Advertisement
Published: January 4th 2009
On the buses
We take the 'naturally' A/C local bus into downtown NadiWe started our Fiji adventure at a hotel called Aquarius, smack bang on the beach at Nadi Bay, a stone's throw away from Nadi Town and the airport. The hotel itself, nothing to write home about, and the beach even less so (dirty, grey sand littered with rubbish and the odd stray dog wanting to be your best friend). Knowing that we only had to endure this for a couple of nights before our real Fiji adventure began (hopping between the idyllic Mamanuca and Yasawa islands) we made the best of it and relaxed in one of the many dual berth hammocks strung up between unsuspecting palm trees, dotted about the place. We even ventured into Downtown Nadi which was much less dirty, frenetic and intimidating than most people made out- it was a breath of fresh air compared to some of the places we'd visited over the last 10 months. Even the touts trying their best to flog you something were super friendly.
The staff in Aquarius (for the most part) seemed to have their heads and screwed on and as we swiftly shifted into 'Fiji time' we made the fatal mistake of booking our next 2 weeks of
Islands ahoy!
On the Yasawa Flyer- passing the tiny southern Mamanuca islands island hopping through the tour desk at the hotel. With the fatigue of traveling thousands of kilometers over the last few weeks weighing heavily on our shoulders, we gave in and booked all accommodation, travel, transfers and food (always included when you paid for a room on the islands) via Aquarius. We hadn't taken such steps in all our time away but during a moment of weakness we gave in. It all started out well...
The big boat (Yasawa Flyer 2) ran a ship shape daily schedule, transporting passengers from the mainland, across to the Mamanucas, Yasawas and then back again- all in a very well organised manner (very impressive and very un-Fijian). We started at the northern-most island in the Yasawa chain, Nacula, at a place called Nabula Lodge. The reception was a little icy to say the least and lunch was dreadful. As all meals were included and you basically had to eat what you were given (or you went without), whenever the drum was banged, we contemplated the weight we'd lose on a plate of cabbage and a bread roll for the next 3 days that we'd be residing there. The room was also pretty basic
Home for the night
Our first taste of island life at Nabula Lodge, on the island of Nacula (lots of tarantula sized spiders living on our bathroom ceiling) but we made do and did what any self respecting traveler would do- we broke out the Bounty Rum and headed for the beach.
The people were the only real saving grace of the place- the other travelers and the odd staff member- the rest, we soon realised, were only interested in you as long as you were spending money, and considering we could stay in Thailand (or any SE Asian country for that matter) for the same price and live like royalty, we figured we'd already spent enough. It was here that we met Fabio and Signe (a top Italian/Danish couple) and also Andrew and Adam (some cool lads from Portsmouth) as well a couple of other friendly chaps and chapesses. We whiled away the hours on a few occasions while swapping traveler stories from our repertoires.
At the end of our 3 night stay at Nabula Lodge we were picked up by the Yasawa Flyer and made our way to White Sandy Beach Resort on the island of Naviti. We consoled ourself with the fact that our little band of buddies were only 2 day behind
Green, green grass of home
The resort next door on Naclua us, so we'd get to see them again. WSB was much better- the staff were friendly (we were welcomed with a traditional Bula song and obligatory coconut drink) and the bar in terms of standard had been raised somewhat. This was more like the Fiji we'd expected- everyone was smiley and no matter where we went we were always greeted by a friendly 'bula' and a wave. There was good snorkeling off the beach and I even went spear fishing with one of the locals Bookee, who dove down and skillfully harpooned some fish while I bobbed about on the surface watching him- really cool! On the penultimate day Fabio, Signe, Andrew and Adam all arrived and we had a ball. We managed to drink the bar dry (easier than it sounds) and listened to Signe and Fabio strum a tune or two on their guitar into the early hours. On the day we were to leave I agreed to sketch some of the WSB staff while we awaited the boat and ended up with quite a queue of models! We were sad to say goodbye as we'd made some really good friends and I'd even been adopted into the
Lovo-ly stuff
The staff dig our dinner (Lovo) out of the ground Fijian clan - they'd all renamed me Emosi (a traditional Fijian name that was obviously easier to pronounce?! and to recall than my usual moniker).
