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Published: December 9th 2006
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Camping
The resorts are basic anyway with cold showers and thatched huts for bedrooms (Bure). To give you an idea of just how laid back Fiji was for us, we actually had a debate with some other people over what day and date it was! In short, none of us had a clue! That prompted this class quote from Lynny "I dont know what the time is, I dont even know what day or date it is ...... all I know is that im in Fiji".
Whilst there, we had the constant cloud of an impending military coup hanging over the country (I think its happening as I write this from the safety of Sydney), but you would not have known it had it not been for the newspapers. The mainland, even the capital Suva, seemed to tick along oblivious. The smaller islands (some of them tiny) are nicely cut off from any politics and the only effect on them is a decrease in customers. Not good at all for the tourism industry, but pretty nice for those already there ;-)
The tiny islands are a relaxation paradise and we spent day after day chilling out and snorkelling. The snorkelling was amazing in parts with many people saying that the reefs and fish were
First night away from the mainland
Lynny is quite proud of this shot. better than what they had seen at the Great Barrier in Oz. There were 3 main highlights ..... getting Lynny to actually snorkel and really enjoy it (an amazing feat for someone who was petrified of being near fish and the sea in general, before this trip!), seeing a fish (Giant trevalli) that must have been almost the size of me and swimming with Giant Manta Rays. These things were about the size of a double bed! Now I know what some of you might be thinking ..... 'are you stark raving mad?' perhaps, but notice I said MANTA, not STING ;-) Besides, even if they were Stingers, this is Chuck Norris you are talking too!
We acted on 2 brilliant tips from our friends Anna and Aidan whom we met in Chile. Firstly, use the City of Nadi as a base and in particular Mama's Tropic of Capricorn resort. We did just that and stayed at Mama's 3 times during our month in the country. Boy did she look after us with some amazing home cooking and good advice but more importantly she kept us laughing with her slightly mad but lovable personality. Secondly, use a tent and
camp everywhere you can. The tent we bought in NZ worked a treat when we were on the islands. No insects or other unwanted guests and a damn sight cheaper which was important if we were to have as long as a month in Fiji. Despite some very uncomfortable sleeps, it was not too hot at night and all in all, camping was fun.
We quickly mastered the Fijian language. You only need one word .... BULA!
Amazingly, our deer antler made it into Fiji without complication. Three sets of eyes were on the screens as the bag went through the scanner and not one face raised its eye brows. Surely a bag full of jumpers and a solid, unmistakable deer antler would ring a bell! Obviously not. We ticked the right box to declare it too but they didnt ask us about it so happy days. As we neared the end of our stay in Fiji we realised that we again had the problem of what to do with it. Mama had been looking after him while we travelled so we forgot about him until the last few days. Again we thought about posting but Mama said
that a lot of post goes missing from Fiji. Having heard so much about Australia and its 'declare or beware' campaign during our travels, we were starting to think that maybe they wouldnt let us in at all! We had a dirty tent, well used fishing gear and loads of wooden/natural trinkets from various countries, oh and of course, a deer antler. A few days before our flight we took it to the airport quarantine dept and asked if they could treat it for us before we go to Oz. They were perfectly happy to do so, much to our suprise and we explained everything and paid some money. As we were leaving,the guy on the desk picked up the phone to book it in for treatment. We overheard him saying "I have a booking for a 24hr treatment ..... yes..... its a wooden artifact ..... under the name of Mr Deer Antler". We couldnt believe our ears!! Hilarious! Definitely some confusion somewhere along the line ;-) Turns out in the end that they only treat wood and obviously they dont have any idea what a deer is!
Until next time!
Graham And Lynny xx
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amy
non-member comment
wow
i am sick with jealousy right now. fiji is like a dream to me! oh wow... i can't even look at those pics without turning green! and graham is that a beard i saw in one of those pics??? love you two! let me know how your holiday with Mr Monday goes pls xxxxxxx