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Well it was time to finally say Farewell to Australia, after being in this country for the best part of five months, doing the coast twice and being a regular visitor to Bondi Beach. I can honestly say that this country is the most amazing and diverse place I have ever had the pleasure to visit, ever. Bubba and I no doubt will be back in the future, whether it is to settle or just to visit. It will stay in our hearts for a long time to come. After making so many friends in BASE hostel leaving was really hard for me, I cried all the way to the airport and had some lovely text message from people just before I boarded. It was upsetting but I had one thing that made me get on that plane… Fiji. I was meeting Bubba at Nadi airport…I had arranged the accommodation and transfers etc for us whilst I was working in Sydney ( I worked hard!). She had no idea where we were staying. It was my surprise for her. So after my flight from Sydney to Nadi (the weirdest airport ever may I add, people singing to you as you get off the plane.Very bizarre!) Once I had collected my bag and walked through the gates I could see Sarah in front of me, I haven’t seen this girl for six weeks! This is probably the longest amount of time I have not seen her for, also with our phones not working etc…we hadn’t been in touch at all! It was to say the least, weird seeing her again. Still as beautiful as ever, a little paler than when I last saw her, however still had that amazing head turning smile, the kind that captivates you at a glance. This was one of my best days in Fiji, not because it was 100degrees outside, or the fact we get 3.2 fiji dollars to the pound, because I got to meet back up with Bubba. We spent the first two nights in a dodgy mainland hostel. The town of Nadi is grubby, and as everyone says…leave as soon as you can. Get to the islands. I had arranged a deal with the owner of Mana island, a kiwi who owns an island in fiji..always going to be dodgy! We were treated like VIPs with the transfer people etc. As we had a great rate and free transfer. So we rock up at Mana island on this boat that well, you wouldn’t enter into the craft raft race. With the view to stay for two weeks, then move on and see some other islands. Let me try and set the scene of this place, it was an island, with a jetty, a village (250 fijians live and commute to the mainland to work) about 12 bulas (private houses) and two dorms…shock horror, we stayed in the dorm. A thatched roof, rats, spiders, mosquito. I wont lie, a little different from Hayman island, I don’t think Cobb1 would have been to impressed with my booking. Basic is probably an overstatement. The first night was hard for us, we just led on the beach all day then drank in the night, noone really tried bonding with us as we obviously seemed like a couple (the issue that had been with us the whole trip, apparently two good looking people of different sexes cant just be friends cant just be friends) Bubba was hating it, I had to stay in her bed as she was scared (I wont lie…I was scared as well!) the second night she called home and was crying really missing the family and hating life. I guess the first time travelling she wasn’t enjoying herself. So the next day we had a chat and talked about leaving and moving to Hawaii sooner. The weather was amazing, I can’t describe to you the power of that sun…its like nothing we had felt before and we wont ever feel anything like it again. We had factor 15 on, and it still felt like the sun was penetrating my organs. It was intense to say the least, and I don’t think it helped we were doing 8am-5pm sunbathing! With an hour for lunch! We always knew when lunch was served (we were fully inclusive, as there are no restaurants or bars on this island apart from the hostel!) as a boat dropping off new punters arrived. The locals sang songs as you got they jumped out of the boat (raft) ..im sure if you ask Bubba she can still recite that song. Something like “il give you fish and chips for you to shake your hips and do the ramba, il give you bacon and eggs for you to shake those legs and do the samba†again Sarah is probably best to ask about the exact lyrics. So the third day after talking about leaving early we kinda cheered up a little. We let loose and decided to get very very (that’s not a typing error, I said very drunk to inform you, that I meanVERY!) drunk that night to make it easier for us to sleep. We were good at drinking. Well I was. So every night the hostel runs themed nights, Polynesian etc, the workers do dancing and run competitions like limbo. The staff made us feel welcome. We made some friends and ended up getting hammered. When we are hammered we obviously are more fun as people started speaking to us. I can’t sit here and write up about every night as much as I would love to, as we ended up staying on this island for the best part of a month. That was unheard of!! Apart from one girl who went for a week, then returned to England. She