Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Day 215 and we landed at Nadi at 2am local time and immediately had to go to the bathroom. The in flight meal had not agreed with me at all. After customs and collection we all got some Fiji Dollars out and got into some mini buses along with about 20 other people and headed for our hostels. We got to Horizon Backpackers by 3am. We then found out they didn't have our booking but luckily they put us up for the night. We slept for about 6 hours then paid only $16 in the morning for our room. I was shattered and just wanted to sleep but we headed to Smugglers Cove resort to book our Island trip. The woman who we spoke to about the islands was rubbish. She didn't speak the best English and had no clue about where we should go. We asked for a quiet island with nice beaches for 10 days so she recommended Robinson Crusoe Island. After this we went to town for an hour where Helen bought some cheap flip flops for about a pound. The taxi driver on the way back didn't have the right change so when I gave him a 10 he offered me a cigarette in return. We had lunch at Horizon, a massive burger and chips for $10 which was so big it made us feel ill again. After a short nap we got a bus to the jetty. The dodgy woman from earlier asked for $10 up front for the bus. We would soon realise she took this for herself. After an hour on the bus we reached the jetty where we chatted to the other people heading for the island. There was Lucy, 2 brothers Charlie and Ollie, Danielle, Ella, Grace, Hannah, and 3 Irish girls.
As we approached the island there was a bonfire and all the current islanders on the beach clapping and chanting. It reminded me a lot of shipwrecked. The island was back to basics with no fancy lodges, but cramped dorms and bucket showers which everyone had an opinion on. Dinner was soon served (all meals were included in our package) and it was Beef Curry. We lapped it up and had seconds. Ranil, the camp guy, insisted we eat big and have as much as we want. The Kava ceremony was next. We all sat in a big circle and we had to drink the traditional Fiji drink which made your lips feel numb. It tasted like muddy water. After introducing ourselves to the group we were asked to play island games. The first one was running round a stick 10 times and running back to your team. I was awful at this and felt sick I was so dizzy. I was so bad that when I ran back to my team I fell over my team mates and into the stage, grazing my leg in the process. The second game was limbo, with Luke and Laura doing very well. After this the staff put all the tables out and people started to mingle and play drinking games. We soon found out that this wasn't going to be a quiet island that we thought it would be. In fact, it was the complete opposite and the party island. I soon got to know some of the islanders and after a few beers I headed to bed with the others as we were still recovering from the flight.
Day 216 and I was up about 10ish and along with Burns and Helen tried out the bucket showers for the first time. You had to winch a bucket down and fill it up with another bucket. Then you needed to pull the filled bucket up over your head and then turn the tap on the end of the bucket on and the water came out a shower head. The water was freezing and 1 bucket lasted about 2-3 minutes so pretty short showers. The weather wasn't great so I sat in a hammock for ages reading my book. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, Daytrippers come to the island for the day to experience island life. During this time us islanders are free to join in the activities such as snorkeling, coconut husking and crab racing. In the afternoon Lucy Helen Burns and I walked round the island (its 27 acres in size). It took us about 20 minutes in total. Lunch was a buffet of fish and potato and was pretty much a free for all. All the fish and chicken is cooked Lovo style in the ground which is pretty cool. After lunch the island staff put on a show for all the islanders and invading day trippers. I read in a hammock during this and only left my comfy spot when the crab racing was on. It was about 20 crabs having to crawl to the edge of a circle in the sand. I had a shave and shower before dinner, and the shave in particular was painful as my face was pretty furry with stubble and the cold water did little for a wet shave. Dinner was Bangers and mash and we were starting to realise why people were so impressed with the food because it tasted so good. After dinner we played a game were Reco would shout out commands. Shark Attack meant people had to get into pairs and piggyback. Bullets meant lie down. Man over board meant get into pairs and row a boat and the last people to do these was out with the winners getting free drinks. After games we sat down at the tables and got chatting and drinking with more islanders, 2 of which were brummies and into football so we talked about football for hours before going to bed amid the loud music.
