Fiji - Yasawa Islands Part 2, back to Nadi and Kiritmati (Christmas Island)

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BULA!!!

Saturday 22nd September - Tavewa Island (Coral View Resort) and the Blue Lagoon

…continued… We were due to go snorkelling in the Blue Lagoon this afternoon but in the end decided to go to ‘Suntan Beach’ because we could only go at low tide. So Sarah, Brian, Sophie, Leonie (had met her on Bounty, she’d newly arrived on Coral View at lunchtime), Dominique, Marc (from our room) and I headed out in the boat across the lagoon. We were not sure where we were going and then we saw a little bar of sand in the distance about 100metres off the nearest beach. The boat dropped us off and we spent a lovely couple of hours relaxing and posing about for photos. It was such a nice spot, the bar got a little bigger but still only stayed about 30 metres long and 5 metres wide, it dropped off into completely clear blue water with more lovely white sand underneath (where you could see the shadow of the ripples) but dropping off even further into the ocean. Brian photo bombed my ‘photo shoot’, I’ve kept all the pictures because they tell a funny story!

We headed back for a rest and Sarah and I had a cocktail and some crisps whilst I helped her plan her Australia trip. It was the resorts island night that evening so we had Lovo for dinner and were treated to a traditional dance and fire show. It was really enjoyable because the workers were doing the show and those that were not so good were making fun of themselves. The rest of the evening was quiet, we were all too tired out from last nights crazy antics. We headed back to the dorm at about 9ish and watched TV in bed before drifting off to sleep. I nearly didn’t make it all the way through my TV show, was so sleepy.

We all slept well until we were woke up at about 4am by the most torrential rain storm, it was so loud on the roof of the dorm. I think it woke up the 5 of us that were in there and we took a peep outside but quickly retreated because as soon as we opened the door we were in danger of getting a soaking. Poor Brian did get soaked, he was in bed and a sheet of water poured over him when it came through a gap in the ceiling… he had to switch beds! I was a bit concerned about mudslides but eventually got off back to sleep.

Sunday 23^rd September – Tavewa Island, the Blue Lagoon and back to Nadi

We were all up at 8am to pack, check out and get ready for our snorkel trip to the Blue Lagoon. Sophie was going scuba diving and Marc was sitting it out so it was Dominique, Brian, Sarah, Leonie and I. The sea was pretty rough and we didn’t know if we’d be able to go but they said we could and the rough sea just made the boat ride fun… I was glad they insisted on life jackets though! We passed along THE Blue Lagoon beach where the film with Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins was filmed. There was a big cruise ship in the bay which spoiled the view (turned out the cruise ship company owned the beach… at least it was a Fijian owned company). We got out of the boat to go snorkelling and fish feeding (bread, can’t be good for them) and it was amazing because the fish completely surrounded us. There were so many pretty fishes! And the most beautiful parrot fish. We stayed in the water for a good 45 minutes, dodging the people on kayaks from the cruise ship. I don’t get annoyed by people very often but a young girl from the cruise ship really annoyed me… she was climbing up into our boat demanding bread and then scaring all the fish away. Anyway, we eventually got back into the boat and headed closer to the part of the Blue Lagoon beach where the film was made, we couldn’t be dropped on it because it was privately owned by the cruise ship company and if a cruise ship was docked it was a no go area for the general public (I guess they publicize their cruise on the basis of private access to the beach). We were dropped off a bit further along and walked back along the beach, it wasn’t actually that impressive, a bit ropey really and the cruise ship spoiled the view.

