BULA! We arrived in Nadi and made our way to Smugglers Cove hostel where we stayed one night. The hostel wasn't like hostels in Australia, it was on the beach with lots of hammocks and had a lovely restaurant, and for half the price :-) We were sat having dinner when we met a really annoying american guy who came out with "Oh my god, I'm jewish and there is bacon in my sandwich!" We also met a group of 7 guys from England who ended up travelling around some of the Fijian islands wish us. We had a reasonably early night as we had to get up early to catch our bus to the marina for our ferry. There is a part of Fiji called the Yasawa islands and these islands have backpacker resorts on them and this is where we were heading. We paid in advance for a ferry pass for 10 days and an accommodation/food pass. Some of the Yasawa islands are included in this pass and you do not need to pay anything more for these but the accommodation and food isn't that nice so me and Emily decided to spend most of our time at the islands where we had to pay a little extra but were amazing and so worth it! So we boarded the boat, they take your bags for you and stick a tag with the island you want to go to on it and the next time you see your bag is in the dorm at the island. The Fijian people are very accommodating. We decided to head the furthest north we could go in the Yasawa islands and then work our way down over the 10 days. The journey was 5 hours and we sat at the top of the boat topping up our tan whilst chatting to the lads we had met the night before. They got off an island before us but we chose to go to a more beautiful and idyllic island first - Blue Lagoon resort. This resort had only been opened 4 weeks so we expected it to be nice and it was! Our first impressions of the resort as we pulled up in the boat was just breathtaking. The beach was gorgeous with hammocks, loungers and a beautiful veranda with a restaurant. The staff were so friendly and greeted us with a song and a fruit cocktail. There was only about 20 people at the resort so it was very relaxed. We were given a cabin dorm which was so bright and clean. That day we met a group of Jewish American people who were all lovely. We had a lovely lunch, all included in the prize and you got to choose lunch from a big menu. Straight after lunch we went for a snorkel straight off the beach and then chilled in the sea chatting to the Americans. That afternoon we all got a boat over to the other side of the island to a "bakery" (fijian style) where we had cake and tea in a Fijian hut. We then did an hour and a half hike back over the hills, not so clever in flip-flops but so worth it as the hike was stunning with 360 views of the whole island as we crossed through it. Before dinner we had a cava ceremony where the local staff taught us how to drink their local drink, Cava (made of mud!) and after 20 or so cups of it can make you feel quite drunk, it was so awful, we only had the glass. After the cava ceremony, the staff played us some songs which was great. Dinner was a 3 course meal on the beach with the Americans. After dinner we played International Crab Racing. My crab was no.7 and got through to the semi-final but didnt win :-( - an amazing day in paradise!

We left Blue Lagoon at mid-day the next day and went across to the opposite island - Coral View Resort. This island was included in our pass and was nothing compared to Blue Lagoon. We had heard it was a great place to meet people and it was no extra cost so we figured we would spend a night there. We sat down to lunch and were given a plate of fried rice with ketchup around the edge - we were not impressed, ha ha!
I wanted to go straight back to the other resort. But we didn't, after all, it was all paradise. That evening, we did some Fijian dancing with the staff which was a good laugh. Emily and I were quite tired and the dorm we were staying in was full of young English guys who were staying up drinking so we knew we would never get to sleep. So we walked around the resort in search of an empty cabin - to which we found. So we slept in a en-suite double cabin and had an amazing nights sleep, however we were woken up by the maid in the morning who just apologized and ran out :-) We had to stay at Coral View until lunchtime before our boat came so I chilled in a hammock all morning reading. We decided that Emily should do her PADI here as it was really cheap and we would stay back at Blue Lagoon for 3 more days whilst she did it. I was not complaining! So we heading across the sea to the luxurious blue lagoon. And we were greeted with another song and cocktail - cheeky! All the staff and the guests were so happy to see us back, they knew we would be back, ha ha.

That afternoon we took a boat ride to the middle of the ocean where the tide was low and there was a patch of sand for us to play volleyball on. We played 3 games with the waves coming up over our feet and the sun was setting, it was brilliant. I scored 1 point so didn't let the team down too much and surprisingly we won. That night we had a Fijian night so about 30 villagers came and put on a song and dance for us. The sun was setting a purple and pink colour whilst the performance was going on and it was just unbelievable. I was so happy and wouldnt have wanted to be anywhere else. We finished the night off with a traditional Fijian dinner which was delicious.

The next day I did some weaving with a local lady and I made my very own bracelet. That night was bonfire and games evening on the beach. Our first game was the limbo which Emily was so close to winning. We then got into teams and played an Australian Beer race which obviously we won! Then we had to get in pairs and when they shouted 'piggy' em had to get on my back, 'king' she sat on my knee and 'blue lagoon' i had to carry her. We got all the way to the semi-final but sadly didn't win. Last 2 games were egg between the bum cheeks and lastly a beer and chocolate eating competition which surprisingly we lost. To finish the night off, the owners did a fire throwing display and then lit a bonfire, it was such a special night.

I went to church on Sunday in the Nacula village. There were lots of kids dressed in their sunday best. The church really stood out in this village as it was quite spectacular when the rest of the village was made up of basic huts. We had to wait for the 2nd drum to go into the church and then the 3rd drum signaled the beginning of the service. The kids all sat on one side of the church and the choir opposite them. The minister stood above us all. The service was all in Fijian so we couldnt understand although the service was beautiful. I did however think it would be more dramatic. The minister gave out bibles to some of the kids and they bowed at the minister so I figured it was some kind of ceremony. We walked back through the village and saw Maria (the lady who helped me weave my bracelet), her home which was a tiny hut -it was a wonderful experience to be a part of.

The next day we were very sad to leave Blue Lagoon and the little family of staff and guests there. Everyone by the end knew our names and it was so homely. We went to Manta ray resort, a few hours boat ride away. The guys we met one our first day were staying too as well as 3 lovely girls from England and another group of guys so we knew it would be a great night and it was. We weren't so interested in drinking so we all just chilled out chatting on beach which was so much fun. We were also given a dancing performance by the Fijian staff, 2 of the gay men dressed up as women and they could honestly shake their hips better than the girl - it was amazing. We only stayed the night at Mantaray as we were told to go to Octopus - the sister resort of Blue Lagoon but on a bigger scale so were very excited. It was stunning, looked like a hotel, amazing beach and pool with turkish beds all around. We were going to spend 2 nights here and our last night at the renowned Beachcomer party resort but ended up spending 3 nights here before heading back to the mainland. Over the 3 days. I made another woven bracelet, 4 shell bracelets, and a anklet, starting a collection of them. We had another games night at Octopus but the prizes here were so much better than Blue Lagoon, free massage, free room upgrade, lobster dinner - and all me and em won was a bloody shot! We did a village trip at this island where we went to a Kindergarten. The first room we walked into looked like an empty warehouse but then we walked into this little room where all the kids were sitting on the floor in silence waiting for us. The classroom had drawings and posters all around it and was quite colourful. The kids then sang us a variety of songs, including twinkle twinkle and head, shoulders. It was so cute and they sang so well. When it was time for us to leave, we all had a round of high fives and hugs, they didn't want us to go. We then went to a craft market where all the women were selling jewellery, arts and crafts etc. That night was our last night and also Movie Night at Octopus. They set up a big screen on the beach and we all lay on the turkish beds under the stars, whilst they passed out popcorn. It was a surreal experience. Headed back to the mainland the next day before boarding a flight to Auckland, New Zealand