel right at the north of the island. We had been told the north can reach temperatures of about 40•C but we didn't find it that hot which we were happy about!! 

We arrived at the hotel and were put into a room with a fellow friend Jenna. It was a room for 3 which was new for us! We had got along with Jenna from the beginning really so it wasn't too bad sharing a room with her...haha. 

Our group as a whole were a really lovely bunch of people! We all got along really well and socialised together whenever we could. 

We went to our rooms and dumped our bags ready for dinner. 

 

We enjoyed socialising and then headed to bed. We were nearly falling asleep at the dinner table, we were so tired, we blamed the kava!! 

We headed back to the room but we were soon laughing instead of sleeping! We only had to say something and Jenna didn't understand us!  We had a giggle! 

Day Five
 

We woke up and headed off to breakfast. We thought breakfast was at 7.25am due to us been told it was 7-7.30. Clearly it wasn't true. Some people were having it afterwards up to 9.45. We could have had a sleep in :(  . We were up early I suppose though and once we had finished breakfast we packed our things and relaxed by the pool.

 

 

From the hotel we went to Raki Raki town for supplies for the islands due to them not having any shops and bottles of water being expensive. 

We thought a trolley would be easier, not all items are ours! We decided to get some water and some snacks due to been on the island for 4 days. 

 

Once finished we walked through the nearby market who were selling all sorts of fruit and veg. I loved how they stacked the fruit, as you can see from the picture it was very creative! 

 

Straight to the point on what is on offer!

 

                                          Still up from last Christmas or early for this year!?
 

We all got on the bus and when we were leaving the town people and children were waving goodbye to us. They are so friendly here!! 

We drove on and stopped at a grave of someone who ate 99 people. 30% were children! We were happy to learn that officially it was stopped in the year 1863.  Apparently humans taste of, like a lot of things chicken!! 

We went to see a grave of the man who ate the most people. We were told 99 but someone else on the previous tour we spoke to was told 900 - either way it's a lot!!
                                      

We then carried on our bus trip with the destination being mud pools!! The scenery on the way was lovely and we stopped off and looked at the bay. 

 

We spotted this chap on the way and it brought back memories from Rachael's incident with a workman and a road works sign! (See New Zealand blogs).  Good job Rach wasn't driving! Ha ha!

 

                                      

 

We then proceeded to the waterfront to have lunch! We were hungry. We both enjoyed chicken fried rice, it was yummy!! 

 

Next stop and our last activity of the day and on this island - mud pools and thermal pool! 

We covered ourselves in mud and thought, 'wow, why are we doing this?!'  Sadly I don't have any pictures as I didn't want my camera getting dirty. But you can imagine what me and rach looked like covered in mud!!

We then dried a lil bit in the sun and proceeded to the mud pool. The feeling of squashing in the mud at the bottom was a very funny feeling!!  

We washed off the dried mud and then went into the thermal pool. This was very very nice!! Lovely warm temperature! It was very relaxing and a shame to get out!
 

We then went to our hostels for the night. It was quite sad because we were saying goodbye to the group. Some people were going off to different islands and some even going home. One person was going on to stay at a 5* resort. Wow 5*, I've forgotten what that feels like!!  Over the last four days we have all socialised together and made some great new friends. 

We stayed at Bamboo. This was the same place we did the first night. This time though we were in dorms. I was on a top bunk and Rach was opposite in a top. Normally we are together so Rach has top and I have bottom but things are changing obviously!! 

We were with some friends we had made from the trip so we all went out for dinner together. We still had to wait for 45mins for food. Fiji time! 

Fiji time means that there are no set times apart from when it comes to work. Sticking to the time is called standard time so work times are standard. But if it's Fiji time and if you plan to meet someone at 4pm, it could be 5pm....6pm or even not at all. When I ask rach for the time. Her answer is always Fiji time! 

 

Food was yummy. Rach made a friend who she called Franklin.  He was cute! We enjoyed chicken pasta, Franklin may have had some too?!