We had lunch back at the resort (mine wasn’t included for some reason, Leonie kindly gave me her lunch voucher because she wasn’t feeling well) and were sung a farewell song (was so beautiful, the Fijians stare wistfully in the distance as they sing) and presented with the loveliest fresh flower Leis. We were soon leaving Coral View resort and heading back to the big boat, some of us were going all the way back to Port Denarau and then Nadi, others were getting dropped off at other islands so we only had a few more hours together. We had our safety briefing on the boat (a bit like an aeroplane safety briefing) and sat up the top with Joe and Lauren from Liverpool and Ivo who had joined the big boat from their resorts. The journey back to Nadi would take 5 hours so we got settled in with some beers. We all chatted about the resorts we’d visited, most were really nice, only a few not so. It seems that all of the resorts are very quiet (e.g. some that only had 8 staying would normally have 60). I’d asked a worker why and they weren’t sure, they said it usually tails off this time of year but that it’s exceptional quite… maybe because the main company that runs the boats and accommodation passes have upped their prices. The resorts are having to send staff home because they can’t afford to keep them. We think we passed Turtle Island, where all the celebrities go and then we broke down and sat still in the water for 15 minutes. That happened a few times! It was going to be a long journey so we had more beers. We had to say bye to Sophie and Dominique 1^st, I would miss them! And then a little while later to Sarah who was going to Beachcomber, the famous party island! I half wished I was going with her. We were about half an hour away from Port Denarau (we were an hour and a half late…) when it started to rain and get dark so we had to move inside.

We arrived back in the dark, got our bags (as expected, they were very well organised) and got onto our transfer bus. Lauren, Joe, Brian and I arranged to meet for dinner and Ivo and a lovely German girl called Katrina joined us (Lauren and Joe had met her before, she ended up in my room back at Smugger’s Cove). The plan was to have a VERY quick shower and change before heading to Brian, Lauren and Joe’s hostel just down the road. But… Katrina and I had a problem. We got into our dorm, Katrina got into the shower, and I was heading for the shower when I heard a big crashing noise before turning around to see water gushing through the ceiling! It was just like the last time we were in here! So I had to save Katrina’s things, pull some clothes on and run to reception, before running back and warning Katrina that there’d be all sorts of people in the room when she came out of the shower. I then had my shower only to have Katrina shouting through the door that we had to move rooms. So after unpacking everything we had to move. I headed to find Ivo and sent him to tell the others what was going on. About 45 minutes late we all met up in Smuggler’s to get a taxi to town. Our taxi driver recommended an Indian and it was amazing… we opted for a buffet type meal with the most delicious starters and then I had korma. It was delicious, I honestly think it’s the best Indian I’ve ever had anywhere ever. We all really enjoyed it. There was a nice band playing and I joined them for a dance before dragging Katrina and Lauren up… in the end it was just me and one of the waitresses doing the Macarena in the rain. We tipped the waitress really well and were rewarded by the most beautiful happy smile. We headed back to Smuggler’s and had beers, I found Laila (the friend I’d made last week) and she joined us for a drink with her boyfriend who had come out to meet her. We had a lovely evening but just got soooooooo tired I had to go to sleep.

Monday 24^th September – Nadi

I had a REALLY slow start to the day and then caught up on Uni, internet jobs and washing. I really didn’t do a lot outside and didn’t feel too badly about it because the weather wasn’t great. In the early afternoon I was joined in the room by Tina from Germany, a really lovely girl who’d just flown in from Hawaii (and gave me a lot of tips). We had some lunch and then sat on the beach for the afternoon, the weather had perked up and at sunset the sky went very pretty. In the evening we met up with Brian and the three of us went back to the same Indian (wish I could remember its name) for dinner. It didn’t disappoint, it’s definitely the best Indian I’ve ever had anywhere ever, Brian and Tina thought the same. We headed back to Bamboo (Brian’s hostel) because they had a fire show. It was really funny as one of the older regular guests (the eccentric John) was joining in, he was a total showman and very good as he used to be a circus performer…it was just slightly stressful when he was throwing the fire about. There were a lot of people at the hostel and they were all sitting around singing classic songs in a group. I didn’t like it, there was a very loud American guy being opinionated and offended everyone. In the end Tina and I found Brian to say bye and headed back to the hostel. We had two new arrivals, nice girls from Switzerland so they talked in German with Tina whilst I tried to ring Barclaycard as I had unexplained transactions on my account… we concluded the Hawaiian flight company I’d booked with had tried to take the payment twice… it should be sorted tomorrow. I then watched some TV and settled down to sleep.

