Fortnight in Fiji

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The amazing adventures of Phil and Lowery (Life and Death in the Yasawas):

BULA!!

So we left LA very happy with how the first part of the trip had worked out. After a long and uncomfortable overnight flight to Nadi in Fiji we were greeted at the airport by five local Fijian men with guitars singing a welcome song, the first of many we have heard over the past fortnight. We spent the first night in a hostel with a good pool and got aquainted with the local beer, Fiji Gold. Weve been drinking it quite alot because its the only thing really available but its ruddy disgusting, were sure its brewed using toilet water.

The next morning we were collected and taken to the local port of Denarau to board our boat out on our week long trip round the local islands. We were starting to notice how friendly the locals were at this point as lots of random people were waving and shouting BULA! (hello) at us. Obviouly being British we were badly sunburnt by the second day.

Our first Island was Coral View. It was stupidly hot there, and we spent our time swimming in the sea (which is like a warm bath when you get in) and making crabs fight on the beach. While we were at Coral View we took a boat trip to some underwater caves which were pretty spectacular. it was like a scene out of Indiana Jones getting into the caves, and we started getting to know a few people who were on the same trip as us.

After two nights on the first island we took a short trip the Manta Ray, our next stop. While here we managed to get some snorkelling done, and saw some beautiful coral and various types of tropical fish. We even encountered some reef sharks, about 2 and a half feet in length, and they came within touching distance which was an experience. Aside from the feeling of guilt after snapping off various bits of lovely coral (very easily broken) its a very theraputic thing. We took an underwater camera with us, it may be a while before we get it developed though.

The facilities on Manta Ray were the most basic weve encountered, ie a hole in the ground as a toilet. As is the norm on the Yasawa islands, local dancers came from the island village and put on a show for us with fire dancing and the like. They also enjoy getting the travellers to dance, and its pretty strange being made to sing 'row row row your boat' whilst doing the macarena.

The next Island we visited was Waya Lai Lai, and it was easily our favourite. We did a summit walk to the top of the island which looks basically vertically down onto the beach. It was pretty hard going considering we were trekking through soaking wet jungle but it was well worth it when we got the the top. We had alot of respect for a swedish girl, Sandra, who completed the walk barefoot which won our admiration. We got to know a few other travellers here, Selina and Avril (sisters from Ireland), Dan and Hatty (couple from Nottingham) and the Swedish girls Sandra and Emilie. Theres pictures of everyone below.

It seemed that the further north the island was, the worse the food got. The local dish is usually lamb and some strange root baked underground for 6 hours. It does not taste good, and we were soon sick of it.

On the last day of our tour of the islands we climbed aboard a yacht called the Seaspray for a days island hopping, but in the end the day took a pretty sinister turn. We were visiting the island where Castaway (with Tom hanks) was filmed, and we noticed a Japanese lad dragging his father towards the beach. He had been snorkelling and had either swallowed some water or had a heart attack and was blue when he was dragged ashore. A few people tried to revive him for over an hour before a speedboat came but it was useless, and so we witnessed a man die, there in paradise, with his family around him.


For our second week we booked up four nights on an island off the south coast of Fiji called Robinson Crusoe Island (after washing our trollies). We had no idea what it would be like but when we got there we were greeted on the beach by all the islanders already staying there and the locals who work there. Its a really relaxed place with a good community spirit, and it feels kind of like a commune because everybody goes down the beach each day to sing and welcome the new arrivals or say goodbye to friends. We spent our days here husking coconuts and making coconut jewellery, watching the locals dance for the invaders (day trippers) and drinking Kava.

Kava is a local drink made from the root of a plant, ground into a powder and then mixed with water. It has similar effects to marajuana (although not as strong) and makes your mouth and face go numb. We took part in various Kava ceremonies and had a couple of nights drinking it with the locals until the early hours of the morning. After 10 bowls your pretty much out for the count.

We made more friends on Robinson Crusoe, including two of the locals, Lex and Riko. We also got invited to a traditional Fijian wedding as witnesses while we were there. It was between an Australian lad named Wesley (he was an absolute prat) and his pretty girlfriend, and we got drunk that night and drank more Kava.

We are now back on the mainland and fly out to Aukland, NZ tomorrow after two pretty amazing weeks. Theve gone really slowly too which is strange. Theres plenty of photos below for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

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