Fiji Time! - Nadi and the Yasawa's

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Bula! (Hello in Fijian).

After 1 month in New Zealand Nik and I were ready the warmth of Fiji, situated 3 hours North East of NZ in the Pacific Ocean. Although having arrived at Christchurch Airport to find our transfer flight to Auckland and flight operator no longer existed, our dream of sunshine and sand seemed far from a reality! Our immediate shock and panic was calmed by a proactive instinct and determination to catch our second flight from Auckland to Nadi. Essentially we were not notified of our flight change and had no idea that our flight in fact departed 1 hour before we arrived at the airport! Subsequently we purchased the earliest flight to Auckland and just managed to catch our onward transfer to Nadi! Soon enough we arrived in Nadi, pronounced "Nandi," the gateway to the white sands and crystal waters of the Yasawa Islands. We were greeted by Muhammad from the Drift in Fiji hostel for our free airport pick up. The Drift in Fiji Hostel was voted the best hostel in Fiji and it wasn’t difficult to see why! Our hosts Donna and Muhammad defined the meaning of hospitality and made the hostel seem more like a home stay. After our frantic morning we were made to feel on "Fiji Time," a relaxed, chilled out pace that was perfect to wind down the last few weeks of our trip. Immediately they chopped open a coconut for us whilst Donna helped us plan and book our time on the Yasawa Islands. For $15/4.50 we got bed and breakfast, dinner, airport pick up and a welcome "Kava" session. (Kava is a traditional Narcotic Root Drink in Fiji). An old drunk Aussie Vietnam POW who was staying there also made for an entertaining night!

23rd July
So off we went on the "Awesome Adventures" South sea cruise ship heading to Nacula Island (Pronounced Nathula) which was 5 hours north of Nadi's port Denarau. We passed tiny spherical sand islands populated by only one resort and surrounded by tropical "cyan" waters! The further north we traveled the larger and more remote the islands seem to be, but no less exotic with textbook sandy beaches outlined by mustard grass hills and perimetered by blue seas with patches of darker corals. It was also nice to take a sneak peak of our future destination as we passed them when sailing further north. Our first resort was a 3 night stay at Safe Landing on Nacula. Nacula is a large island offering the opportunity to explore more than just your resort beach. It’s also inhabited by a Fijian village community for a more cultural experience. For the duration of our time at Safe Landing Resort we relaxed on the windy resort beach which offered ample coconuts to brake open for a light snack, we took a stroll to the calmer Oarsman’s Bay to get away from the strong gusts and we also interacted with the locals, particularly the children fishing, one of which temporarily stole our camera’s! On our final day at Safe Landing we visited a Fijian Church service, the church had a corrugated roof with open walls looking out upon a well kept palm lawn. The sermons and songs were all in Fijian but it was still easy to understand the emosions in the church with one women crying and wailing behind and at other times locals jigged up and down the lawn area to the sound of keyboard disco music! Safe Landing resort was "ok," We had a nice tiny dorm only 10 meters from the sea and were sent to sleep by the gentle crashes of the waves. Though unfortunately the food was poor and no way Ben portions! On one night the vegetarians were served Spaghetti Hoops, they had also run out of bottled water soft drinks and importantly, beer to many of the guests’ dismay! This wasn’t what we imagined but seemed understandable considering we were hours away from a super market! The evenings were awkward too! There was very little to do other than our entertainer, "Bross", attempting to make 5 minutes of fun with terrible dances and musical statues for about 10 people! It just wasn’t happening! Consequently we saw many people leave prematurely for more popular resorts but we stayed simply for the picturesque location. Safe Landing 6/10

Our next stop was the neighboring Tevawa Island where we had a brilliant 2 night stay at Coral View Resort. Well certainly better than Safe Landing Resort! As soon as we arrived we were warmly welcomed by the staff and some even remembered our names making for a more personal stay. Again our dorm offered sea views however the size and interior design resembled that of a busy pheado! Well, not that bad! A long tropical beach wrapped the southern corner of Tavewa which was easy walking distance from the resort and would have been perfect to relax on if it wasn’t for the strong winds channeling through the islands and local dogs prowling the shoreline and escorting you along the beach. Still, the double hammock outside our dorm room offered some respite and relaxation. The food at Coral view was tasty and plentiful and the evenings were far less awkward than at "Safe Landing." On the first night the local church School came in and performed a brilliant song and dance performance and the second night we were entertained by the staff with plenty of games. Coral View 8/10.

We left Coral View slightly windswept but happy from our stay and got back on the Yasawa Flyer in order to travel 2 hours south to Manta Ray Resort for a 2 night stay. The dorms were spot on, there were around 34 in the room but beds were segmented into blocks of 4. The trouble was that they messed our booking up on the first night and so Nik and I slept at the end of the room rather than in a small block! We soon forgave the resort when we tasted their gourmet food! Much of our time at Manta Ray was spent on either of the resorts two beaches depending on the direction of the wind! We also got involved with some volleyball action during which I comically tripped over a deadwood ornament resulting in a cut the length of my arm! I also took a kayak across the channel to explore a neighboring island. Manta Ray's second beach looked westward over the Pacific Ocean which set a perfect stage for a colorful sunset which decorated the soft ocean clouds in reds, yellows, and purples. On the first evening at our resort we watched a Fijian Dance performance by grass skirted and stacked men and typically chubby Fijian women with neat afros, stocky builds and colourful dresses. Both Nik and I were pulled to dance but to Nik's dismay it was the overly camp host that pulled Nik up rather than the beefy Fijian man. Of course the main attraction at Manta Ray is to snorkel with the Manta Rays themselves. Costing $25/ 7.50 we were able to "briefly" swim alongside the giant marine beasts as they gently waved through a strong current in a peaceful motion. We spotted 2 rays with the largest being approximately 3m in length. The trouble was that the current was scarily strong so you had to swim as fast as possible just to keep up with them. Still a brilliant experience.

Our final stop in the Yasawa's was a 2 night stay at Kuata Nature resort on the groups’ southernmost islands. The resort is run by a local village and their turnover contributes to funding for improvements to the village and its school. Subsequently we received the typically kind Fijian hospitality, but also basic accommodation, for example our toilet door was a shower curtain. - The beach location certainly made up for that though! The sandy shoreline sat parallel to the resort and was dwarfed by an unusual cliff face that looked like a lump of holey cheese. A perfect place to relax and crack open a few coconuts! We also visited a local village for a flavour of real life on the islands, it was nice to see how they lived but the locals seemed more interested in selling gifts to us and we weren’t able to go inside the school building. The staff at the resort tried hard to entertain us; on our first night we were entertained with dances from the "Bula Boys!?!" They were overly oiled and keen to show off the pecks! I was more entertained by Nik because she didn’t know where to look! The second night was toned down with a few games to pass the time, Nik and I were also happy to spend our last night on the Yasawa's relaxing by the moonlit sea in a double hammock.

The journey back to the mainland was windy and choppy, so windy in fact that Nik lost her flip flop off the back of the boat by a strong gust! We returned back to Drift in Fiji in Nadi and were welcomed by the same excellent hospitality as we left, they even gave us our own room for no extra charge! Our last day in Fiji was spent relaxing around the hostel and having a traditional Fijian lunch cooked under ground. Once sorted for our flight to LA time soon passed and we were at the airport. Fiji was lovely, the people are much poorer than I expected, but the friendliness and hospitality coupled with white sandy beaches and plenty of coconuts had made for a very good stay in Fiji and definitely a good way to slowly wind down for the end of our trip!

Next stop - U S of Aye

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