Blogs from Nananu I Ra, Fiji, Oceania
Day 27 - Second verse same as the first (still raining)
Published: August 2nd 2011Oceania » Fiji » Nananu I Ra
August 2nd 2011
Today started as almost every day of our vacation. We will sum up our entire day minute by minute for you and this will take just a few paragraph. We slept in and when we got up and went to breakfast. It was overcast as everyday had been. Our praying for sun did not work. We stretched out breakfast to last about 30 minutes. Again, we ate cereal in warm milk and toast. After our meal it was back to our room as it was so cloudy, overcast and lightly raining so the pool and beach are not really doable. So after some reading and napping and reading and napping we ventured out of our room onto the porch. It was sprinkling and still grey and cloudy. Chester went for a walk on the beach and ... read more
August 1st 2011
So we spent our first night at the Uprising Beach Resort. It was fine, we had to have all the windows and curtains open so we could get the slightest, lightest breeze into our hut. We both slept pretty well though (Chester sleeps because of Ambien, thank goodness) and woke up at 7. The outdoor shower was actually pretty cool and reminded us of an awesome camp site in Namibia that had very cool outdoor showers. After a breakfast of cornflakes in warm milk and some toast we headed to the lobby to get picked up for our 8:15 shark dive. The driver arrived and quickly told us we were on a different dive trip so we waited for another 30 minutes. Then Sammy, the driver, came back for us and said we were on this ... read more
July 31st 2011
Today started with a 5AM wake-up call to catch our flight from Brisbane to Fiji. We were graciously thanked for our stay by the Australia telecoms company by charging us $50 for 6 local phone calls, each call was less than 2 minutes. We had called around the find a fishing charter from the hotel phones after we had called reception to inquiry if there was a charge for this. Well there was not a charge for local calls, but a ridiculous charge for calls to mobile phones which are different than local calls. Not something the hotel would want to tell you when you specifically call to ask. We had a quick buffet breakfast and drove the hour plus to Brisbane. We arrived to a mother of all lines at the airport. After the Disneyland ... read more
September 30th 2009
Paradise at last. I'd been a bit cheeky and already decided that where ever we went, I didn't want to meet a bunch of drunken travelers. I have no problem with people sunning and drinking themselves to death - I'm from Bournemouth, it's a profession. I have issues in drinking with them and spending £1k on a ticket to do so when I could stay at home and do it every weekend with perks. Nananu-I-Ra was my idea of heaven after the torture of travel. We buzzed across the short straight of water and began to pull into a bay. In the distance I saw a jetty and some buildings. Now in my experience of life, those building would be of a resort, but not ours. I've always managed to find the most disappointing place when ... read more
November 12th 2008
Through the heart of Viti Levu to Rakiraki Monday 3rd November 2008 The alarm went off at 4.15 a.m. and we groped around in the semi-dark dressing and getting our gear together (by torchlight) because one of the guys from Rukuruku village was picking us up at 4.45 a.m. to take us down to the ferry in his truck; somewhat early because it is only a twenty minute ride and the ferry wasn’t due to leave until six but he had to get back by 5.30. The ferry didn’t get away until nearly seven and the bus that was supposed to be waiting the other side on the mainland wasn’t there and arrived forty minutes late so we didn’t get to Korovou until about 8.30 a.m. which didn’t matter because it was a beautiful morning and ... read more
November 9th 2008
Ross: After our leisurely three days aboard Pelorus Jack we decided to bus it to the other side of the main island of Viti Levu to an island called Nananu-i-ra. During our stay in Auckland we visited a kite shop in Takapuna where we picked up a leaflet about a kitesurfing centre in Fiji at Safari Lodge on Nananu-i-ra. With the promise of endless prevailing winds and aqua blue lagoons we hopped on a local bus to Lautoka, followed by a second express bus to the town of Rakiraki. The buses were fairly basic, not a patch on the luxury of the Argentinian coaches but a damn sight better than the Bolivian death traps. In an attempt to curb her travel sickness, Pol opted for the front seat next to an over talkative schoolgirl destined for ... read more
March 6th 2007
Bula! We are safe and sound and loving it in Fiji. Not sure we have ever been so hot in our lives, nor so mosquito-bite ridden! Last count over 100- each. Have spent the majority of our time on Nananu-I-Ra, a true tropical paradise, complete with white beaches, and beautiful diving right on our doorstep. We are now SSI qualified divers. We saw so much underwater, ranging from spectacular soft coral, to a white-tip reef shark. I was in marine geography heaven!!! We have met so many fantastic people- like 'the beach', only better. The resort is closing down today, to be taken over by the Hilton who will ruin the island. So we were the last divers to qualify, and the last to have a birthday. And in true British style it rained for Alex's ... read more
February 27th 2007
Bula! After taking off from Rarotonga just passed midnight, crossing the date line and losing a whole day of our lives! we arrived at our hotel in Nadi, Fiji in the middle of the night and instantly regretted the choce of a $3 cheaper dorm with fan and not air conditioning as both bottom bunks were taken and the fan on the wall was pointed downwards therefore useless to us! The next day, after a rather sweaty night we chilled out at our hostel while the heavens opened and it rained all day! Day two and we headed south to the Coral Coast and our accomodation there "The Beachouse". To our amazement this was actually the set of "Celebrity Love Island" yes that's right, the crappy TV show was actually filmed at a backpacker resort, albeit ... read more
November 18th 2006
We landed in Fji on the morning of Tuesday 7th November. The heat hit us as we stepped off the plane - it was a lot warmer than New Zealand! We got the free shuttle bus from the airport to our hotel. Our hotel was really nice and we had booked to stay for 3 nights. Basically, we didn't want to tour the different islands in Fiji for the simple reason that we wanted to do as little as possible. So, we had had a certain island and resort recommended to us (by a guy we met in New Zealand) but it was fully booked for our first few nights in Fiji. Therefore, we were staying at the hotel in Nadi for 3 nights and then moved to the island. We did very little in Fji, ... read more
November 13th 2006
Having gotten a lot of sleep due to our early night we had no problem in rising the next day with plenty of time to book our onward travel to wherever it was we had to go. The night before we had asked how much a return ticket from Naviti would be to Nadi and were reasonably pleased with the price quoted. This morning the price had gone up, considerably, several times. Every time we paid for our ticket the man would phone on to Manta Ray and the price would go up, or he, and this was the last time, came running out of the office ten minutes before the boat arrived to interrupt us during breakfast to tell us that he'd made an error and there was even more to pay. In the end ... read more
