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Published: February 19th 2010
It was an early start flying out of Sydney and we had a long day ahead of us. Our flight was at 7am which meant leaving the hotel at 5am. It was a 3 hour flight from Sydney to Auckland; a 4 hour wait in Auckland for our connecting flight and then a further 3 hour flight to Nadi, Fiji. We landed at 6.30pm (Fijian time - 2 hours ahead of Sydney) which means we are now 11 hours ahead of South Africa and 13 hours ahead of UK time - very confusing, i know.
The flights all in all went well. We flew with Air New Zealand and there was enough time to squeeze in a movie in both flights.
The lady, who owned the house in which we would be staying, had arranged someone to pick us up (Aziz). This was just as well cos we had NO idea where we were going! It was a further 90 minute drive to our accommodation along a single-laned ‘highway’ (which goes the whole way round the island - most of it is paved) The speed limit is 80km and 50km through the villages and overtaking is permitted anywhere!! Jip,
it felt like we were back at home.
The house we were staying in is within a new estate (they are still in the process of building it), Maui Bay in the coral coast. It is at the top of a VERY steep hill which is part cement part gravel road. It was late by the time we got in and so thanked Aziz and tried to get a good nights sleep.
The next morning we awoke to the most beautiful view, being at the top of a hill has some advantages. There is a reef that extends about 300m from the shore out, with the waves breaking where the reef ends. And the sea is various shades of blue/turquoise depending on where the sun shines, absolutely stunning.
We had a car for the next 2 weeks which was just as well because we needed to get groceries and food and we had not really seen many shops within walking distance. In fact the closest shops were in Sigatoka - about 25 km from us. Let’s just say that the shopping was an experience, definitely not your local Pick n Pay or Tescos. Afterwards we headed down
South Sea Island
The island that we visited for the dayto the beach and spent the rest of the day there.
That night and the following day the rain came down. ‘What?’ i hear you say, ‘not in Fiji?’ Yes, the rain was torrential and lasted most of Saturday. We had wanted to go into Nadi that day to see about tours out to other islands. So we got into our car and started up the gravel road which had now turned into mud. It was all going well until we hit a particularly steep bit, and then we got stuck! The tyres were skidding and we were getting nowhere. So we had to reverse back to our house, where we spent the next 2 days waiting for the sun to dry the road. We did walk down to the beach on Sunday, but it is a very hot, long walk.
Luckily, the weather cleared up by Monday, and we have had brilliant weather since. We just pray that we don’t have hard rain the day we have to leave, because we might be stuck!
We have spent most of the days lazing on chairs by the ocean, reading and swimming. Life is tough, i know!!!! We
South Sea Island
View of the beach have been quite diligent with the factor 30+ sunscreen and have been fortunate not to get burnt as the temperature is around 33’C but has reached 37’C some days. Fortunately is it not humid so we can get some comfort in the shade, as the sea is like a hot bath most of the day! And you have to go quite far out to get the cooler waters. I am now in competition with Billy to see who is browner. ‘NO’ i hear you exclaim Hayley. It is true, Billy is BROWN.
There is an abundance of coral and, with the water being crystal clear, you can see the fish swimming around. We have seen many blue starfish and beautiful shimmery, bright blue fish. We have since bought goggles and have enjoyed exploring the coral - this almost makes up for not seeing the Great Barrier Reef.
On Wednesday we went on a tour to another island - South Sea Island which is about 30 minutes on the ferry. It is a small but beautiful island, surrounded by coral. We had wanted to do a different trip to another island further out, but it was booked out for
the next 2 days. And we weren’t too sure what the weather was going to do later in the week.
We spent most of the day snorkelling and saw some amazing coloured fish, but Billy was quite upset that we could not find Nemo! There were also meant to be leopard shark and baby shark around but fortunately we did not see any. We went on a glass bottomed boat and saw sting rays and many small jellyfish. And spent some time on the kayak and made it all the way around the island. The locals did a traditional spear dance and sang for us, which was lovely to see and hear. We were sad to leave the idyllic island, but thankful that we got to see it and were blessed with such fantastic weather.
Fiji is very different to how we had imagined - it is not as developed as we had thought. It is a pleasure to see no high rise apartments and hotels to spoil the landscape. There are no promenades along the beach - as i was expecting, it is all very natural. I was in two minds about staying in a house
instead of a hotel, but i am glad that we chose the house. We would not have experienced the Fijian lifestyle and got to meet the locals. Plus we got a beach ALL to ourselves.
Fiji is a mix of two cultures; Indian and the local people. The local people live in small villages spread throughout and each village has a chief. They appear to be happy and relaxed people, they are not a rich country yet they look content. You get the sense of togetherness and a strong community where everyone looks out for each other and very family orientated. After school the children are either playing rugby, volleyball or football. They have great pride in their 7’s rugby team. You can’t help falling in love with the people and the country, their contentedness with life is infectious.
We have one more week left in Fiji and i am sure we will manage to fill the days quite well. There is plenty of relaxing still to do!!!!
Friday 19 February
WE FOUND NEMO!!!! We spent today snorkelling around our beach and we found our first clown fish. Was beautiful to see. Billy is now happy.
Sorry, we had more photos but we are struggling with all the different pc's. Will try again when we are in Auckland.
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Hayley Bruton
non-member comment
NO Photos!
Ha ha a likely story "cannot upload photos due to technical difficulties" this gives Billy another week to work on that tan before i DEMAND photographic evidence...I am still a sceptic...the scenery looks wonderful...aah can just about imagine filling the days doing nothing....oh but wait that IS what i am doing .....you guys just chose the better setting..silly me..