 

We were wanting an early night due to getting picked up at 7.15am. But of course we weren't sure if that was standard time or Fiji time!! That's the problem!! 

We played some cards which was fun and then called it a night. 

 

ZZZZZZZ

Day Six
 

We were all packed and ready which was great. We checked out and waited to see what time the pick up would be. Fiji time or standard!?  

 

We were very surprised that it was standard time!! We hopped on and made our way to the pier to get the ferry to go to Mantaray Island. The journey would take 3 hours but we met some of our friends who were doing the same tour and we all sat together. This made the journey fly by!

The ferry ride was a fabulous way to see all the different islands. There are 333 all together, and over a hundred are inhabited! 

 

We made it to ours and hopped on a little boat to transfer us to the shore. We were greeted by some singers and given a welcome drink. We were finally here on one of the many Fiji Islands. We couldn't quite believe it! 

We had a welcome speech telling us what we could do whilst here. Diving, free kayaking, snorkelling and free activities like bracelet making, weaving etc. 

The dorms are really nice. I was placed on a top bunk, I soon had that changed! Bottom bunk for me. Rach was pleased she had a bottom one too.

                                     

 

It was lunch time and we were ready for something! We heard pleasant things about the food so were looking forward to it. 

The restaurant is on top of a hill so the views overlooking the sea were fabulous!!

 

We had a big selection of dishes to choose from. 

 

The food was yummy and the chat was interesting.
                                     

 

After lunch we enquired about doing some diving tomorrow. There was a deal where you could intro dive and then experience swimming with reef sharks. It was a good deal so me and Rach went ahead and booked it for tomorrow! Eek! 

We headed to the beach to relax, sunbathing and did some snorkelling. 

 

Snorkelling here was fabulous and we couldn't wait to do our diving. Some of the fish were very pretty! All kinds of different patterns and colours! 

The resort encourages all the guests to have dinner at the same time. This is a lovely concept because you get to meet people as you all sit on long tables. 

We saw some friends depart for a night dive and saw a lovely full moon!
 

 

We were all invited to join in in some singing and dancing by the beach bar. We called down after dinner. 

We were all up doing the conga at the end! It was a laugh!

We were tired so ready for bed! 

Day Seven
 

Our first night was lovely. Waking up covered by a mosquito net and listening to the waves outside is something I won't forget in a hurry! 

We went to breakfast and as we did we heard the Mantaray drum. Each morning when mantarays have been spotted in the sea the drum is beaten and you race to the beach to go in a boat to snorkel with them. 

Today we were diving and we were so nervous! We didn't know if we were going to be able to do it. We have snorkelled before but at least you're at the surface and can soon pop your head up to sort your mask out! Diving will be a totally new concept, being able to breath under water...let's see how it goes! 

 

We made our way to the dive shop and filled out our forms. At breakfast we didn't really feel anything towards it due to not believing we were going to do it! When we were sat there filling out our forms and getting a briefing, the nerves kicked in!!

 

                                     
 

We got our weight belts on and wow they were heavy. We got our tanks on and they were SOOO heavy! We made our way to the boat and the first hurdle was getting in the boat with the weight on our back. It was a real struggle moving about. I was glad to be sat down!! 

We got to the diving site. We put on our masks, got on the side of the boat. One, two, three....we back flipped in!! It didn't go too bad, we were soon up on the top. Ready to experience breathing in the water.  

We panicked at first in the beginning. It was getting over it psychologically. Knowing that it would be all ok to breath under water.  I worried that water was going in my mask but it was bubbles going against it when I was exhaling. We were told we would have to go back on the boat and do it later if we can't do it now. So we tried it again, got over the fear and started to know it was ok to breath under water. 

We were with the instructor at all times, holding his hand. He was doing our checks and all we had to do was breath and make sure we equalise ourselves as we got down to 12m. 

