Fiji - part two

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The Yasawa Islands

Well yet again the next morning as much as we tried to hurry breakfast it was clear the more we squirmed the slower the guys went. We went to walk out at one point with only 15 mins to get to our coach and the guy beckoned us back in swearing we had plenty of time - really it was because he’d already started making the toast!! Anyway we downed it and left and lucky we did as the bus that day left early to Port Denerau.

We got on the Yasawa flyer (catamaran taxi to all the islands) which was choca with people and found a spot in the sun, which in the end we had to move from coz it was getting so bloody hot. I was quite pleased coz for me so far the tropical weather I was expecting from Fiji hadn’t really shown itself - at this rate I’d thought I may have to go to a tanning booth before heading home!! The boat didn’t take long to start arriving at some truly tropical looking islands. Tiny palm fringed beaches and the most stunning water I’ve ever seen. Each time we stopped people got collected and dropped off by the little fishing boats that approached from the islands. I kept hoping it was our turn, it was quite nerve wracking waiting to see what “our island” looked like and I hoped we’d picked a good one. It reminded me of holidays to Spain and the Canary Islands where you get driven around on the transfer coach dropping people off at different hotels hoping that the really nice hotel is yours.

Needless to say when we got to Waya Lailai eco lodge it was beautiful. Waya Lailai means small spear apparently, and was one of the only hostels that was run completely by the local villagers and incorporated into the village itself. It was rustic but great. We were greeted by a big BULA shout and welcoming song and a glass of pineapple juice (something we were to become accustomed to over our time in the islands). They showed us to the dorm, which was up a small hill in the heat of the day - no wonder the beds were cheaper 😊. Great room with fly screens on the door and windows and a mosquito net over each bed. There were only 2 guys in there that first night so we got pick of the beds and so choose the corner so we had two sets of windows to keep us cool as there was no fan in the room - so glad we did it was boiling most nights. The toilet block was next door and had only cold water showers -oh well we figured how bad can it be given the heat of the day (Nath was to find this out the hard way the next morning!).

The island as I said was rustic and a little basic, but it did have wonderful food (which everyone had to join in on so they had buffet meals all the time for ease but nothing else available to buy - well except alcohol!!!). There were hammocks on the beach to sleep/read in and that was about it. Nath went pretty much straight to bed as he wasn’t coping well with the heat and early start. I got talking to a Canadian couple (Sarah and Guillaume); they were great, very friendly and chatty. Could have sworn Guillaume was from Oz but it turned out they’d just finished travelling and working in Oz (so had picked up the accent) and were actually headed home after their time in Fiji. Nath slept for hours and as there was nothing much to do but relax I headed to a hammock in the sunshine to read a book and watched the ocean lap on the beach - it was surreal to be in such a beautiful place. Once Nath had woken up we walked down along the beach to watch the sunset and just enjoy the surf. The beach was littered with broken coral which I’m sure is from all the boats that transport us tourists too and fro.

That evening we chatted more with Sarah and Guillaume (they had been on a sunset walk to the top of the island which we unfortunately missed out on as Nath’s feet were covered in sore bites and he could hardly walk - bless him) and joined in on the traditional Fijian night which involved - yup you guessed it - more bloody Kava to drink. Not wanting to offend we did it again and joined in on the dancing before retiring to our beers (well water for me as I was still on bloody antibiotics!). Guillaume and I chatted for ages about Lord of the rings stuff in NZ and where to go (thanks for the heads up, Hobbiton at Matamata was great!!) before heading to bed. Our first night was boiling hot but you didn’t dare move your net in case you got bitten alive - I was actually more worried about spiders getting on my bed. We only got up once in the night for the loo, it was warm and windy and the toilet had one small oil lamp on the floor surrounded by bugs -think I’ll be holding it till morning from now on!!!

Next day we just chilled again as we weren’t up early enough for the sunrise walk and well there just wasn’t anything to do. We met up with a new couple Adam and Evy (yes I made that joke too!) and spent lunch chatting about our trips etc, turned out we were leaving the same day (them to Oz) and would be in NZ at a similar time as well. Evy and I got coerced into going to the “local market” run by the woman of the village to buy their stuff. The lady that took us over said for us to buy from her stall and no one else’s - riiiiight I thought. In the end I did actually get one thing from her but then moved on and bought at someone else’s as well. I had been short changed which didn’t bother me price wise as it was only about 20p but I was offended that they took advantage when we were already coming to buy things!! After this Nath and Evy decided to join in on one of the activates called “swim across” where they were told they would be given snorkel gear and would be swimming across to the other island which was very close opposite us and that a boat would be present all the time in case they got tired - cool they thought…..well yes there was snorkel gear and yes there was a boat but no the island was bloody miles away and after Nath had swallowed a pint of sea water, spluttered and struggled his way a few meters the boat following them decided to bring him back leaving Evy (and Sarah and Guillaume who had joined in) to fend for themselves across this mile of sea!!! Eventually they all arrived exhausted and swearing they would want to see the small print on the activities next time!!!

