http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Oceania , Fiji , Viti Levu en-us Fri, 05 Dec 2008 02:04:07 UTC Fri, 05 Dec 2008 02:04:07 UTC BulaWe've just spent 4 days and nights in Fiji. We had thought about going to Fiji on and off for a while but it was just weighing up the cost etc but luckily the cost of flights had gone down and down in various sales so we thought it had to be done as we are over this side of the world and we never may be this way again.After much researching on the net we booked a place called the Hideaw http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Coral-Coast/blog-346046.html Fiji Land of Smiles....So Nadi isn't really what you expect when you disembark the overnight flight to Fiji. For myself.. i guess i was expecting leis and flowers not the dull worn tiles of Nadi Airport. But on the outside it is a different story. Opening the door and getting smacked in the face by the heat of the tropics is one of my most vivid memories. I also remember the smiles of the Fijii http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/blog-342541.html Arrive in Fiji and get a 140 taxi to our resort yikes It's on the Coral Coast and we have our own private beach During our stay here Jen went snorkelling Hollie done jewellery making and had a massage we both done fiji cooking lesson and basket weaving. We visited the nearby village and school.We met Taz and all dressed up for an Indian festival they celebrate. We also go on a waterfall h http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Coral-Coast/Mango-Bay/blog-339491.html We arrived into Fiji looking forward to the sunshine after 6 weeks of coldness in New Zealand. Our first experience was the bus journey which took 2 and a half hours to arrive at our hostel. It was a rickety old fashioned bus with music blaring and everyone staring at us two as we were the only white people on the bus with loads of luggage. To make matters worse it was in the dark so we couldn' http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Coral-Coast/blog-338729.html We got up early for our flight and I went straight outside onto the terrace to check out the view. It was breathtaking. Since being in Fiji wersquove only been on small islands so to be in the middle of a dramatic mountain range was amazing. It was already hot and sunny even at 7am. I was sorry that we didnrsquot have longer to enjoy the place as we felt really at home there. Around the c http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/blog-337593.html It was an emotional goodbye. We could have easily stayed in Mana Lagoon for longer but we only had one day before our flight and we were also out of booze. After breakfast we checked out and waited for our boat to arrive. We had the goodbye song sung to us and then began the numerous goodbyes and email swaps At 11.30 the boat arrived and 16 of us boarded. It was a tight squeeze and as the back wa http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Nadi/blog-328317.html Well hopefully you are still reading the blog it has all been a bit quietWe have just got back from 10 nights in Fiji. A beatiful island with lovely people. We stayed in a 'bure' which means house just few metres from the beach. The resort had freat faciltities including a fabulous pool. The walk along the beach was amazing with a lovely cooling breaze a fabulous view and the gentle lapp http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Coral-Coast/blog-324548.html I was relieved to be leaving Chongrsquos Place. Stu had been kind in his description. It was a state there was clearly a lack of female presence for some time I donrsquot think the house had been cleaned for 2 years and there was a very dark atmosphere about it and I wonrsquot even mention the kitchen I am happy to experience basic living and have embraced it many times on this journey http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Natadola-Beach/blog-320736.html As we left the worldrsquos happiest nation the sense of dread overcame our thoughts the question was lsquoHow could we find another country that carries as much love for lifersquo With heavy hearts we read our in flight magazine and collected last minute research on a nation that is regularly mentioned when people speak of paradise but as both of us knew exactly what you see on a postcar http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Nadi/blog-319489.html We flew back to Fiji from Samoa for just a few days. How nice to be back in the land of Bula Just enough time to get another dive in and this was a doosey a shark feeding dive I was at first not sure if this was environmentally responsible. Seems that whenever humans upset the natural balance of things there's some critters that lose. Toby was afraid it would be like watching animals http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Coral-Coast/blog-310072.html July has been a busy month As soon as I got back from Nauru I met up with some friends visiting from Australia.First stop was Natadola Beach for the day. According to the sign on the Queens Rd its the 7th most beautiful beach in the world. Stocked up with roti parcels and a pineapple we had a great day just lying by the beach swimming in the blue water and catching up on all our gossip.The http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/blog-305714.html Nach unserem Inselhopping und einem krankheitsbedingten erlebnislosen Donnerstag brachen wir am Freitag zu einer Umrundung der Hauptinsel Fijis Viti Levu auf. Erster Halt war der Natadola Beach. Laut unserem Reisefuehrer und vielen Reisenden sollte dies der beste Strand Viti Levus sein. Wir waren jedoch ganz schoen enttaeuscht vom Strand. Gut nach dem Programm an Straenden das wir hinter un http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/blog-300777.html Sorry to leave with such a short note but the ship takes off in an hour or so. Here's some photos. My recruiting trip to Nadi was not as successful as last year's. Damn you Adam and JesperThe passage took 9 days last year so I should be talking to you in a week and a half or so. See you in Vanuatu http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/blog-297730.html After a somewhat repetitive 4 nights at Coral View we decided to spend two more nights at a different island in the Yasawa chain called Korovou based on the recommendation of a bunch of British and Aussie backpackers. Though the hotel was a bit more primitive than Coral View the bathroom looked like Abu Ghraib the place had a much funner atmosphere and the beaches and snorkeling were much be http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Coral-Coast/blog-296430.html Exit Strategy From New Zealand Rotorua To Taupo To Aukland To The SkyOn our second last day of New Zealand we had a few things to do so after browsing the town centre of Rotorua for an hour or two we headed back to