Manon and I met at Auckland airport and flew to Fiji. We had not seen each other for a few weeks and so we had a lot to catch up on so chatted the whole way there (a good thing as the entertainment system was not working)! When we landed in Fiji, we were all greeted by a group of islanders singing and playing the ukelele. In Fiji, Bula means welcome/hello and we were to hear this everywhere during our stay there as the Fijians are very friendly people. When we arrived, it was about 5pm but we noticed then already how humid it was...you've just got to love that sticky heat...NOT! It's the kind of heat which attracts mosquitoes and they were relentless!

We spent the first night on the mainland in Nadi at a rather nice hostel right on the beach with a swimming pool outside. As we drove there, I noticed that there was a lot of land on the island (few basic houses) and the grass was very green and lush. There does seem to be a lot of construction going on. As with other countries, it seems that the locals live very basically and that they build really nice resports for the tourists. As we arrived at the hostel, it started to rain and was to continue for the next 3 days. At the hostel, I bumped into Nicole, a Brummie who I had met on my Stray travels in NZ, so we spent the night chatting with her and sipping on cocktails.

We then moved on to the islands for 6 nights, spreading this over 3 islands. Just of Nadi are 2 groups of islands, namely the Yasawas (furtherest away) and the Mamanucas (closest to the mainland). We were to start our trip in the Yasawas and work our way back to the mainland through the Mamanucas, using the ferry to get there. It was a large ferry, but as it was raining the sea was very choppy and I must say I felt somewhat nuseaus although I don't tend to suffer from seasickness. Our first island stop was the island of Nanuya Lailai which was a 4 hour journey from the mainland. This was to be the most basic of the islands we were to visit, but apparently it is not the most basic of the islands there. All the islands are set up in the same way in that accomodation and meals are provided as a package, just their overall rating differs. Meals are eaten as a 'family' at 8am, 12 noon and 7pm.

Nanuya Lailai Island

Nanuya Lailai is and island found in the Blue Lagoon region. This is the area in which the movie Blue Lagoon was filmed many years ago.

This was our most basic island, and our enjoyment of which was somewhat hindered by the almost constant rain. We transferred to the island via fishing boat, and as we arrived we were welcomed again with singing and ukeleles. Manon and I stayed in a bure while we were there. This was a little hut just big enough to fit a double bed. As it was humid in Fiji, the hut was not a pleasant place to be so we only spent time there when we went to sleep. Even then, our sleep got disturbed by the local cats who snuck in through the thatching and jumped on the bed.... nothing a good kick wouldn't resolve. During the day, as it was raining, we had to spend our time in the dining room reading or playing cards. This can feel a little like being trapped as we had nowhere else to go. The meals on this island were as basic as the facilities. Most of us found it really difficult to eat at the set times especially as there was only a 4 hour gap between breakfast and lunch and then 7 hours before dinner! There was a lot of rice, pasta and sweet bread served at these meals with some meat and vegetables, but I had expected more fruit and fish. Although the islanders showed us how to pick and break open coconuts, we never really got to eat it as I think it is more valuable to them to export... I was a bit bummed about this.

We did get introduced to kava on this island and the next. It is a Fijian 'home-brewed' alcoholic beverage made from a corn powder mixed with water. The locals drink this and I would say it is similar to what the African locals drink in South Africa, except that it is very runny/thin.

I did manage to swim in the sea while I was there, it was very calm and shallow. As I was floating about 2 of the local children came to swim with me, all kitted out with their lifejackets. Their names were Betty and Winston, which I found to be rather un-island-like names. They decided to cling to me and make me pull them around the sea...thankfully this only lasted a few minutes before they had to go inside again. We also found time to walk around to the otherside of the island (which took 30 minutes) where the 5 star resort was and we had a drink there.

I'm sure we would have enjoyed the island more if it had not rained....we were hoping for a bit more as we moved onto Naviti Island which was a much larger island about an hour closer to the mainland.

