Got alot of updating to do on the Fiji side of things as I have been on Islands in the middle of nowhere for two weeks, and havnt had warm water never mind the internet ! Sorry if its abit of a mess :)

So we arrived in on the Fiji mainland on the 18th March and were greeted at the airport by the locals singing, dancing and playing guitars. The hostel was really nice, felt more like a hotel as we were in our own room and had a swimming pool. Onced checked in and settled we headed to Nadi town which was really good. Everything there was so cheap and very tempting to buy ! We got to one shop which was like a religious place - they asked us where we were from and then invited us to a welcoming ceremony. It was a really good experience, even though we had to drink the local delicassy 'Kava' which just tasted like mud and water mixed together - ergh !

Woke up early the next day to catch a coach to the Marina, to start our 'Yasawas' tour around the Islands. Our first stop was 'South Sea Island' which was really tiny - aout the same size as Slaithwaite cricket field. There wasnt really much to do there but sunbathe because it was so small, but we did participate in the crab race after dinner where mine and lisas crab came 3rd !

The next day we went on the 'Seaspray' boat which was all-you-can-eat BBQ and all-you-can-drink alcohol which we definately took advantage of ! The next stop was 'Kuata' Island which was completely different. We had a snorkelling trip included in our package so decided to go on that during the afternoon. We were expecting to get dropped off on the shore of a beach, but the guide just stopped the boat in the middle of the sea and explained what we were going to do. He told us not to panic if we saw sharks, of course - i panicked ! After jumping in reluctantly i saw the most amazing sights ever, just like something you would see on the TV. The water was so clear and we saw loads of tropical fish and about 4 reef sharks which were really scary even though they were really small, and swam so close to you.

On the Sunday we attende the local church service which was pretty interesting. We had a look around the village and then went into the church where there were a group of children singing. Once everyone was sat in the church (even the dogs!), they all sang before the chief arrived. He conducted the service in Fijian so I dont know what he was saying, but there was a lot of praying going on ! Also got sunburnt after sunbathing abit too much :(

The next day we transferred from Kuata to 'Korovou' Island which seemed more like a holiday resort - massive swimming pool, a bar and sun loungers. After chilling out for most of the day we had tea and watched the Fijians do a fire dance which was really good.

Got up the next morning feeling very hungover after a long night of drinking and chatting to some other people. Didnt really do much for the rest of the day though, lots more of the same ! On the next Island called 'Coral View' I decided to wake up early (5.40am) and watch the sunrise which was really pretty, managed to get some good pictures too.
That afternoon we did a cave diving trip where we got a boat to the caves just off the Island. The caves were really weird inside as we swam through them, so weird that I cant really explain what they looked like ! To get to the second cave we had to swim through an underwater tunnel which was really scary - was about a 6 second swim underwater through the pitch black tunnel. The guide was at the other end with a torch that you had to follow, and he would pat you on the head when it was safe to come up.

We returned back to Coral View Island only to hop on another boat to get to the 'Wanataki Cruise' where we stayed a night. The cruise was good as we pretty much all knew eachother from the other Islands, so the night consisted of lots of drinking games and more crab races ! The morning after was great as we were woken up by the staff cooking sausage sandwiches for us woo

The last day on the Islands was spent on 'Beachcomber' which was really advanced compard to the other Islands, no hot water yet but it had a huge bar area, TV area, internet and a gift shop. Not really much to do on this Island either so lots more sunbathing and chilling out, then playing games like the limbo later on at night !

The last day in Fiji was spent on the mainland where we had an early night ready for our early morning flight to New Zealand in the morning..had an amazing time in Fiji and would definately go there again. Felt like we were living in paradise for two weeks yet the locals are so poor and the Islands are so basic. Will definately miss this place and the good people we have met here !