That evening we all had another great meal (the food on the island had been better than we had ever expected) and enjoyed the bar staying open as long as we wanted. The staff got us all up and dancing to some kind of Fijian equivalent to the time warp!! Shouting Bula and thrusting ourselves around as you do was then followed by an equally amusing dance where boy girl pairs would dance in a country dancing style and then when told had to swap partners by running across the dance floor to find someone else. Little weird but fun all the same. That night in bed I couldn’t sleep and watched the local dogs (or at least I hope they were local), run around the site - it was kind of spooky and I found myself locking the hut door just in case ….

The next day we were leaving for our next island resort called Manta ray Island, I’d chosen this one as they did indeed as the name suggest have Manta Rays swimming around that you could snorkel with. We were just out of season but I was hopeful. We said good bye to our new friends and were only on the transfer boat for about an hour before arriving at this beautiful still bay. Manta ray resort was on one island and then there were others to the side and further along, so there was a large turquoise bay we all shared. With yet another welcoming song and tropical fruit drink downed we were taken to our private “jungle bure” (a traditional Fijian hut -I decided to alternate between dorms and private rooms in case the island had been as rowdy as we ‘d read about and we needed a good nights sleep.) It was a great room, like a little wooden life guard tower just set back form the beach and surrounded by palms etc (the jungle part I guess), with a private balcony and a double bed with a huge mosquito net. I had got used to the new daily ritual of covering myself first off with sun tan lotion and secondly with mosquito spray. (we’d luckily been able to buy some more - at an extortionate price even for Fiji - from the first island when we realised we thrown one of our bottles out as it had leaked).

With my mossie protection, we headed up to the food hall area and had a look around the rest of the site which was much more modern and accommodating for larger groups. The dinning area had a dance floor and the food they served for lunch and dinner was not on a buffet scheme but actually more like a restaurant with a choice of about 6 different meals. This was by far the best food so far!!! The island had a PADI centre and we were convinced by the spiel we were given when we arrived about diving but bumped into a couple we had seen on the Yasawa flyer before who said don’t bother just get the snorkelling equipment as you see the same thing. I’m so glad we did as it was much cheaper and the snorkelling at Manta ray was amazing (even though we never saw any manta ray)!!!

I went sea kayaking the first afternoon whilst Nath’s feet recovered from the bites and now sun burn. I was enjoying looking at the corals and fishes as I floated but at one point behind me I heard a big splash, I turned round to see the water parting by something coming towards me, and lots of tiny fish jumping away to each side. Needless to say after feeling my bowls move slightly I paddled as fast as I could back to shore - never did find out what it was. Nath eventually decided to join in and we both floated back out looking at the fish for a while but it was cooler and windy and after a while we were getting swept away a bit so decided to head in.

On the beach we joined in, well I did, with a bunch of girls who were making coconut bracelets by rubbing them on a rock using wet sand to polish them. Thinking it would be sociable and easy to do I decided to join in. I would say that neither were really true; the rubbing of the coconut took ages and in the end I had to ask Nath to finish mine off as everyone else had finished, and as for sociable, well I met a group of girls lets say, that were an advert for the sort of resort this would be if we had arrived in peak season!!! So with very little in common other than anatomy I decided to give up trying.

That evening we enjoyed another great meal and got talking with the couple who had advised us about the snorkelling (I forget their names now) who were like Sarah and Guillaume also from Quebec.) We all got on fine, and bar a few awkward incidences, mainly my fault, from sarcastic comments which didn’t go down well or perhaps just weren’t understood, it was a good night (some things never change). But it was about to get soooooo much better!!! Our compare who had greeted us for our dinner was like Daffyd Thomas - The only gay Fijian on the island, or so we thought. He was the campest man I’d ever met. He introduced all the traditional dancing which we had now seen three times but then our patience paid off and what a treat. He appeared in a hanky type top and skirt and with his “friend” (who had long long dark hair and also happened to be the chef) treated us to a “traditional Polynesian” dance. This involved a lot of hip wiggling and booty shaking with which he put most of the woman there to shame. We were unsure if we were meant to be finding this funny or not but in the end everyone watching was laughing anyway!!!

