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We made it! Two weeks after Ed jetted off to Fiji, I’d finished my uni assignments, got my travel insurance, bought my flippers and snorkel and did all those thousand other things you tend to leave until the last minute before heading overseas, and finally I was on an aeroplane approaching Nadi, Fiji. My first experience of Fiji time was as soon as I arrived at the airport, as Ed wasn’t there yet. His 45 minute trip to the airport had turned into 3 and half hours on the local buses, but luckily he arrived there soon after I did. Several sweaty hours in a couple of local buses and a taxi later (accompanied by a soundtrack of UB40 the whole way), we arrived at Voli Voli Beach Resort on the north of the island, to be greeted by a chorus of welcomes from the other AYADs (Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development).
Now this was travel brochure Fiji: palm trees, mango daiquiris and coral reefs a few hundred metres off shore. The next morning we went out on a boat to the reefs for some snorkelling, which was fantastic. Jumped in the water, goggles on, and the first thing to be seen beneath me was a shark. A white-tipped reef shark, but a bloody big one! It nosed around below for a bit and then glided off. There was plenty of bright fish to be seen; my favourites were the ones that looked like rainbow paddle-pops, and also clams and lots of coral. We also did an introductory dive, where I got over the feeling of being slowly buried alive underwater and actually really enjoyed it. Massive schools of fish suddenly changing direction overhead is an incredible sight, and we also saw a spotted sweetlips and coral that changes colour when you touch it. No sharks this time, but a large school of barracudas passed us by as we were rising to the surface.
The weekend was a good opportunity to get to know some of the AYADs, as most of them were there, and they seem like a great bunch of people; I’m looking forward to hanging out with them more in Suva. Finally though it was time to head back to Suva, and discover the town I’ll be living in. My first day in Suva I spent in equal parts wandering around to get my bearings and hiding in internet cafes from random men who wanted to accompany me on these wanderings. Apparently I had a large flashing neon sign on my forehead saying ‘Aussie girl in search of Fijian husband/local tour guide.’ The best pick-up line had to be from the guy who said he used to live in Sydney, but did something really bad and got deported back to Fiji?! It was a lot easier though once I started to get to know my way around, and I could walk looking like I knew where I was going. More descriptions of Suva and our house to follow.
Tomorrow I’m starting volunteer work at Marie Stopes International, a non-government organization working in women’s reproductive health, helping out with a newsletter and press releases and so on. I gather the workplace culture in Fiji is very different from Australia, so we’ll see how it goes!
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non-member comment
Welcome to the Pacific!
Hi guys, Sounds like you went through an experience at/leaving the airport quite similar to my recent one. I don't think we had UB40 but it was something very close. Glad to read that you've already hit the beaches and started snorkeling. Looking forward to more tales of (mis)adventure in Fiji.