Day 217 and after a painfully cold bucket shower I sat and read my book for a few hours while the girls and Luke got their faces painted and played more island games. Wednesdays and Saturdays are night cruise days where invaders come onto the island from 6-9 and the staff put on a massive night show with a some amazing fire spinning. Lunch was some massive self made burgers which I stacked as high as I could and made myself really full. Breakfast is always served between 8-9am but I figured I could just wait for Lunch and eat loads which would keep me full until dinner where again I would eat loads. After lunch I joined the girls and Luke with lots of others who were carving coconuts into bracelets. Instead of bracelets I tried to make a shot glass. This proved quite tricky. Every coconut end I made into a cup seemed to have a hole in it or be lopsided, and when I sanded it to make it even, this would create a hole, hense ruining the cup concept. I made about 5 and eventually gave up. After a lazy afternoon we welcomed the night cruise at 6ish with a bonfire and singing on the beach. It did seem rather cheesy and touristy but pretty good fun in the end. Dinner was a roast dinner with Beef, Roast Ham, veg, potatoes and loads of gravy. It went down well with everyone. The staff were very loud and enthusiastic and constantly shouting "BULA EVERYBODY!" and the crowd would shout "BULA!" back. Bula being 'Hello' in Fijian. After the night cruise had left we played some drinking games and introduced 5+7's to the group. Everyone thought it would be easy to play but as soon as we started people struggled and we couldn't get above 20! By this time I was pretty drunk of Fiji Gold, our new favorite beer. On the beach a bonfire was set up and people who could play the guitar played some songs so people could sing along. During a break in play, I had a go and was awful and got told to give the guitar back. Helen said I was rubbish and she was probably right. The generator turns off after midnight so all the power on the island stops, which made going to the toilet drunk very difficult as it was pitch black. I eventually got to bed sometime after 2, I think.
Day 218 and unsurprisingly I woke up feeling pretty rough with the taste of beer still present. I stayed in bed till 12ish, not missing out on much as the weather was overcast and all the others were doing was making coconut bracelets again. When I did get up I soon realised I wasn't the only hungover person. Burns seemed to be in a pretty bad state. The invaders were again on the island as it was a Thursday so lunch was chicken, fish, pasta, rice and potato, a carb overload. After lunch the sun came out and I ran for the beach hoping to top up my faint red'ness. The heat in Fiji was intense, less humid than Thailand and some places in Aus, but just intense heat. I was so hot after about 20 minutes in the sun I had to cool off in the pool. I think it was made worse because I was getting the beer sweats. I didn't go in the sea as the beach was covered in some skanky seaweed which covered the main beach and hadn't washed away. Dinner was Beef stew with Mash which was another home style classic. After dinner I couldn't be bothered with the Kava ceremony so I sat with the brummies, Dave and Jamie and watched. The Kava ceremony happens every time new people come onto the island. I was pretty keen to have a quiet evening and not spend money on beer so I sat in the hammocks and read, whilst being pestered and annoyed by Helen and Laura who were both in a very hyper mood and tried to have hammock wars by swinging into each other.
Day 219 and I was on the beach by 930 as the sun was out and we wanted to make the most of it as it had been mainly overcast since we arrived. We had been informed that as it was a Friday it would be the debut of a new theme for the island, Tribal Friday. This is where the current islanders and the new ones arriving that day all could dress up in grass skirt and head bands and other island things and play games against each other and also get cheap drinks. The girls got to making grass skirts early on but us lads weren't as keen and would worry about it later. In the morning we played some volleyball which we were all very bad at. There was 1 Dutch girl who knew the rules and was being very competitive but the rest of us were pleased just to get a short rally going. I had to go into the pool after the game to de-sand as it was really itchy. The staff wanted us to build a cage as part of Tribal Friday, so Dave, Jamie, Mike and I set to making a cage out of wood and bamboo shoots. I went off into the woods with a Machete and enjoyed hacking trees down. The cage took shape pretty quickly but wasn't exactly escape proof. After Lunch the new arrivals came, and instantly I didn't like some of them as they were chavvy types who wanted to 'Mess up the Place'. To make things worse, they were from Surrey. We split into 2 teams and played games on the beach which were an Egg and Spoon Race, A Sac Race and finally a Tug of War. The team I was on lost so we had to all sit in the cage for 20 minutes. The other team were then taught a dance to try and mock us but in the end they were the losers and we all just sat and laughed at it. Laura and Luke soon made an escape from the cage and then everyone made a break for it. I made a few plants bracelets and hats and Burns became a master at weaving after one lesson from Helen. After the Kava ceremony and everyone getting some cheap drinks for being dressed up we had another top notch dinner, Fish and potato. We played some games after dinner, the one I hate, spinning round a stick. I embarrassed myself pretty badly again and Burns and Jamie had a good laugh at my expense because I ran back to the wrong team. Drinking games followed with Dave Burns and Luke all getting pretty drunk. The girls were even a bit tipsy after a few frozen Daiquiris' which went straight to their heads. There was another bonfire on the beach when the generator went out with Mike the American playing some amazing acoustic guitar and us singing, badly, with him.
- comments