Next up was Kuata Eco Village on the island of Kuata and here's where things really started going wonky. It turned out that they had no record of our booking (even though we'd paid in full in advance with Aquarius). We ended up staying in a disused dorm room which wouldn't have been too bad but for the security night watchmen attempting to get in, on the hour for around 4 hours throughout the night. Sensing the impending mayhem, we decided to call ahead to check our upcoming bookings. As suspected the next resort, Waya Lai Lai also didn't have us booked in. We then spent the remainder of the morning trying to arrange other accommodation at short notice via mobile phone on an island with crappy phone reception. Eventually we managed to extend our stay at Walu Beach which was where we were meant to be staying after Waya Lai Lai. And at Walu Beach on Mololo Island we enjoyed a bit of luxury as it was a proper hotel/resort with a pool
High tide!
Kelly downs a whole bowl of Kava (brave girl) and a much better standard of room (made of concrete with hot running water). It was a tad weird however as a full array of staff (6-7 members) were looking after a maximum of 12 guests when the place was at its busiest. Despite the fact that it felt a little like a ghost town we took full advantage of the free use of kayak and snorkeling equipment and explored the surrounding coast.
After this we traveled to Mana Island and Mana Lodge and surprise, surprise were greeted with the same issue. Our stay here was pretty uneventful apart from some decent snorkeling. 2 days later we made our way back to the mainland with a list of complaints for Aquarius and a little disillusioned after our tiring 2 week excursion. And our grumbling worked, because not only did we get a free night's accommodation and free breakfasts we were reimbursed all the extra money we'd inadvertently paid to hotels over our island hopping adventure. We just hoped that the same kind of Fijian organisation wasn't going to be reflected in our booking at Octopus Resort for the upcoming Xmas period. Making the most of a few days to
The crew at Nabula Lodge
Post dinner Kava all round (yum!) prepare for Crimbo we did a spot of shopping and even managed to squeeze in a guided trek into a village nestled in the Nasouri Highlands where we drank the watery, mud-like liquid during our second Kava ceremony.
Once the 23rd of December was upon us, we took a 90 min bumpy boat ride across to Waya Island which housed the renowned Octopus Resort. We weren't disappointed- the place was pure luxury with super clean rooms, a great pool, amazing food, a picture postcard beach and water as warm and clear as a bath. Plus it was run as efficiently as any 5 star hotel. The snorkeling was among some of the best I think we've ever done with an array of marine life and corals just 10 metres from the sand. Kelly had certainly picked the right place for Christmas! Again we met some really cool people - mainly Brits and Aussies but also a very well traveled American guy who had bought the trip to Fiji as a birthday gift for his old dear. Throw in a feast of an Xmas dinner, gifts from the Octopus staff, a Fijian church service on Xmas morning drinking 'till dawn
and a highly evolved plastic tiger, and it all made for an unforgettable Christmas. The place was really special and we had an excellent couple of days there. The ride back on boxing day wasn't as bad as the transfer there so we managed to keep our breakfasts down, in spite of still being somewhat intoxicated from the night before.
Fiji was a really interesting place. The mainland was really beautiful and very green and rugged in places. The islands that we saw ranged from simplistic and often ill-maintained (some of the villages didn't have proper waste management) to true tropical paradises with unsurpassed sand, water and underwater life. The best thing however I think was the people- the Fiji Indians are a little forceful and overpowering (well they're Indians I guess, it goes without saying) and the Fijians are just a joy. With only one or 2 exceptions we were always greeted with smiles and a warm welcome of 'bula' whether we were traveling on a bus, taking a boat, walking into a village or just going for a wander. We'll have fond memories of the place, but next up, the prospect of my Birthday and New Year
Beach life
Looking south from Nabula Lodge in Sydney. Watch this space...
Advertisement
Tot: 0.132s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 15; qc: 53; dbt: 0.0542s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