Tuesday 25^th September – Nadi to Kirimati (Christmas Island) then onto Honolulu

I was up quite early and had to sort out a lot of my cockups. I was leaving for Hawaii late that night and because I wanted to keep the room for the day had tried to book another night online (it’s cheaper than doing it at reception) and had booked 2 nights instead of 1… and for October! I’d also booked my airport pick up in Honolulu for the wrong day. And whilst having brunch with Tina I drank her café latte instead of my iced coffee! I helped Tina with some trip planning before she went off to the mud baths and went back to the room to do more internet jobs, photos, Uni and packing. I headed out to the beach in the afternoon and had a lovely time chilling and reading. The crazy horse (from my last visit to Nadi) was back out and a fishing trip came back in with the BIGGEST fish. Tina and Jill (who Tina had met in Hawaii) came out to sit with me, they’d gone with Brian to the mud baths. We arranged to meet up later for some dinner and a drink and I went off to finish packing to find my rucksack broke… 19 months of travel and it decides to give up now! I managed to fix it up a bit so it’d at least get me to Hawaii and met the others for dinner. It was horrible, really unpleasant. But I had a great Pina Colada J And I broke my door key (to add to my day of cock ups) so lost my key deposit.

I had to leave for the airport at 9pm so said bye to everyone. I was sad to say bye to Brian, we’d got only really well (before anyone asks, just as mates). I got a taxi to the airport and checked in after a long wait… I was there 2 ½ hours before and check in wasn’t open. I was amused to see that my flight on the board was to ‘Xmas Is Honolulu’, or on some ‘Honolulu via Xmas’. I’d known I was flying via Kiritmati (aka Christmas Island, when I was originally told that I thought it was the Australian island where they take their asylum seekers…turns out there’s another Christmas Island in the middle of the pacific) but hadn’t really believed it. I got a little emotional in the airport, the last time I’d been in Nadi’s departure lounge I was on my way to Brisbane to see Drew, full of lots of hope! I felt ok but was nervous about the flight and kept thinking how much I loved my friends and family...the wonderful Hannah Schiavon calmed me down over WhatsApp (as she’d done was I was flying from LA to Fiji last year!). We eventually boarded and I was sat next to a couple from Brisbane who were on their way to Hawaii for their honeymoon, it was only his second international flight and they were very excited and she seemed nervous. We took off and I had no tablets, just a wine. We had a random snack and no back of the seat TV screens, as the general film was The Hunger Games and I’d seen it twice (although I loved it, it can make you feel a bit down) I watched some Smash on my computer. I tried to have a sleep and a walk around and before long we could see the bright red sunrise of 25^th September (again…I’d gone back in time as crossed back over the International Date Line!).

We’d been flying for about 4 hours before landing in Kiritmati. As we flew over there didn’t seem much to it, it was completely flat, covered in palm trees and quite scrubby. We were told we all had to get off the plane with our things and cross the tarmac to the transit terminal. It was 6.30am or so in the morning and it was already really hot. We walked across the tarmac and everyone was taking pictures (when were we likely to be there again…). The ‘Transit Lounge’ was a small room in a wooden shed… with broken pillars. We couldn’t all fit in. It seemed a lot of people on the island had turned out to see the plane come in… it only happens a couple of times a week. The people were so so friendly, the local guy in charge of us kept checking we were ok (he joked we should enjoy the Christmas Island hospitality… a joke because there was none) and the police were happy to pose for photos. We were on the ground for about 30 minutes before we had to queue up to have our passports checked and return to the plane. It was the randomest, friendliest, sunniest transit ever!

We took off again quickly and were given some breakfast. The next film was ‘Think Like a Man’ so I watched more Smash before having another sleep… I didn’t really get much in. We had some turbulence but I was ok, I was proud of myself for not resorting to medication to get through it. We had another 3 hours flying time before we started our descent into Honolulu…

Next up, mine and Jonny’s adventures in Hawaii!

Xx

NOTE: I use these updates to capture my memories and share what I'm doing on my travels with friends, family and anyone who’s interested enough to read. The views are my own and I try my best to ensure any information I share is fair and accurate but I do sometimes get things wrong. I welcome any feedback so I can make improvements and corrections for future readers. Thank you.

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