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Published: August 9th 2008
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I thought we’d sleep in all morning but actually we were too excited as we wanted to get up and explore. By 8.30am we set off along the beach to check out the resorts, restaurants and watersport centres. Our bit of beach was lovely with good snorkelling, and a couple of minutes walk along Muri Beach was a beautiful wide stretch of sand with a clear blue lagoon.
We checked our a few places to eat, and priced up hiring canoes, windsurfers and mountain bikes and then headed to buy some provisions at the supermarket.
We were shocked at how expensive everything was, as everything is imported from NZ. A Mars bar was about £1.10 and a tin of beans about £2. Also, much to Matt’s annoyance there was very little meat available and what was there was frozen and very expensive. He resorted to looking in the freezers at simple things like fish fingers but even these were £7 a pack! So we just bought the necessities (bread, wine, water, pasta and a jar of sauce) and took the road route back. We came across a second shop and were able to buy some eggs so at least
that was breakfast sorted.
We almost bought a really big bag of what we thought was unripe passion fruit or similar but luckily I checked as they were green tomatoes! They wouldn’t go quite so well on our muesli.
By the time we got back to our villa it was raining and the wind had got up so we made ourselves a feast of beans, eggs and toast (in the absence of any bacon or sausage) and then went back to bed to catch up on some more sleep. I woke up mid afternoon and took a long walk along the beach while Matt carried on sleeping. I walked the opposite way this time and waded through the sea which was lovely temperature like a luke warm bath. The wind was still strong but it wasn’t cold.
This is definitely the most beautiful place I’ve visited before. The beaches here are big and sweeping, edged with coconut palms and have a backdrop of lush green mountains. From our beach we can see three small islands full of palms. But you want to know the best thing? The beaches are empty. It’s August - peak season - and
there are resorts on the beach but everywhere is peaceful and quiet. Today on the beach we’ve maybe seen about 10 people walking along and that is it all day. There is nobody laying in the beach in view of our villa! It makes it feel like this really is a piece of private paradise just for us.
In the shallows I saw lots of fish and crabs, including a small spiky looking fella who I watched burrow into the sand. He was completely hidden and looked like he’d do some damage if stepped on. I was glad I was wearing my sandles and made a mental note that it was probably better to carry on wearing my sandles into the sea rather than my wet suit shoes as spikey fish would pierce right through them.
I went back to the villa and checked out the book shelf which was for guests. I spotted a book by James Redman which was right up my street so then I settled into reading that on the balcony. The irony was that the book was about accepting co-incidences in life and following them in order to receive enlightenment, and seeing this
book was a co-incidence in itself so I felt I had to read it!
The villa was definitely a good find. The lady who runs it is really efficient, it’s spacious with a table and chairs inside and on the balcony and there are basic cooking facilities meaning people on a budget like us can cook for themselves. Compared to Orange Manor Hostel where we stayed in LA it is like a palace but then again it costs £70 per night compared to £42 per night. The other places to stay along Muri Beach were more like £100 per night and it was only cheaper because the shops are a bit of a walk away (20 mins, or 30 mins if you‘re carrying heavy bags!) but this is fine as it means we’ll get more exercise!
We were both in bed asleep by 8pm as the jet lag was kicking in.
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