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Published: December 28th 2007
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Christmas in Paradise with Friends.
Writing a day by day travel blog for Fiji was a consideration however after the first few days of laying in a hammock and doing very little I have reconsidered and decided to write more of a summary of a brilliant two weeks in paradise.
I arrived in to Nadi airport on the 13th December and took the advice of the travel guides and made straight for the Yasawa Flyer, a catamaran that serves the Mamanuca and Yasawa island groups. My first stop was Waya island and the Octopus resort recommended in the Lonely Planet. A good choice with a very relaxed friendly atmosphere, a good clean dormitory and first class food. The resort is located in a sheltered bay with the open air bar and dining room fronting onto the fabulous beach and a great pool just to the side. The staff all came from the village just over the hill on the opposite side of the island and were a friendly bunch always sporting a warm smile even if the service was a true definition of ‘Fiji Time’ All the new guests were treated to a welcoming Cava ceremony which
involves a lot of clapping and drinking Cava which is the root of the pepper plant mixed with water to produce what looks like muddy water that gives you a tingling tongue and as later discovered a very chilled out experience if consumed in sufficient quantities.
The days at Octopus mainly involved a beach, hammock and the occasional visit to the pool. Oh, I did complete my PADI open water dive certification which I started back in the UK. The dive sites were great with masses of hard and soft coral with thousands of wonderfully coloured fish in every shape and size you could imagine. It is like exploring a whole new world and I must give a special thank you to Jodie who is the resident dive instructor and not forgetting Emily from Canada who was my ‘dive buddy’
I met up with some great people at Octopus and we had some great nights. In the first few nights our table consisted of Lee and Angelina from Manchester, Sarah and Nadine, two young German girls and team Canada which was made up of Gerrard, Natalie and Nadia. We were treated to a hilarious quiz night
with Jim from the resort office dressed up in a raunchy red dress providing the laughs. We were treated to the “Bula” dance the following night which was performed by the resort staff however the beach party was cancelled due to rain! (what in Fiji?) Nadine’s birthday night followed and the group disbanded as everybody left only to be replaced with another group. There was Phil and Lucy and Ross and Ida all from London although Ross was Welsh and Ida was Swedish. The nights that followed were great and in particular the night of the staff Christmas party where we all had a great time and assumed the form of animals (don’t ask) I was a Cow, Ross the Water Buffalo, Ida the Duck, Phil the Horse and Lucy the Crab. We were joined by Chris the Donkey, Alicia the Monkey and Emily the Cat. Needless to say the night was an absolute riot and we all drank far too much. The next night took a similar theme and we were joined by James and Jenny but if am honest I just can’t remember what animal form they took. Overall it was eleven nights of great company and brilliant
laughs, I would like to thank all involved for making my eleven nights at Octopus such a blast.
I finally left Octopus on Christmas Eve after twice extending my stay there. It was back on the Yasawa flyer down to Beachcomber Island which looks like the perfect picture postcard and is renowned for being the main party island for the next three nights. This was a real culture shock with a 100 bed dormitory! (yes ONE HUNDRED!!) And a real worn around the edges feel to it. I was seriously thinking I must be mad leaving a place like Octopus for this. However these thoughts were soon forgotten as the night began and I met up with Katie and Catharine whom I had briefly met up with at Octopus. In the gang was, and I am sorry if I miss anyone: Colin, Dave, Johnny, Clint, Ryan, Caroline, Sarah, Maria and Lucia. We all had a great night and it continued for the next two days. I did feel a little lonely on Christmas day especially when I rang home and everyone was opening their presents and having a great family day but I suppose that’s the price you
pay to go travelling. I took a break from the partying on Boxing Day to go Scuba diving with sharks. It was very surreal to be swimming just feet away from these beautiful creatures (Grey Reef Sharks and White Tip’s) and we followed this with a dive on a gorgeous reef which was awash with life, Thousands of fantastic fish of which my favourites had to be the little Nemo’s which had such a large attitude, brilliant. It was then on with the party for a final night to polish off a great three days. I really did feel like I had made some good friends who I am sure I will see again. My time in Fiji ended with a night back in Nadi before an early flight down to Auckland in New Zealand.
I know this part of the blog is not as comprehensive as previous entries and now that I am back in the land of the internet I will make more of an effort to keep a daily account of my happenings but hey, it was Christmas and I suppose I am on holiday so you will all have to forgive me. Ha!
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Mark Ward
non-member comment
You do not know what you are missing here
Hi Dave I cannot see what all the fuss is about. Christmas on Fiji, when you could be here in Manchester! How could it possibly compare dark nights at 16.00 hors, constant rain, low temperatures and nothing to see. You must really be missing all of these benefits? Keep the blogs going. Best wishes Mark