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Published: April 16th 2009
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1st April 2009 - HELLO FIJI....BULA!!!
The 2 hour flight went quickly. Take off, meal and drink, Madagascar 2, sleep and flight over! The time in Fiji when we landed was 8.30pm. You could feel the humidity when you stepped off the plane...no trousers and jumpers needed in this country!! As we walked towards the baggage carousel and immigration, 4 Fijians were stood singing to us and playing the banjo as we walked off the plane...it wasn't a jazz flute but what a welcome...love it already!! I got another stamp in my passport (notching them up now) and then headed to wait for my bag. Nats came off straight away and mine didn't come. My palms got sweaty and I got as close to the conveyor belt as possible. I waited and waited until I was very panicked! It eventually appeared...one of the last and I breathed a big sigh of relief...phew! Backpacks on the trolley (yeah...we only carry them when absolutely necessary) we got some Fijian dollars out of the ATM (queens head on them again...she gets everywhere) and bought some vodka before heading through customs. After customs we were welcomed a thousand times with the word 'Bula" which is
the Fijian greeting. Love it!
The airport transfer went smoothly and we were taken in a minibus to Nomads Skylodge (our hostel). It seemed nice enough and clean too. We checked in, dumped our bags and headed straight to the bar for a beer...much needed after all the travel and very refreshing in the heat! Went down well! Following our beer, we had two choices:
1. Hold our eyes open with matchsticks
2. Go to bed
We chose the second option and went to get tucked in for the night. Sharing a room with a mum and child. Weird place to bring I child I though…especially to be in a dorm room! Luckily I was tired when we went to bed and so an occasional bout of crying from the child didn’t wake me unlike Nat who struggled to sleep. I did feel strange to be in Fiji though. Felt like a holiday between travelling. Out of my comfort zone again though after the home from home of Oz and New Zealand. Lots more culture here and the language barrier to contend with. I got a feeling of Thailand on arrival but who knows what it will be like come morning!! New chapter begins!
2nd April 2009 - WHERE TO VISIT IN FIJI....THE DECISION WAS OURS!!
I slept amazingly and felt fresh faced when I woke. We had some decisions to make today but all decisions were put on hold until I had eaten breakfast. My priorities were in order! No cereal and milk though…back to eggs on toast. We did check out the guest kitchen facilities before buying breakfast in the restaurant but they were what I would describe as ‘unfit for human use’. Breakfast is not something I will lower my standards for…fact!!
After filling our bellies we got started with the organisation of our trip. We spent a while at the travel desk and had 2 options available to us. One gave us the chance to visit a lot of islands and was really flexible but expensive. The other was more of a fixed trip but cheaper and for a full 10 days rather than 7. After a team talk we decided upon the cheaper option. The plan was as follows:
3 - 7 April 09 - Mana Island
7 - 9 April 09 - Bounty Island
9 - 13 April 09 - Robinson Crusoe Island.
13 - 17 April 09 - Main Land
Nat and I were both happy with our choices especially when I found out that Bounty Island was where the 1st series of celebrity Love Island was filmed. Wow…so excited! The boat man then came and picked us up and drove us to the ATM in a local town. Had a major panic at the ATM as wouldn’t let me get enough money out and showed $1000s of dollars as missing! I felt less panicked when it did the same to Nat…surely it was the ATM and not our accounts?! We hoped so anyway!
Once we had paid what we could to the boat man he dropped us back at the hostel where we chilled out around the pool in the sun. Nice to feel hot sun after the cold of New Zealand. After chilling around the pool for a couple of hours we went for a walk into the nearby town. We passed a different ATM and tried our cards again…this time they worked properly…panic over! The sun was beginning to set by this point and was amazing! The sky turned bright reds all over! Really did have the wow factor!! We then spent a couple of hours on the net before calling into a small restaurant for a $5 meal. Not so tasty but what you would expect for $5! Some may say we got extra as not only did we get meat but we got bones and gristle as well!! It was pitch black when we finished eating and we made our way back to the hostel in the dark.
Back at the hostel we went to our new childless room. 6 others in there already in bed as all were up early like us. It was a case of having a shower, writing the journal and falling asleep! I was very excited about the islands…fingers crossed they would live up to expectations!
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