Taupo as we needed to return a faulty product. Fortunately it wasn't far out of the way and we spent some more time in the Taupo centre. Hitting the road again in the afternoon w http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Nadi/blog-293790.html We arrived in Fiji to a bunch of grumpy airport workers Fiji the friendly country.. hmmm We got through immigration and customs and went to the Feejee Experience office to find that the Kiwi Experience and Feejee Experience office workers were rubbish and hadn't managed to book us on the bus for the following day as we had asked two weeks ago and that the bus was full we couldn't go until http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/blog-293770.html Since arriving in Fiji 3 days ago all we have really done is relax and enjoy the stunning scenery. The flight in was uneventful albeit with a little turbulence. Our first night was spent driving or driven to the resort by a friendly chatty driver. the road conditions were awful made worst by the heavy rain and strong winds. We were told that it would remain this way for the duration of our stay. http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Coral-Coast/blog-284897.html BULAthats hello in fijian. Well what a journey so far here in Fiji We've had possibly the worst week of rain iv ever experienced yet its still been sooooo great. We had a nice last week with darren and kate in sydney and had the great experience of meeting up with stacey herbert in sydney too. Stacey had just moved over for a year with her friend collette so we all met at the harbor and h http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Coral-Coast/blog-284614.html Hey allLived in Fiji for 5 years finished high school there on the main island Viti Levu in a town called Lautoka 20 minute drive from Nadi where the airport is located. If your planning on going to Fiji for a short trip 13 weeks I'd suggest that you spend as little time as possible on the main island as everything you hear or see when Fiji comes into mind is in the islands. Although if yo http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/blog-282887.html We had our first trip to the Pacific Islands in 2005 and got married in The Outrigger On The Lagoon Resort. The people and scenery was fabulous. We had a helicopter ride to Castaway Resort as part of the package and after the luxury we decided to backpack around Viti Levu for a week to see as much as we could in the last week. It was the start to many more trips to the beautiful Pacific Islands http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Coral-Coast/blog-280343.html I spent the Easter long weekend with the Rucksack Club in the Viti Levu highlands. This trip was to Heaven's Edge about 2 hours inland from Nadi. On Good Friday the plan was to walk from Nagado Village to Heaven's Edge. No one was really sure how long it would take to do the walk with estimates of somewhere between 2 hours and 9 hours We started off around 10am and it was a good but tiring wa http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/blog-275662.html 3 hours after leaving Auckland we touched down at Nadi Airport on the main island of Fiji in the South Pacific. First thing that hit us when we left the aircraft was the heat 30 degrees or more Our initial accommodation was pre booked by email a few days before at Smugglers Cove on Nadi Bay. Looks like the next 17 days here on these islands could be pretty tough nothing much to do maybe we w http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/blog-268476.html Bula everyone Lynda here we are having a WOW in Fiji I'm glad we didn't listen to all those people telling us to skip Fiji it's the best. The people are the friendliest we met and the most helpful nothing is too much trouble AND they make the best LIIT that we've come across although still not as good as the Hideout.We've met some lovely people here including a honeymoon couple called Ruth a http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Coral-Coast/blog-267845.html Day 178 Sunday 16 MarchI've managed to catch up on all my sleep and was feeling rather refreshed at 9am. All the resorts offer to arrange your transport for you but we think like Asia often it might be cheaper to do it yourself and take a local bus. I also think its more fun mixing with the locals. It turns out we were rightalthough because its a sunday the bus into town wasnt running. Net http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Coral-Coast/blog-262713.html Fiji har rundt 800.000 innbyggere og har vaert bebodd i mer enn 3000 aar. Landet bestaar av ca. 300 oyer hvor de to storste er Vitu Levu og Vanua Levu. Det offisielle spraaket er engelsk og det snakker saa godt som alle. De har ogsaa sitt eget spraak fijiansk og den store indiske delen av befolkningen snakker fijihindi ved siden av engelsk. Pga. av forsinkelsene paa flyplassen kom vi til Nadi http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Nadi/blog-254717.html This morning I got up at 7. Again the weather was scorching so I piled on the factor 25. We headed out on a jungle trek well.. those who could be bothered the first hour was just constant uphill and everyone was literally dripping with sweat as it was quite exposed with no shade. It had been raining constantly in Fiji for a week before I arrived so the whole path was very slippy and muddy with r http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/blog-251400.html The second half of our week comprised mostly of diving. As it had been two months since our last dives we were keen to get back in the water. We went with a local company and soon realised Fiji has very relaxed laws. As we are open water divers technically we are only allowed to go to a maximum depth of 18m. Our Fijian instructor however decided 29m seemed more suitable In diving terms this wou http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Coral-Coast/blog-247421.html Going to Fiji was a rather surreal experience as not only did it mean we had entered into our final two weeks of our world adventure but it also meant hopefully paradise. Our decision to base ourselves in one place for the entirity of our Fiji experience was not taken upon lightly but with dwindling funds and the essence based on chilling this seemed the most appropriate way. This choice could http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Coral-Coast/blog-247056.html Nothing much to report today got packed up checked out and headed to the airport turned out we had a 4 hour delay which is not good with a bit of a hangover so we hijacked 4 chairs each and went to sleep We did get a free lunch though which was good and met Gun and Leaf again They are stalking us I think ha ha So arrived in Auckland quite later than expected found some accom and headed th http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Nadi/blog-234578.html