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From Nadi we got a 4 hour bus to Suva and then a 19hour ferry to Taveuni which was seriously hot due to the air con not working, so it was hard to sleep at night. We got on the 'new' boat which the Fijian's were very excited about, when I say 'new' I mean it's actually an old boat which use to belong to Canada, who then sold it to Fiji, so it's only new to the Fijian waters. However it's a LOT nicer than the 'old' boat which apparently smells horrible and is completely rusty! After the boat we had a 25 minute drive to a beach, where we then hopped on a speed boat and after 20minutes we arrived at Maqai Beach… I can't quite explain to you how beautiful it is, it really seems like Fiji's hidden gem!
The northern islands are really new to tourists, because it's so far from Nadi not many people want to travel to them, so it's not yet spoilt! We are staying in a beach hut, which looks right out onto the beach! The staff are lovely and by the end of the week we were all on first name bases!
For the first 4days we were here it constantly rained. Lee managed to go snorkeling and surfing though! Although I was pretty bored and resorted to spending most of my time reading. When the sun finally did come out for the last 4 days I decided to soak up as much sun as possible and Lee went out onto the 'cabbage patch' (which is meant to be a great place to snorkel). Lee saw quite a few sharks and at one point was face to face with a leopard shark.
On one of the days we went to the local village where we got to see the kids at school, we watched them play rugby which was pretty funny. These kids aren't like English kids at all, they were playing so rough, slamming each other to the ground with a thud, and not one of them even considered crying. Now, if that were in England I can almost guarantee you would have a class of 20 boys crying in front of you. Went we walked into the center of the village everyone welcomed us by shouting 'Bula' as we walk past. We also got to meet the chef of the village, we went to his house, a little shack made from wood and metal, and we drank some kava with him… Kava is a drink made from the roots of a plant that is grown for 13 years, and the Fijians LOVE it. It actually makes you really tired so they usually drink it before bed, some men over here have become addicted to it and can't go to sleep without it! Remember when you were a kid and splashed in muddy puddles? Well, imagine scooping some of the water up from that puddle and drinking it, that's what it looks and tastes like. After this the most of the villagers came out to say goodbye, each and every one of them had a big smile!
We spent a few more days hanging out on the beach, Lee did more surfing, and we got to know the staff pretty well before jumping on a boat and heading back to Nadi, which took us 24 hours to get back to!
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