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Published: April 24th 2009
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9th APRIL 2009 - ARRIVAL ON ROBINSON CRUSOE ISLAND!!
On the Robinson Crusoe bus we headed into Nadi where the driver stopped to allow us to get some much needed cash out! The queue at the ATM was a joke...I think the whole population of Fiji had turned out to get cash! I hate queuing but no choice! We then nipped into the supermarket for some vodka and jumped back on the bus! Nadi seemed very busy...lots of hustle and bustle and I didn't like it very much...glad we only had a quick stop there! The bus took us to the boat dock and we waited there for the boat to arrive. Once again the boat was on Fiji Time and so we were waiting there for a while before it came. Seemed weird as Nat and I were the only 2 travellers getting on the boat. I hoped that didn't mean that the island would be empty! We put it down to the fact that we had caught a late boat! The ride was very different. We felt like we were in Africa rather than Fiji as we were cruising what could only be described as a crocodile river! The
crocodiles were actually big logs but shush as that dosn't sound quite so exciting. We eventually made it to the end of the river and into open sea. The Island was not far out from the main land and once we hit the sea we were there in no time!
The island looked different to all the others we had seen. It was like a little jungle with a pirate’s village in it! Exactly like you would expect from the book! As we got nearer to the beach we could see all the staff lined up and singing us a welcome song! Love the Fijian traditions! As I stepped off the boat I got a good feel about the place straight away! At reception we checked in and handed in our voucher - not as straightforward as it should have been!!
It turned out that though we had booked to stay for 4 nights (pay 3, stay 4) there had been a mix up! The island owner’s son (yes the island is owned by an Aussie billionaire) was getting married that weekend and all normal guests had to leave on the Saturday as the wedding guests would be
occupying all of the accommodation. Neither of us were happy as we had planned our time and would now be stuck with too many days on the mainland!! We complained but the lady on reception seemed vacant! No matter how much we tried to explain things to her she just kept saying 'but there is a wedding'. We knew there was a wedding...why on earth had the accepted our booking for 4 nights?!! I suppose you can't educate pork!! Eventually one of the Aussie owners came over and listened to us. He apologised for the mistake and said he would sort something out for us. It was start and we left it with him to sort out!
After being shown to our room we were taken on a tour of the island. The dorm room was ok...no bunks but a little dark. There was a pool which was cool, a big communal area and the toilet blocks which contained bucket showers. They were ace! You had to fill a bucket with water, hoist the bucket up on a pulley over your head and then turn the tap on at the bottom of the bucket. It didn't look appealing but
sure was novel!! I would hold judgment until I had experienced one!! The whole place seemed like a little community rather than a usual resort and we were islanders rather than guests! Liked it!!
Tea was at 7 and we joined a table with 2 Irish girls (Dee and Ashleigh), Thera (a girl from the Philippines) and Catherine (an English girl). Nice little group and as it turned out they had only arrived today too! The meal was nice...rice and a spicy meat and veg mix. They even had salad which made a nice change! I filled my plate once again and expanded my belly a little further...oh dear!! After tea we chatted about our travels. The Irish had been through South America and it sounded amazing...a future trip maybe?!! We then played some cards (using Nats dog cards and Ashleigh’s rather naughty ones) before heading in to the Pirates Den for the Kava welcome ceremony! Just can't seem to get away from the Kava!! We saw a rat running about whilst in there...not nice at all!! After the Kava ceremony it was games time. There was a lot of organised fun and activities on this island a little
like Mana....never time to get bored!! We were put in teams and played a passing coconut game (over the head and under the legs) and a passing bottle game (between the knees). We had to pass the objects down the line and then the back person ran to the front until each person had been. Funny stuff and a good way to get to know people! The last game was a dance/position game! I sat that one out and took some photos! Funny to watch but also not quite right when position '69' was called and 2 eight year olds were playing!! Inappropriate springs to mind!! No rest for the wicked and after the games the limbo came out! Not my best skill I must say and as it got lower I gave up! I wouldn't say I am a quitter but a few more yoga lessons needed before I can bend that far backwards!! Thera was amazing at it though and won hands down!! Think she had found her calling in life!!
After games we sat around and chatted some more. Some groups were playing drinking games and such but we didn't jump on that bandwagon! We just
had a social drink and got to know a few people. We managed to get some advice about Mexico from an Irish guy for when we go there which was a productive use of time. Can't believe how many Irish travellers you meet. More Irish travelling than actually living in Ireland....fact!! At around 11.30pm Nat and I called it a night and went to bed! I was looking forward to spending more time on Robinson Crusoe!!
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