The views were magical. The feeling you have underwater is that it's just us and nothing else. It really is a different world! All you can hear is your air bubbles plus the sound of a passing boat. 

Right near the end we touched some sealife and saw 3 metal bed frames at the bottom of the ocean with giant clams on them. It was fascinating!

We made our way back to the surface and got back into the boat. That was a funny sight! The weight of things is so heavy it's hard to move near mind get back in a boat! 

 

We headed back in time for lunch. Wow we were ready! Diving takes up lots of calories apparently. 

We were in a hurry over lunch due to completing the shark dive afterwards. We didn't have much due to being in the water again after lunch. 

We went back ready to do our second dive but learnt it was rearranged for tomorrow due to conditions of water. We weren't too bothered, we just went straight to the beach and enjoyed some hammock time! 

The resort has a resident goat that thinks its a dog, strange but true! He's called Jack and he got abit cranky at times!

  

We had a shower before dinner. They are outside showers and are pretty cold but depending on the time you go you may be lucky and have a warmish one. 

 

Dinner was all guests together once again. We had our special 'Fiji experience' table though that was in a private area away from the main bit. It was maybe a bit unsociable from the other guests but we were all happy together.

  

We then went to the bar and were chatting away with our Fiji friends and some new dorm friends.  We also enjoyed some All Black rugby action. 

  

We were ready to go bed and then a diving guy came over to tell us that diving would be at 8.45am not 10.30am as originally planned. That's the sleep in gone then! 

We then definitely went to bed after that bit of news!

Day Eight
 

We got up and had breakfast at 8am.

  

We were diving at 8.45! We weren't feeling as nervous as yesterday due to knowing what to expect! We were quite excited! 

We were kitted out again with our flippers, mask, weight belt ect but this time we got on the boat without being strapped in to equipment which was quite nice! We had a snorkel this time too due to stopping off along the way to the dive spot to hopefully swim with mantarays - if any are out to play today! 

We soon reached the stop where they should be and we spotted one! We put on our flippers and snorkel and were told 'the pool is open'. This made us laugh and we soon jumped in!  

WOW it was there right in front of us swimming down the current stream. It was massive! So much bigger than we thought it would be! 

All is all we saw 7 mantarays all together and each time they just seemed to get bigger and bigger. Such beautiful creatures and such a privileged thing to do! At one point one passed me and I thought wow I could touch it it's that close! 

 

During our time down there we spotted a black tipped reef shark at the bottom of the ocean just casually sat there. 

 

We hadn't even started the shark encounter yet and saw one. Wow! 

After about 5 separate sites where we could jump in and swim with the mantarays we proceeded to the dive spot. 

We went straight in, made sure our masks were ok and our oxygen and went down.  Visibility was amazing and it was less panicky as yesterday due to knowing what to expect. We saw tons of fish, held a small starfish, touched coral. Saw coral change colour and subtract when touched. It is amazing looking up and seeing all the fish above you. 

 

We spent about 40 mins in the water. It was supposed to be a shark encounter dive but they weren't out to play today. We were really happy with seeing a shark whilst snorkelling with the manta rays though. Our second dive and we dived with sharks!! Crazy! Luckily they were vegetarian though and we were safe. 

We got out and back on the boat. What a challenge that was with your tank on! It's so heavy! The sun was shining and it was still early so we were happy! Diving made us tired and hungry so as soon as we got back to the resort we got lunch!! 

 

Some of our group from the Feejee Experience were set to arrive on our island before lunch. We were excited to see them again and hear about what they have been up to.

We met our friends during lunch and had a good catch up! We have met some lovely people on this trip!! We told them all about the activities you can do on this island and of course the diving!! 

After lunch we went to the beach. 

 

 

  

 

We decided to work off our lunch with a hike up a hill. About 8 of us did it all together and the rest stayed on the beach. 

It was a bit tricky as it wasn't really a proper walk way, just marked ground of where people had been before.

