Fiji

So after our Kiwi adventures we were very excited to head for the sun, sea and sand of Fiji. After a 3 hour flight we landed at Nadi airport and were taken to our "resort", which we didn't really appreciate until after we returned from the other islands (read on to find out why). After a delicious dinner by the beach we headed to bed ready for our island hopping adventures the following day.

We had a prebooked trip organised called 'The Lazy Threesome', which meant that we would be visiting three of Fiji's 330 islands over the course of a week. We boarded our bright yellow catamaran and spent the 5 hour boat trip to the Yasawa Islands enjoying the sunshine, the beautiful turquoise waters and viewing the other islands enroute to the blue lagoon region. We arrived at our first resort - Coral View - very excited! The boat stops in the middle of the sea and then tiny speed boats from the islands come to collect you - carrying our very large heavy suitcases on thier heads was a very scary thing to watch! They asked us if we were carrying our kitchen and bathroom in them, we informed them that we were not and that we were JP's - they looked confused!

The boat can only go so far and then you have to paddle through the sea to get to land! We were greeted by a chorus of 'Bulas' which means welcome in Fijian - and a song! We were taken to our Bure (which is basically a fancy word for hut) and were pleaseantly surprised that not only did we have our own bathroom but we also had electricity (not all islands in Fiji have bathrooms or electricity!!) We spent the day exploring the island. Sam made friends with a dog and Emma collected sea shells! Meal times in Fiji were an interesting time of day. Upon hearing the drums all the guests would come to the dining room where a meal would be placed in front of you - and if u didnt like it then you would go hungry!! We were often quite hungry!!! - but don't worry M and D Whiteman, Sam ate plenty...of pringles.

The following day we took a trip to the blue lagoon http://images.travelpod.com/users/philandkatrina/1.1243219125.blue-lagoon.jpg we added the pic just to make u all jealous!!!!! We were literally the only people on this beautiful deserted beach - it was incredible! The following day we headed to our next island of Korovou. HUGE excitement when we saw it had a swimming pool!!! Sam went swimming with the mantarays http://www.communingwithdolphins.com/images/manta1.gif which are basically huge stingrays which are about three times the size of him and are incredibly rare. (Emma decided to stay at the beach bar!!) The following day we woke up to the sound of rain - no not a little drizzle but a full on monsoon!! The rain was so heavy we could not see out of the windows. When it rains in Fiji there is nothing to do. We played some cards, read our books and by 9am we were bored. So, as it was Sunday, we decided the best way to kill an hour would be to take a trip to the local church and listen to the gospel singing. The rest of the island had the same idea and us tourists outnumbered the locals about 10 to 1. We spent the rest of the day feeling a bit miserable and formukating a plan to sue the lonely planet which had informed us that September was 'the perfect time of year to visit Fiji' because of the beautiful weather!!!


Unfortunately, the weather did not much improve for the rest of our time in Fiji (neither did the food), and our tans started to turn dirty and we both started peeling!!

upon our return to the main island we were both so hungry, we popped into the Hard Rock Cafe for the biggest meal our stomachs could physically take - we weren't the only people who came off the boat with the same idea, and the restaurant was pretty packed of starving, peeling, people!!

But nevertheless we had a wicked time there, but both looked forward to getting to Oz and having the time of our lives - just having a good shower would be enough!!