then flew back to Mana a month later. She stayed in Ratu Kini Hostel for just over 6 months…. Her name was Anna Brown. I cant remember anyone’s name. Im the worst at it. But for some reason I will never forget her name. She was like a gospel legend at that place, and they loved English people because of her. The day we left I realised why she came back. This place is magic, the name Mana does mean magic in Fijian. I can never explain it. Sarah and I lost all sense of materialism that had been driven into us by our peers since birth. We didn’t care how we looked, (I didn’t even straighten my hair most of the time!) we didn’t care what we wore. We were bare foot for three weeks as we lost our flip flops! This place was the best place we had been, not for the luxury, not for the food, not for the experiences…it was for the culture and the people. Everyone (who stayed long enough) fell in love with this place and became, I guess in a word, free. A perfect example of this was probably Sarah’s friend Lauren (yes I have asked her permission to put this in) Now Sarah met Lauren in NZ, they were members of a famous ice glacier walking team. Now Lauren and I are completely different, I mean really chalk and cheese. She is what I would have called a bit of a hippy nature lover, from the New forest, so it makes sense. Now Sarah had told me how lovely she was etc etc and I was expecting great things. When I met her I guess I realised we probably wouldn’t get on, im the same person to everyone. I won’t change who I am to fit in or for people to like me. So what I say to Sarah I will say to a stranger, the stranger in this case being Lauren. So maybe the third sentence I uttered to her went along the lines of “oi f***er pass me the sunscreen im burning up and its your fault†I think she may have taken me the wrong way. She cut me a look that I think might even upset Simon Cowell. I knew this was going to be hard, with Bubba having split loyalties as she had asked Lauren to come here. The first day and night was hard with Lauren and I ended up not speaking due to this. Then the magic kicked in. I don’t know what it was but suddenly out of nowhere we clicked, she loosened up a bit, she realised that she was stuck on this island and it was either bite or be bitten. So she decided to bite. She started joining in and getting hammered with us. I found her hilarious, hysterical infact, and she started getting my bluntness. I fell in love with this girl’s personality on Mana, she changed as a person I feel. For the better. She realised life wasn’t about how many dandelions you can save…it was about how many times you could stitch up the Takki master! I realised how much she had changed when her friend came visited from another island to see her for a few days because of how much fun she was having. This girl came and never let go, never said “f*** it, lets get hammered!†she decided to read and relax. This island isn’t meant for relaxing, this island is for getting drunk, playing games and enjoying life, stop worrying if you look as good as the next person. Lauren and this girl didn’t get on and this girl left. A real shame, Lauren can now realise that she is a better person for this I hope. I must get in touch with her!! Ok as for me and Bubba, we were like royalty. The staff loved us, I learnt Fijian words “hungry yarâ€Â, “you chow my chow†not sure if its Fijian or the fact they loved it as I had a funny Fijian accent! Sarah was like a princess, they all adored her, especially her kindness and her ability to find a personal level with anyone.. She was always playing with the locals, we had so much fun in that sea!! The day we left a family ran after her and asked for a photo with her. She had looked after the children one day and they loved her. All hugging her whilst I took a photo, even the dad came out. It was a really touching moment and I will never forget it for as long as I have the pleasure in living. I grew up on that island. A lot. We met some friends we will stay in touch with forever, especially Ben and Andy, the guys were amazing, they helped me look after Sarah when she was in one of her drunken stoopers! They were great guys and we had such a good laugh with them, we all had the same sense of humour and it just worked. We both can’t wait for them to be home. We also had a great fishing trip with Rosey and the gang. It’s STRIKING TIME! Will live in the memory forever! All in all that was without doubt the best month of my life. We signed my England football shirt and left it with the staff and I believe its up behind the bar! As god as my witness, Sarah and I will be going back to this place as soon as possible. I remember avidly one day Sarah and I climbed the hill to see over the whole island. And we both cried at the top (her first, it started me off) we were so happy. So far away from everything we have ever known, yet so happy. I didn’t ever want to leave that place. Anyone any age would be welcome here.
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