 

  

The views were worth the near misses and nearly falling though! Ha ha. We weren't really dressed for it, rach and I had our swimwear on and a towel wrapped round us with our sandals on!

 

 At the top we saw some kids (baby goats!) which were very cute! 

 

We headed down forgetting which way we had come so we nearly lost two of our Trekkers but we all made it back in the end! 

We went back to the beach and just had a bit of a wait until the tide came in. 

Once it did we could kayak so we did! It was our first time and we loved it. Six of us went out together in single kayaks. We went across to the other island and it was lovely having an island all to ourselves! 

 

 We headed back and the wind was picking up meaning it was a tad choppy! There were a few close calls where we could of gone in, especially as we were having some fun splashing and bumping into each other! It was certainly a giggle. I wouldn't have been laughing though if id have fallen in! 

After our kayaking fun we went to the other side of the island. There is, of course, another beach here. We watched a lovely sunset here all together which was a lovely way to end our time on the island. It was our last day tomorrow before heading back to the main land. 

 

After a shower and our last dinner it was time to do some socialising again!

Crab racing was played but we learned from before and didn't place any bets! 

This little chap was maybe a contender for tomorrow?!

It was our last night where we would be all together. We enjoyed playing a card game called 'games'. It was quite windy outside in the bar area so we all trooped up to the restaurant and played it there. We enjoyed a good few games before we got kicked out due to the staff ready to go home. 

 

Time for bed!

 

Day Nine
 

Today was the day we were leaving the island :( 

These 3 nights have flown by! We went to the office to check out and pay our bill. Not before breakfast of course!

I

We could pay $25 for lunch but we didn't want to. 

We spent some time near the beach talking to everyone.
 

It was lunch time and we just stared at people eating but they ordered food that they could share. So to say to weren't going to have any lunch we had a share of about 4 meals! We had a lovely lunch!

It was time to say goodbye! It was so sad!

 

The resort staff performed the goodbye song - which was lovely! They had such soothing voices whilst playing the ukelele! Rach said goodbye to the Resort's dog.

                               
 

Our little boat was ready to take us to the big boat so we said our farewells and walked over the rocks in the sea towards our boat. We still weren't used to it and every step was painful! We finally reached the boat and waved goodbye to our friends and the island. 

It was a three hour journey back to the main island Demarau, Nadi. It flew by though with us laughing about our time on the island. 

We caught our last glimpse of the islands we passed on our way back. They were all different but all absolutely stunning and idyllic! 

 

Whilst on the way back we witnessed a fabulous sunset. It was a wonderful end to a wonderful island trip! 

We caught our coach back to our hostel and were ready for bed really! 

We were staying at the hostel we were in before but a private room this time. 

We had dinner with some new friends we had met on the island.

 

Then said goodbye to a friend who was flying back home the next day. We hit the hay after that!  

Day Ten
 

Today we woke up and made use of the free wifi! On the island it was available at a cost but who wants to be on the Internet on a Fiji island! 

We enjoyed breakfast whilst we skyped our family. Checking in, telling them we were still alive and hearing all about their flights back to England! 

We really had to book our LA accommodation due to us been there in a few days! Today was mainly an IT day. 

We returned to our room and had a drama! I looked at the wall near my bag and there was a trail of black coming from the ceiling to my bag and on closer inspection it was moving!!! 

I could have cried! There were ants on my rucksack. I thought 'please don't be inside!' I opened it up and peered inside - YES they were all over my stuff!! I couldn't believe it!!! 

We got the bag outside, emptied my whole bag and hung my clothes outside after washing them off with boiling water! I literally have had ants in my pants! I rushed downstairs and reception gave me some ant stray. We sprayed every inch of the room. We didn't want them back!! 

 

It seems that ants really like 2 minute noodles too! They were all over them!

  

At least it got them out of our room and onto the balcony! 

We strayed the bag within every inch of its life and it was actually steaming like a cauldron! We gased the rest out!! Bloody ants!

