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Day 77
Today was another one of those boring transit days! We checked onto our flight, logged onto the internet and discovered that Michael Jackson was dead - Which was a real shock! We then flew to Nadi on the mainland of Fiji and checked into a hotel near the airport and took a very scary taxi ride to a cash point. When I say taxi I honestly believe it was the baggage guys cousin as it was a clapped out car that was barely held together and there was no taxi sign or meter. Anyway he got us to the cash point and back quickly and in one piece!
We sat and had dinner whilst a band played chilled out Fijian songs before going to bed ready for our transfer tomorrow.
Day 78
We got up, had breakfast and then waited for our transfer to the marina. We soon began to understand what it means to be on Fiji time, frustrating at first, we soon slipped into this laid back attitude.
We arrived at the marina and were greeted by the boat crew who were nice and as with all Fijian people, very chilled out!
The boat ride to the island was an experience it was a small speed boat and the journey took ninety minutes. It got quite bumpy and was especially funny as there were two Japanese guys on the boat. The younger one kept trying to take photos whilst bobbing up and down and his dad was old and he kept wobbling all over the place!
We were warmly greeted by the resort staff who congregated on the beach playing the guitar and singing when we arrived. We were quickly settled into our bure which is like a small wicker house with a thatched roof. It had an ensuite but the shower had no roof on it so we had showers under the sun and moon which was pretty cool.
In the evening we attended a traditional Fijian welcome kava ceremony. We sat around on a mat with some of the senior people that work at the resort and are from the local village along with the other new arrivals. You then have to clap once say ''Bula' then drink kava out of a coconut shell then clap three times. Then pass the shell back to the group leader and
then repeat the same for all of the guests. For those of you that don't know kava is made from the powder of local root mixed with water. It tastes like dirty pond water so you have to neck it quick and then it numbs your mouth a little, it really is quite an acquired taste!
After dinner we went to bed and discovered the first of the 'housemates' we were going to meet! We had got into bed when Nick spotted a giant bug on the inside of our mosquito net. Sadly to say we had no choice but to kill it. That resulted in three attempts, a nasty pop and a stain to remind us of our crime! Needless to say after the bug event and the wind we didn't sleep to well the first night.
Day 79
We spent the day sunbathing and reading as you do on a tropical island. After lunch we were surpised to see about forty local children sat behind us. More and more of them came and then the resort manager told us that they meet on the beach to be taken to the only school on the island
where they board for the week and return on the Friday. To add to our surprise they were all carrying large knives, it turns out that it is part of the curriculum (shelling coconuts, chopping grass) and essential school kit!
In the evening they pulled out a massive screen and we all watched a film (Revolutionary Road) under the stars!
Day 80
Today the weather was not as good as it clouded over. I decided to have a go at basket weaving with one of the local's. It was difficult to start with but I soon got the hang of it and we used the finished product to cart our towels around in for the rest of the week - they're stronger than they look!
After Lunch we went on a visit to the village. It was a fifteen minute walk up and over the hill. It was interesting to see how the people who work in the resort live. The homes were made from a variety of concrete, corrugated metal and some wicker bures like the one we were staying in. The village elder, Lai, showed us around. He was the village mayor for five
years previously and you could see he was well respected. He thanked us for coming to the resort on our holiday as nearly all the villagers work there and they are grateful they do not have to travel to the mainland for employment as people in the other villages have to. He also thanked us for taking the time to visit them. We were given flower wreaths and then we sat down on a mat under the large tree in the centre of the village and took part in another kava ceremony with the village elders. After the ceremony we had to go into the community centre as it started to rain. In there they put on a Meke which is a show of singing and tribal dancing, towards the end they even got us all joining in - it was great fun! Finally the women in the village put out blankets and displayed hand made souvenirs and jewellery to purchase. We bought some stuff as we'd rather the money went direct to them than via some nasty tourist shop on the mainland and it was nice as there was absolutely no pressure .
The trip took most of
the afternoon so we sat and read when we returned, got ready and had dinner. In the evening it was international crab racing. I carefully selected our crab Usain Bolt based on performance on the beach and although nipping me, and consequently me dropping him twice he made it through to the quarter and semi-finals but did not get placed in the final! It was all good fun and the entry fee was a donation to the local village school, so was for a good cause!
Day 81
Today was a sad day as it rained all day in paradise! We spent the afternoon reading and Nick thrashing me at Scrabble. After being beaten at scrabble I called it quits and sat and made some jewellery with a local lady and some other guests.
In the evening there was volleyball match on the beach, Fiji v the rest of the world - Fiji won, as I assume they always do as they were pretty good at it.
Whilst getting ready for bed we heard a cricket in our roof again (they're quite noisy!) we saw him come out of the thatch roof and looked a little
lost. So with the help of a broom, a laundry basket and about ten minutes of planning we swept him into the basket and lobbed him out of the front door!
Day 82
Sunbathing, reading and relaxing all day. Then when I went in to get ready for the evening I made a shocking discovery whilst flushing the toilet - a lizard had got in the toilet and couldn't get out! I couldn't bring myself to get it out or kill it so I asked one of the resort staff to relocate him!
In the evening it was movie night again but we decided not to watch as we met two nice guys from England and America and sat chatting to them in the evening.
Day 83
Today the weather varied from sunny to cloudy so again we just relaxed which was nice. After we came in we were approached by the office lady who said that some other guests wanted to extend their stay so in order to do this she needed to shuffle some bookings and due to numbers they asked us if we wanted to upgrade for free until the end of
our stay. After discussing with Nick we decided we would, only to find out after we had agreed, it was for the last night only not for two nights as she had previously gave the impression of so we packed some of our things before dinner.
At dinner we met a nice German couple so after dinner we sat chatting with them and took part in another crab race. This time our entrants Bert and Ernie made it through the quarter finals but Bert did not make the final and Ernie although making it was tired and did not get placed!
Our final night in the wicker bure led to our worst animal encounter - some horrid bug with very long antennae. Sadly to say we had to kill it!
Day 84
We moved our belongings to the beach front bure with private sun loungers and deck on the beach. It was lovely but not really worth the hassle. Anyway we sunbathed all day and then took a walk around the beach in time to see all the kids come back from the local school on the boat.
In the evening the staff put on
a Meke - similar to the one we saw in the village and again everyone joined in at the end. It was great fun but made us feel really sad as it was the last night and we didn't want to leave.
Day 85
Our last day in paradise. We got up early, had breakfast and checked out. We then sunbathed for a couple of hours and then spent an hour snorkelling. The reef was only about 25 m off shore and although the coral wasn't as good as Australia, the fish were. We were even lucky enough to see a massive shoal of fish swim by, there were thousands of them it was so cool. I can now say I am completely at one with the fish!
After lunch we got back on the boat and the staff sang a Fijian good-bye song on the beach whilst we pulled away from paradise. Before we knew it we were back in the hotel near the airport preparing for our flight the next morning to New Zealand.
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nicki
non-member comment
AMAZING
Fiji looks awesome! cant believe some of those bugs, very surprised Nick was able to get rid of them on his own haha! Looks like your having a fantastic time im still very jealous! See you soon enjoy NZ x