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Published: September 9th 2006
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Kava Ceremony
The chief of the village preparing the Kava 'Bula' Everybody......I don't know if I have the energy to write this as I am now fully integrated into Fijian life thus working on what is known as 'Fiji Time' (it's like the manana syndrome of Spain but even slower paced). And when you have very little to do but sunbath and snorkel, Fiji Time is the Right Time! Apart from being horizontally laid back, the Fijians are also the friendliest people we have ever met - you cannot walk past a Fijian without them saying 'bula' to you (hello/life/welcome) and soon enough we were 'bula-ing' with the best of them.
We arrived to Nadi, a main port and base for travelers, and went straight to the travel desk to arrange catching the ferry to the islands. The following morning we boarded the big yellow vessel and headed far out in to the Pacific Ocean. During the 3 hour journey out to the Yasawa Islands, we actually saw whales coming up for air! Our destination was Naviti, one of the larger of the Yasawas and known for its' long sandy beaches. We were not disappointed - we lay on the beach and didn't have a single soul within 20 yards
Yasawa Islands
One of the many islands which form part of the Yasawa Islands group of us. We pitched our tent on the island (yes, that is the same tent I purchased on the Ebay for 5 Pounds!) although it was so warm that most nights we actually slept on hammocks strung between palm trees under the stars. Out on the islands life is very simple - there are no roads therefore no cars, electricity is run off of generators and switched off at around 11pm every night and the villages are made up of very few people therefore general pollution is minimal - all of this results in the stars appearing so bright here that you can make out every consolation with the naked eye - even the Milky Way is clearly visible. As beautiful as this all sounds, and most certainly was, the 5 pound tent did not stand up to the torrential rain that hit us one night and we found ourselves in an inch of rainwater, sleeping bags saturated and not a dry garment to be had.
Our days on the islands were spent sunbathing, reading, and snorkeling. The Fijian Islands are surrounded by coral reefs and the fish here are plentiful and so vibrant, we even saw a Clown
Visit to the village
Children from the local nursery Fish (that's a Nemo). However, I did manage to detach myself from a hammock long enough to take a trip to a local village with a few other tourists. We were met by the chief of the village and presented with a traditional Kava ceremony which is customary when entering into Fijian villages. This involved the chief making up a bowl of muddy coloured water out of a root plant and then passing a cup full to each person, who is to clap on receiving it, shout 'bula' and then down it, followed by 3 further claps. Kava is non-alcoholic but after several rounds it will leave the drinker's mouth feeling numb and they will begin to feel rather relaxed. Most of the tourists were none too keen on the Kava but I have had far worse in shots so I was more than willing to participate in another helping. After the ceremony and a walk around the village, we visited the local nursery school which was a very basic shed-like building. Despite it being a Saturday, all of the children came along with us and showed us their handiwork, most of which was made out of rubbish as stationary
Fijian Sunsets
Naviti Island - Nic & a local girl, Annie is hard to come by. They were really lovely children and are all learning English as it is the official language of Fiji, so they sung us the hymns that they had been taught. Should you wish to send any stationary to the nursery, it would be gratefully received: Somosomo Kindergarten. C/O Gaunavou Primary School, P.O. Box 3980, Lautoka, Fiji Islands.
After a week on Naviti Island, Garry had been fully adopted by the locals who run the resort, and would regularly sing the Bula Song to the new arrivals and was even invited to the Manager's house to eat. On leaving, he was given an official leaving ceremony and was presented with a funky Fijian shirt, a garland and a hat made of palm leaves. He looked like an average American tourist. Our time on Naviti Island was enhanced by the fantastic crowd of people we met - big love to Jennie, Wil (aka JK), Wilson, George, Polski, Sacha & Bambi - the most cosmopolitan mix of Brits, Polish, Slovenians, a Hungarian and a Canadian who all came together for a game of Murder in the Dark after 11pm one night!