 

Once the coast was clear and we were happy they were all dead or relocated to outside. We could sleep!

We witnessed a nice sunset to make me feel better!

 

Day Eleven
 

Today was a relax after last nights drama! I skyped for two hours and then Rach and I hit the beach! 

 

We stretched our legs and wondered what the area had to offer so we went for a walk up the street.

                                           Health and Safety Officer needed here?!

The local bus - Rach loved the colour!

I love this number plate!

There wasn't too much so headed back. 

We spent the rest of the day on the beach and watched a lovely sunset. 

                                 

 

We enjoyed dinner and because of our walk we learnt that at the hotel down the street there was going to be a fire show. We decided to see what that had to offer and walked down after dinner. 

 

The show was really good. They did different dances from different islands. During part of the show they got people up from the audience. That's the part when rach and I didn't like where we were sat! Luckily we avoided getting up! 

During the show we received a tap on the shoulder, we turned around and it was our Feejee Experience friend! It was so nice to see each other and we watched the end of the fire show together! 

 

Day Twelve
 

Today was a proper chill out day. Like it should be when you're in Fiji! 

We met Jenna at breakfast. We were chatting about the rest of her time spent on the island. Then the cards came out. It was crazy because we spent 4 hours just sat there watching the world go round playing cards!

  

Jenna taught us a new game called 'hearts'. It was a bit tricky but we got it in the end! If your going travelling a pack of cards is a MUST item! 

Two fellow Feejee experience friends were leaving today so we said goodbye to them. Having one last card game for old times sake! 

Once we actually moved from playing cards we headed to the beach to have a little wonder. We sat there and watched the sunset and wow it was probably the best sunset Fiji offered us during our stay! 

 

We had our last dinner. Rach and I were on to our last few Fiji dollars so had to be careful of what we ordered. 

 

                Health and Safety would never allow this! A plastic bottle candle holder! Love it!!

 

We showed Jenna our room and it didn't really go to plan. We looked at the dresser for some reason and Rach had her clothes on it and I noticed things moving on them. Bloody ants AGAIN! 

We quickly carried out the same routine as a few nights ago! It wasn't good timing though as we really had to pack not wash things and wait for them to dry! At least they should be dry in the morning! Fingers crossed! 

We still don't know why they were attracted to Rachael's clothes. It must be because she is sweet - whatever!! Lol! 

It was finally bed after all the drama and nearly finishing off the ant kill spray. 

Day Thirteen
 

We checked over the clothes and they were ant free and dry enough to pack. We checked out but still had time to relax until our taxi at 7pm. 

We complained about the ant situation and unfortunately they blamed it on us for having 'goods' in our bags. They should do signs seen as almost every traveller will have 2 minutes noodles hidden away in their backpack! It's not like it was food that was even prepared!

 

Met Jenna again! To say she isn't even staying at our hostel she may as well be!

We thought we would mix things up and introduced Jenna to the game of dominoes!

  

We then enjoyed playing cards over lunch but not for as long as yesterday!! 

                                     

After lunch we went for a walk to the souvenir shops and got kitted out. 

 

We went for a beach walk and then sat down and were talking again. Even the dogs are on Fiji time!

             We said our goodbyes to certain favourite staff we had. We said we would be back!

 

We sat and chatted again - no cards this time and waited for our taxi :(  It was sad saying goodbye to our new friend Jenna but we will see her again when we go across America!

We got a taxi to the airport, we shared it with 2 others so at least it was cheaper, we like saving money when possible!

 

 Again.....still no business class for us!

We saw this scuba teddy in duty free and it made us laugh and remember that Fiji took our scuba diving virginity!

We made our way to the plane and these fella's were singing the goodbye song to us, talk about kicking us while we are down! :(

  

We were leaving Fiji time and headed to the hustle bustle of Los Angeles.  No more Fiji time for us! Well maybe a few more days, but I'm sure the LA hustle and bustle will hit us hard!!

 Lots of love, Nat xxx