That night we still had to trek to the toilet as even our more expensive Bure didn’t have a toilet. This was better though as at least the toilets were lit and clean (well minus the cockroaches that scurried from the lid when you opened it) this time, although they didn’t flush, it was just a big hole under a toilet seat. Next morning we grabbed our snorkel and headed for the beach but had to wait for hours because the tide was out and we would have cut yourself on the coral heading out there. well apparently I thought that’ll never happen to me so I went out anyway as I couldn’t just lay in the sun any longer, so I made my way out and did managed to do some snorkelling before I fell against some coral - dam it!!. I literally touched it with my knee but it was enough to bloody hurt so I got out of the water and found I had a small graze - wow was that it? It felt like I’d left part of my knee behind.

We both went in a bit later and although I’ve only snorkelled a few times before the sights were amazing. So many colours and the fish were so close it was great and the tide had come in so we were actually at one point a good 10m above the sea bed. A few people had mentioned the reef sharks you could see if you went out far enough to where the coral edge finished and the sea got darker, so I did head out once but didn’t manage to see anything, and by now it was getting really deep so I headed back in. Its a little nerve wracking when all you can hear is your own breathing and I kept looking up regularly to make sure I hadn’t gone too far out or that there wasn’t anything following me. And what is it with being in water and feeling like you need the loo all the time? I must have dragged myself out of the water 3 times to go to the loo in quick succession. It was like the equivalent to “breaking the seal” after a beer but from snorkelling!!! On one of my many trips I’d noticed my lips had blown up like Mick Jagger from snorkelling, I figured it was coz of the biting down on the mouth piece so didn’t give ir another thought. Following our snorkelling I spent the rest of the day sunbathing as I was determined to get browner legs (mine never change colour no matter how much a sun bath) and Nath went out to do some sea fishing. NATH FILL IN PLEASE

(CALL ME “MR EDITOR”)
With two other guys and our guide we headed out of the bay area in our little boat to deeper waters. After dropping anchor our guide proceeded to hand out 3 plastic coke bottles with fishing line wrapped around them! He then produced two small fish fillets which it cut into chunks and then baited our hooks with. No sooner had my line reached the sea floor than I started to get bites but couldn’t hook any of them. After 10 mins the bites had stopped though so I reeled my line in only to find a fish on the end of it without me realising. Some how I had “foul snared” this fish (not hooked it in the mouth apparently) but at least I had caught some thing, yippy! As the guide un- hooked the fish from the line I asked him what type of fish it was and if they throw them back. It was a “job” fish he said before hitting it over the head 3 times with a large bolt and so no this one wasn’t going back! (Obviously) I celebrated my catch and mourned its death by opening another beer which I had taken with me. Beer, sun, coke bottle fishing rod- I could get into this fishing thing! Anyway after about 45 mins we had all gotten lots of bites but not hooked any fish and were running out of bait. So the guide whipped out his knife and proceeded to chop up my “job” fish for bait! We then moved fishing spots where one of the others guys caught a coral trout before we headed back to the resort. Not the most successful fishing trip in the world but I still really enjoyed it. OK BACK OVER TO YOU MISS REPORTER

That evening we’d been told you could take a short walk to the other side of the island to watch the sun set so we did that and it literally was a 2 min walk through some bures where the staff obviously lived. It was a great sunset and we managed to get some great shots. We’d also noticed a few days ago these little holes all over the sand, which turned out to be little crab holes. We named them “ghost crabs” as they were clear and moved so fast they’d be gone before your brain had even registered you’d seen them. Given the evening entertainment from the night before we’d already decided to have an early night, so were in bed by 9am!! The stress of knowing you have to get up in the night in the dark to go to the loo was getting annoying as I again didn’t managed to sleep all the way through, I was glad to know the next place I had booked had a toilet…..in the room…..dum dum dum!!! Well after all we were going to be there for our birthday!!!!

We were again moving onto our next island the next day and I was really hoping it would be nice as I had chosen it especially for our birthdays but so far in all the discussions we ‘d had with people about where they’d been and where was best no one could tell me anything about Otto and Fanny’s. Turns out I had nothing to worry about……………………….

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Photos

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On the "Yasawa Flyer" water taxi - off to the islands

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Our dorm at Waya Lailai resort

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Wow how white am I?

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Didn't think i'd put on THAT much weight!

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Nath on his shell phone

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Our first island sunset (one of many)

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The Bula dance ......anyway

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Evy and Adam

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Hang over and 30 degrees not a good mix! But the endless supply of pinapple should help.... shouldn't it?

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Alcoholics annoymous......aka, us with Evy, Adam, Sarah and Guillaeme

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Pretty much the whole resort

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Just like the locals

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Preying mantis in the queue at reception

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Ouch, Nath's bites

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On to Manta Ray resort, the decking on our jungle bure