After Naviti, we took the ferry
Sunset Resort
The bar at Sunset Resort, Waya Island during the calm of day..... to Waya Island and pitched our tent at Sunset Resort and spent five days doing very little until we were thoroughly lead astray by Erika & Cormac, a Canadian couple on their honeymoon, who got us and the rest of the resort dancing on tables and swinging off of the rafters (this is not an exaggeration - Garry tight-rope walked the rafters of the bar, but do not fear Mother, he is alive and well). The party was a full on rave and reminded me of Bora Bora beach in Ibiza.
The four of us felt that Sunset Resort could not possibly handle another night of such joviality, so we headed to Bounty Island, made famous by Celebrity Love Island, and full of the pretentiousness that the celebs appear to have left behind. After two weeks of very basic islands, this felt like being checked in to a five star resort so we quickly made our exists. However, we did manage to kayak around the island and saw the Love Shack where a majority of the program was filmed and by pure coincidence, Jayne Middlemiss turned up with some friends to spend the day and see here old haunt.
Circus Acts at Sunset Resort
After several beers, Garry thought he should join the Russian Circus After saying goodbye to the newly weds, we found ourselves back on the main island and began to cruise around to see what the place had to offer. We spent a few days in Suva, the capital, although we were out of town near the national park of Colo-I-Suva. Our days here were filled with walks around the park with friends, Alison and Lee, whom we had previously met up with on Waya Island, swimming in the natural pools formed by the many waterfalls. Garry even caught a fish at from the river at the lodge we were staying at and the chef cooked it for us in coconut milk and garlic.
From Suva, we headed north to RakiRaki in an over-crowded bus, which clambered over unmade roads, barely squeezing past on-coming traffic and acrossing bridges that had surely claimed a few victims in the past. If that wasn't punishment enough, the driver had Hindi music cranked up so loud that that I finally gave up listening to the Counting Crows on my MP3 and started bopping my head to the Bangra beats. After our four hour ordeal, we took a boat to another island called Nananu-I-Ra where
Sunset Resort, Waya Island
The clear sea was home to a vast array of coral reef and brilliant fist we camped for two nights. We took a walk one morning uphill through long, overgrown grass and tawny bushes until we descended upon the most stunning beach we have ever seen. Once on the beach, we realized we were the only people there and we remained that way for four hours! It was glorious.
Continuing our full circle around the island, we headed to Lautoka which we used as a base to visit the Koroyanitu National Park, where we hiked up a mountain in blazing heat through grassland and dense forests. After the three hour ascent, we reached the top only to find that it had become far too cloudy to get any kind of view. At time like this, you wonder why you are not sat on a beach sipping an ice cold Fiji Bitter. The following day we took the bus back to Nadi, our original starting point, where the adventure had begun nearly one month ago.
After much debating, we decided not to extend our stay in Fiji so tomorrow we leave for New Zealand with heavy hearts. However, I have a distinct feeling we will both be back one day as it is the
Bounty Island
The island which is infamous for Celebrity Love Island most beautiful place either of us have seen and had the pleasure to spend time in.
Since nearly half of all Fijians are Indo-Fijian, whose ancestors where brought to Fiji by the English during the colonization to work on the sugar plantations, curry is readily available and very reasonably priced, so you can imagine that we are truly in our element here.
As a wise Fijian once said, Fiji stands for
Fun
In
Jungle
Island....and I would say he was spot on!
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Jo
non-member comment
Hey Nic and Gaz. I've just spent about half an hour reading all of your journals, it's fab to keep up with your gossip! I got abit sad reading parts I was involved in (this may have something to do with the fact it's saturday night and I'm at work!) and also Fiji cos some of the Fijians in your photos I met while I was there. It's good you're still enjoying yourself - I'm so jealous not to be there too. Hopefully me and Fiona will make it across to Spain sometime after you return - Garry's bitches once more! Take cary guys. x x x x x x x x x