the Feejee experience

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Hi all

Well I know its been ages since I last updated and thats just been because I haven't had a chance due to where I have been. So I'm going to update on the Feejee experience now and my time on the islands soon when Im not so tired after a long flight where I landed before I took off.

The day I last updated I spent sitting by the pool and generally doing nothing, relaxing after New Zealand really. The next morning (my birthday) was the start of the Feejee experience. I got picked up at 8am from the hotel and met Natasha whilst waiting for the bus. Our guide Anna and driver Willie seemed really quiet a bit disinterested really. We picked up a few more people then headed to Nadi town centre and wondered round the town for a bit and too the fruit and veg market where there were foods I have never seen before. After that we headed to the beach (but did stop at a police station for a toilet stop much to the amusment of the one rather large police officer there.) for a bbq but before that me and some Belguim people from our bus (soon to become known as team Belguim) did some bodyboarding. Anna and Willie cooked a good bbq though the beach was nothing to special and the tide was in. After lunch we headed a village and had a bit of a look round and Anna explained about a fijian village. I think this is when she started to relax a bit with our group and she started making jokes. It was then on to some sandunes to do some Sandboarding. On the way to the sand dunes we were told to keep watching the scenary as it was meant to be spectacular but I didn't find it too spectacular maybe its because I had just come from New Zealand where the scenary is amazing the whole way through.
Once we got to the sand dunes a few of us headed up with the boards, me third up, and everyone who was up there not wanting to go because they were getting a bit scared though. Not me though I get straight up there move to the middle lie down on the board and push myself over the edge, however half way down I find myself heading to the side of the dune into the undergrowth unable to stop I go hurtling into the greenary do a couple of quite spectacular (by all accounts) rolls and come to a quite undignified stop at the bottom with sand everywhere and having done less then nothing to calm those down who were waiting. However from watching my mistakes everyone moved to the far side of the dune and managed to make it down without coming off till the bottom. I had a few more goes and managed to do that as well though I was finding sand for days afterwards, but had great fun doing it.
It was then on the way to our first overnight stop in Mango Bay. We had one dorm for everyone on the bus. Then just before dinner we headed down to the beach front for a Karva ceromony which is a traditional Fijian drink which tastes like how you think muddy water should and makes your tounge go slightly numb. At dinner time I had a nice surprise of the entertainers of the resort singing Happy Birthday to me and instead of a birthday cake a beer bottle with a candle on the top. The entertainment for the night was crab racing where one girl chose the crabs that came 1st, 2nd and 3rd. But it was a really good way to get to know people and we all had a fun night.

The next day we were doing an adventure trek through the Fijian rainforest and as you might expect in a rainforest it rained. I wasn't too good at this trek which went on for about 3 hours and also involved walking through a stream along with trying to walk up and down muddy hills. Even Anna fell over. After the trek we all had lunch on the river bank and then jumped in rubber tubes and floated down the river, well floated until the boat that brought the tubes up went past when we all grabed onto that and got pulled down the river. Then after a while we had to jump into the boats for the last bit back to the bus, and some people chucked Anna overboard (hehe) but she was having fun at this point. Then we got changed and headed for the hostel at Suva. We got shown briefly round Suva, then checked into the hostel and headed to dinner and then to watch Indiana Jones at the local Cinema.

Day three of the Feejee experience was one of my favouriates. We went into town to start with and Suzane ended up losing her wallet (the first bit of her and Matts money nightmare), but Anna and Willie were absolutley brilliant about it and took her to the police station and looked afyter her in a way I don't think the Kiwi or Oz buses would have. then we headed to another village to look round and take part in another Karva ceromony (I ended up having 4 bowls and I really don't like it that much but its rude to decline) and people asked the village chief about the village including things about Fijis canabalistic past. Then we went to a school in the Villahe. This was really fun to go to. The children gave us a rendition of a song they learnt at school complete actions, so we thought we would repay the favour with "If your happy and you know it" however it lasted one verse and I kinda feel the children only clapped out of politeness. After looking round the school we had a quick game of footie with the children which was good to see them enjoying themselves with us as apose to us just looking round the school. Though one of the children did manage to kick the ball through a school window, so I guess somethings never change no matter where you are in the world. After the school visit we went billibill rafting down a little stream into the river (some how the raft managed to float 2 inches under the surface) and we played some games in the river (by this point the group was really bonding). Then we headed to the hostel for the night at Volivoli beach. Where we head some games organised by Sasha (the cordinator at the hostel) who is the campest person I have met on this trip, he got everyone involved then we went down to the beach for a bonfire but not before Willie had got really drunk and told us how much he loved us all, with Sasha looking on saying "oh no not again".

The last day of the Feejee experience was a late start at midday (well nearer one by the time we left) we a had a lot of miles to do and just the one activity which was mud pools and hot springs. We got there about 4 and all slowly got in except the four memebers of team Belguim who jumped in. The mud pools were first and we all got mud everywhere (great fun) then it was in the hot springs which were absolutley gorgeus after a week of cold showers. Then it was back to the hostel (after saying bye to a few people) and I just watched a film that night and got ready for the Islands

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