Advertisement
Paradise
Bab's and I on Treasure Island after Kayaking over from Beachcomber in the background Another day another country and onto Fiji. To be honest we only came to Fiji as we had one spare flight on our package and it broke up the long journey between LA and NZ however I was really taken with this country and Babs and I h ad a pretty mad cap 6 days.
We arrived late on the first night and so just stayed close to the airport in Nadi, however I was immediately taken back by the hospitality of the locals who are so friendly and can't do enough for you. They are all very proud of their country and national identity as a very laid back friendly nation always greeting you with the national saying 'bula!' which kinda means hello/good/cool but is difficult to describe unless you have been to Fiji. Everyone is on "'Fiji time'" meaning n nothing ever really gets done on time but just as and when which suits the hot weather and beautiful surrounds. Fiji was definitely very different from another country we visited and so I'm very glad we decided to throw it into our travels.
The next day we heading down to the Coral coast to a hostel
Celebrity Love Island
The famous pool, I use the word famous very lightly given no one really watched the programme called the Beach house, which is a famous backpacker resort, as its where they filmed celebrity Love Island! So the main pool area, which backs onto the beach, was immediately recognizable and full of double sided mirrors that had been used for filming, very surreal. It got even stranger as all the dorms we had booked were fully booked so we were put in the secret room, a private room which was used as a love shack by the celebrities which is full of camera holes, mood lighting and again double sided mirrors, a very bizarre experience however ensuite for the same price as a dorm you cant complain! The Beach house was a great hostel as it had a good community atmosphere with loads of activities and people to meet plus the surrounding area was beautiful like all of Fiji it is unspoilt. It’s also run by local villagers who are more than happy to talk about the Fijian culture and join in activates with you. Apart from lounging around we went trekking, sea kayaking, Bab's went horse riding, played lots of volley ball and took part in Cava ceremonies (a local brew a bit like tea except it
Cooling off after the trek
Under a waterfall in Fiji seriously relaxes you and makes your tongue numb!) and obvious enjoyed a few Fiji gold largers in the backpacker atmosphere. The trekking was a highlight for me as we were taken into the jungle by a local guy who had lived in the jungle on his families farm for 14years so knew everything about the plants, trees and their uses for food and medicine as well as taking us on a barely used track to a stunning waterfall and splash pool for a swim.
After the beach house 'we went over to the West Coast and Beachcomber island, another backpacker resort which is simply a tiny island off the coast, one of the 320 that make up Fiji. Again it was very beautiful and also interesting to stay somewhere very remote. The dorm rooms are also interesting as there is only one dorm, which is more like a barn with 100 odd people sleeping in bunk beds! Whilst on beachcomber we were able to go scuba diving, which was great to get back into as it had been over a month since our last dive and the warm water, great visibility and vast coral reefs make Fiji a great place to dive. We swam right up to a massive turtle as well as seeing a few huge eels. We also kayaked 1.5km to the nearby Treasure Island, which was interesting as its full of rich holidaymakers rather than smelly backpackers! Beachcomber is famous however as the party island ahead of other Fijian islands and so we also enjoyed the live music and a few beers with loads of backpackers on this tropical island - paradise!
After Fiji we moved over to the northern hemisphere again and did Saturday twice as we crossed the International Date Line over to LA and Hollywood. The fact I could wake up on a tropical island and go out to Hollywood clubs on the same night pretty much sums up how fast we are moving on this trip! Although Fiji was only a brief 6-day stop it’s an f fantastic place and I would love to go back, after all we only went to 3 out of 320 islands!
Plus whilst in Fiji Chelsea drew with Arsenal and United won the league making Babs very happy as I won't be longing for bars showing the games at stupid o’clock in the morning!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.13s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 15; qc: 65; dbt: 0.0572s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb