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BULA!!!
Wow - what an amazing 10 days. We have landed in Auckland, New Zealnd in a bit of a daze. Fiji was so much more than we expected it to be. We had been slightly worried about Fiji after our resesarch in Australia left us even more confused than when we started. It seemed no-one had information onhow to island hop, where to stay and how to book! On top of all that, it seemed Fiji was not going to be the cheap 'break' we had anticipated!
Lee started well by finding us an amazing place to stay in Nadi on the mainland, Bluewater Lodge. This place was such luxury we felt really spoilt after 2 months of sweaty dorms and sweaty food in Australia (trying to keep things within budget!!) - we had a gorgeous en suite double room, a pick up from the airport, the owner drove us to ATMs and town if needed and his partner cooked the most amazing food! We had been emailing places to stay on the islands all week but had had no response so Mike, the owner, offered to ring them all for us. What followed was about and hour and half of juggling dates and islands to secure the 3 resorts we had our hearts set on; Oarsman's Bay Lodge on Nacula Island, Octopus Resort on Waya Island and Wayalailai Eco Haven on the Island of Wayalailai. We had decided to Island hop instead of choosing one and staying there for the full duration as there were so many islands out there. What followed was some of the best experiences we have had so far... after nearly loosing it all!
We were meant to catch a bus to the port on the day our boat pass started at 7.15 am - we had been super organised, packed the night before and put the rest of our things in storage, very out of character for us I know but thank god we had! We woke up the next morning... at 7.50 am! We had changed every watch over to Fiji time when we flew in from Melbourne, all except the one we use as an alarm!!! I have never woken up so quickly in my entire life, running half dressed to a stunned Jo on reception who told us not to worry; a taxi would only take 2-3 minutes to get to us and then 30 minutes to the Port...phew. 7.55am - no taxi, 8.00am - no taxi, 8.05 - no taxi, 8.10am - no taxi (Kelly starts crying!), 8.12am the taxi finally pulls up and we speed off as Jo tells the driver to step on it!We flew to the Port, we had bagged the fastest taxi driver in Fiji. If it was any other journey we would have been fearing for our lives but not today!!! The traffic was against us but we screached upto the check in desk at 8.30am, just in time to board. Just as I thought the drama was over, Lee decides to chance nipping to the ATM. We had had problems getting money out as the machines only allow you to take out about $(FD)200 (approx. 65 pounds). There aren't any ATMs on the islands and we didn't want to use our card if we could avoid it as they often charge anything from 5%-15% so Lee tried his luck. Whislt Lee was queueing, I stayed with the boat to make sure it didn't leave, Lee had been gone ages and I was beginning to panic as the queue to get on the boat got smaller and smaller and smaller. In the end, the captain came to tell me to get on the boat without Lee or stand and wave goodbye to everyone on the boat from the port! Luckily, a staff member called out 'is that him running towards us in a green top?' and as if we were in some cheesy film, I squinted through the crowds to see Lee with his big cheesy grin running through the chaos (I had told the captian he hadn't been feeling well and here is was sprinting and smiling his head off!) We found our seats as the boat was pulling out and as soon as we sat down we felt sick! Our heads were reeling but all we could do was laugh - we had made it!!!
Anyway, that was the beginning of an amazing 6 days in paradise. It took 4 and half hours to get to Nacula Island, the furthest Yasawa Island from Mainland Fiji and God was it worth the trip. A little motor boat picked us up to transfer us to Oarsman's Bay. the water was pure turquoise and as the beach came into view I couldn't believe it; the beach stretched for miles, the sand was white, the water was crystal clear, perfectly calm and the sound of locals singing a Fijian welcome song got louder and louder as we pulled into the bay. We watched the most dramatic sunset of my life here, swam and kayaked in the sea, walked to a sand islnd in the middle of the ocean, swam with sting rays, sea snakes and rainbow fish and met some lovely people. We were on ly there for 2 nights and yet we had become so attached to the place. We really didn't want to leave but we didn't come here to stay in one place so we continued on.
Our next stop was Octopus Resort on Waya island. It took 2 and a half hours to get there by boat and as soon as we pulled up I knew this was going to be completely different from Oarsman's. The beach was still gorgeous but not a scratch on Oarmans, the water wasn't as calm and the sand wasn't as pure. The resort itself was done to an extremely luxurious standard but it was a resort... it was too much like a fancy hotel. It was packed with people and didn't feel at all like the desserted island Nacula had felt like. I wantde to book the next boat back to Oarsmans! Anyway, we ended up getting upgraded to a private room for a first night which was a real treat. We ended up visiting one of the islands villages during our stay where we got to visit the village kindergarden! The kids were so full of life and smiles and took to Lee in an isntant! It was a little boys birthday and out of all the people there he went up to Lee and gave him a piece of his birthday cake! We didn't have anything to give him except Lee's beads that he had gotten in Laos but the little boy was so pleased with them! We met the village elder, went to a craft market and sat and chatted with all the local women. We experienced a local Kava ceremony (where they welcomed us with their local drink) and entered hermit crab racing where Craig (Lee's crab and his pride of joy!) took second place and a $20 bar tab.
Our next stop, Wayalailai Eco Haven, was where we had the most interaction with the local people. It is o ne of the few reosrts that is solely owned and run by the local villages and this added so much to the 2 days we were there. On the first night, Lee and I played volleyball with all the local lads for about 2 hours! I had a weaving lesson with the local women in their village whilst their children ran around us, playing with Lee as we made bracelets. We went on a bit of a hairy boat trip to the other side of the island to attend their village church service - it was conducted in Fijian but the minister stood up to welcome us in English and the lady next to me was sharing her hymn book with me teaching me the Fijian words to the songs! The choir was unreal - a real SisterAct service and all the kids kept staring at us! When we left the church all the locals wanted to shake our hadns and all the kids knew mine and Lee's name - we just kept hearing 'Kelly, Lee' and seeing groups of children waving and giggling at us!
We had expected it to be just a beach holiday but it turned out to be a cultural and touching experience beyond anything we could have hoped for. The local people are so full life and character, and so friendly. All in all, this has probably been the hardest place to leave so far in 4 months of travelling.
Next stop - New Zealand! We haven't really aclimatized ourlseves for their winter very well... we'll see how it goes!
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