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Published: July 23rd 2006
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FIJI
Saturday, 6 May 2006 - Tuesday, 9 May 2006 As predicted by the Lonely Planet Guide to Fiji (thanx Tim) I was bombarded with travel agents as soon as I passed customs...not having anywhere to stay I was taken to one of the offices where I was pretty much given one hostel option for a place in Nadi & 2 island options. Just coming off a night flight I didn't stop to think that it was a bit weird and so went with the recommendations. The Nadi hostel (BTW it's called Western Hostel & is best avoided) was sooooo gross! The staff were so friendly but that's pretty much the only good thing it had. As I had pre paid 4 nights I was pretty much stuck but managed to pass the days by reading the Bourne Identity.
Wednesday, 10 May 2006 - Friday, 26 May 2006 After that I spent 2 weeks on Malolo Island which was awesome! Walu Beach resort is pretty chilled and so my days were spent reading books on the beach & at night chatting to the loads of backpackers hanging out there. Such cool people. Ate a few coconuts,
played loads of volleyball (I suck really badly), went kayaking & snorkelling, watched loads of sunsets &
managed to bet on the wrong hermit crabs and so always came last in the international hermit crab races! Apparently Mez is a boys name in Fiji and so all the locals new my name as they thought it was hilarious. I was getting a bit paranoid as I met one of the locals, Joe, playing volleyball and would often see him working on the beach and would then walk up to the bar to find him having changed his clothes serving drinks...mystery was solved 2 days ago...turns out Joe has a twin brother and conveniently they're both called Joe (Joel & Joseph) so @ least I was calling them by the right name even though I didn't know that it was 2 diff people... I didn't wanna leave but had to return to Nadi today & am now staying in a dorm @ Nadi Bay Hotel which is much nicer than the Western Hostel.
Was supposed to go to Mana Island today but spoke to so many people who had been there & all said that it was really dirty so
I decided to cancel.
Will be staying in Nadi till Saturday after which I join the FeeJee Experience ... should be good.
Saturday, 27 May 2006 I joined the FeeJee Experience...first stop was Nadi town and we had 45 minutes to explore...sounds short but that's all you need (plus I had been there a few times before so needed even less than that!).
Next up was Natadola Beach which is apparently rated one of the most beautiful beaches in the world...was stunning...only sad thing was the number of children trying to win the sympathy of the tourists by sharing their tragic stories...was heartbreaking until I realised they all used exactly the same story....
Next up was a traditional village we "happened" to arrive in the middle of a fundraising event and so were invited to join the Kava ceremony...not sure if I've shared my Kava tasting story yet...but the first taste was so horrible and I can't imagine why people would choose to try it more than once never mind drink it all the time!!!! You have to drink it all in one go and apparently it's an insult if you make a face
when you've finished...so you have to force yourself to finish it all and then wipe the absolute look of disgust off your face before sweetly smiling at the person who offered you the cup!
After that we stopped at the Sigatoka sand dunes where people were given the chance to sandboard down them...once I saw the height of the dunes I decided just to watch and have been regretting it ever since!!!!! The night was sent at Mango Bay Resort which is such a cool pace (we were treated to traditional dancing and a lovo dinner) also met some of the people
preparing the resort for the next season of Celebrity Love Island (starts soon in the UK)....
Sunday, 28 May 2006 Started off with a rainforest hike...it took us about 2 hours to get to our destination and 2 members of my group were sooooooo dirtyy...they kept leading the way and would slip on the muddy patches which would warn the rest of us to be careful over those spots...they never caught on that they were being used and so the rest of us stayed remarkably clean... the hike ended at a pool which feeds
into a river and so we got to tube down the river to a waterfall...after that we were sardined into longboats for the trip back to the bus... The night we stayed at the Raintree lodge close to Suva...the accommodation was pretty cool except for the minor detail of only one bathroom in a dorm that slept 10 people...and we had only one hour before dinner...with a strict schedule of 6 minutes of bathroom time per person we managed to get ready.
Monday, 29 May 2006 We were supposed to visit the local orphanage in Suva but due to prior arrangements we were unable to go...we were all pretty gutted! Instead we went to a village where we were "treated"to yet another Kava ceremony...the girls were then taught how to weave bracelets out of leaves while the boys got to help on the farm...after that we were taught how to make simple dish...which involved boling taro leaves in coconut milk and it was delicious. It seems that in Fiji women absolutely submit to men and don't seem to have any independence...the male attitude is also quite shocking...we asked our guide if he was married and he replied
önly when I'm at home" and he was dead serious! After that we went Billibill rafting (rafts made out of reeds)...so much fun although not too great for those who intended to stay dry!!!! After that we drove to Volivoli Beach resort which is sort of in the middle of nowhere but absolutely beautiful! As I had some time to kill I decided to spend 3 nights at Volivoli instead of going straight back to Nadi.
Tuesday, 30 May 2006 I spent relaxing...at dinner I met 3 Australians who had just bought a piece of land (lease hire as non indigenous Fijians can not buy land in Fiji) and are going to be building a new resort...they invited me to join them on a short boat trip the next day as they were going to see the land from a different angle...it was great...got to see some of the really small island just off the main land and got to swim off a private beach!!!! When we got back the main land a reporter from Fiji One (the only Fijian tv station) was waiting and wanted to interview the main guy about his interest in Fiji... while
we waited for the interview to finish we sat
in the water while the fish nibbled our toes (really)...
Wednesday, 1 June 2006 Thursday the 1st I joined a new FeeJee experience group and we travelled
back to Nadi...on the way we stopped at mudpools and had some time to
really lather up....which is why one of the photos reflects some really dirty people!
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Saranne
non-member comment
Wow!
Hey Nimsie! loving reading your travels - so good to hear what's going on and am ab jealous you're still at it and i am back home at uct trying to study... love Saamie