Naviti Island

Although Naviti Island is a much larger island, about 80% of it is still just vegetation. We were transferred to the island by fishing boat and welcomed again with singing and ukeleles. The resort we stayed at was more developed than at the previous island and the bure that we stayed in had a fan and a double bed with 2 bunk beds, and it was ensuite. The sea around the island was not condusive to swimming but the resort had a pool so we spent many hours bathing around the pool and swimming. The meals were pretty much the same but we also got afternoon tea. We were given tuna steaks one night but they were tough and overcooked. I must say that I have noticed throughout my travels that if you are on an island and served fish, that it is often overcooked. I know I always stayed at cheap places but I would have expected islanders (even at CHEAP places) to be able to cook fish...maybe they like it tough and overcooked? We also had sheppard's pie one night - who wants to go on holiday to eat something you could have everyday in your own country? (Besides which I don't like mince :-) In the evenings the locals entertained us with some 'Bula' dancing, donning their grass skirts. They even tried to show us their dance moves. The weather improved greatly on Naviti which I also think made a huge difference to our state of mind.

One of the island activities included a trip to one of the lacal villages. Naviti is a massive island and we had a 20 minute boat trip to get to the village. We started the tour by sharing kava with the men and giving them a gift of money for letting us into their homes. We browsed the market for trinkets. The locals make money in 3 ways: off the crops from their land, from the fish that they catch, and most importantly by selling curios to the tourists. One of the local fruits is called a breadfruit and the taste adn texture of the fruit is similar to a sweet potato so this is used regularly in cooking. We then walked through the village to the school which goes from kindergarten to grade 8; from there they would go to a high school on a different part of the island. This specific school is not government-funded and relies on money from the parents and donations from the tourists. The children were gathered on the porch and they sang for us, recited poems and the boys performed a war dance for us. We had a quick tour of the classrooms and then we left again. Another activity on that island included feeding the fish (not sure this is a good thing but you find this in many places) but I must say it was amazing having them zip around your legs.

We were definitely enjoying the holiday by this stage and relaxing at every turn.

Bounty Island (Kadavu Lailai)

Bounty Island is only about 30 minutes away from the mainland so the journey took us about 2 1/2 hours to get there. This island is one in the Mamanuca group and I think in general this group of islands are the more upperclass islands, whereas the ones we had been to were budget islands. Bounty Island is another small island which you can walk aroun in about an hour. We were transferred to the island by a glass-bottomed fishing boat (from which we could see tons of jellyfish) and welcomed again with singing and ukeleles. The island was beautiful at first sight, with a pool and bar on the left and the dining area and bures on the right. The front garden of our bure was the sand, sea and hammocks. It was also an air-conditioned bure....we had definitely arrived in paradise. The meals were also of buffet style and they were simply heavenly. The cocktails were to die for and in the bar area there was also a pool table and a ping pong table. The island was so nice that I decided to stay for a 2 night instead of spending my last night on the mainland....islands like this one are the real reason people holiday in Fiji.

We discovered on arrival that Bounty Island is in fact the location of the filming of Celebrity Love Island - the one which featured Rebecca Loos, Fran Cosgrove and co. and we could see why - it was a gorgeous island in a magnificent setting.  The house had stood where the bar area was with the pool in front. Now, the shell of the house has been moved around to another part of the island and according to one of the locals, they will be fixing it up to make a loveshack for honeymooners....best they hurry up as the shell has been sitting there for a year or two now!

Activities on the island included free non-motorised activities, and the snorkelling was fantastic! The area around the island is a marine reserve so even right on the water's edge were some amazing fish. Unfortunately the coral ahs been badly beached, but the locals are trying to do something about it and try to encourage tourists not to stand on or touch the coral. I saw needle fish, trumpets, triggers, butterfly fish and so on. I even saw a lion fish (black adn white stripes) which is a very dangerous fish, fanned out in all it's glory. It is a beautiful creature to watch as it glides through the water....it's just not adviseable to get too close to one. They are also rearing baby turtles on the island and have a mini sanctuary for them. They feed the turtles and release them when they are big enough to look after themselves. I had not thought about where these turtles had come from until they added some new babies into the sanctuary and I discovered that they had simply just been born in the sea and had walked up onto the beach. The locals had seen them and collected them all in a bucket. This system will ensure their survival and it was nice to see the locals caring about the environment around them.

The weather was still amazing when I left. I had a fantastic holiday in Fiji and it was nice to share it with Manon. I got back on the ferry bidding her farewell as she jetted off to Beachcomber island for 3 days before her flight back to Holland. She was going diving and I had given it a miss because I did not want to take any chances with my ear and I had run out of time.... I'm sure she enjoyed it as I believe the diving in Fiji is amazing and that the soft coral are a particular attraction in that area.

Several people I had met on the islands were on my flight with me to Raratonga and so we got a bit tipsy together on the plane. It was only a 3 hour flight to some more island living.....