Bula!

We arrived in Fiji at 5am and received a warm welcome from the locals. We booked our stay on Mana Island at a travel agent in the airport, and the travel agents were kind enough to let Ben ring Nationwide in order to have a new bank card sent home. We got a free shuttle bus to smuggler's cove, where we waited for the boat over to Mana. While waiting, we chilled in the water and took in the beautiful clear skies and amazing landscape.

The boat took about an hour to get to the island, and when we reached Mana we experienced our first taste of true paradise; clear waters, blue skies and a melting sun!!! We were quickly sorted into our rooms at Syrianna's Backpackers Lodge, and headed straight onto the beach, which was literally 5 steps from the front door, although Ben had to hide in the shade still lol!

The water was crystal clear, and Allister was keen to pursue his interest in nature :p so was first into the water, practicing his snorkling techniques. The coral was plentiful and actually pretty interesting. For the most part, Mana was a chillout and totally what we were looking for, especially after the past few days' headaches and stress. The hardest decisions on the Island were literally if we should put suncream on or what colour shorts we should wear.

The beach ran round the whole island, and we walked round to check out as much as possible, cracking open a few coconuts and terrorizing crabs along the way lol! We saw a shark about ten feet away from us in the extremely lukewarm (lol) shallow waters, where Alex and Al attempted to spear the great beast, but had to settle for a blurred camera shot. Ben and Ryan on the other hand were quite happy to drink in nature's beauty, rather than tamper with God's creations haha. We also came across a movie set for an American reality TV show called 'Survivor' (Neato!) Upon its discovery we thought it was actually some kind of temple, until we felt it and realised it was painted polystyrene, ahem.

In the evenings we were usually exhausted from all the sun bathing and swimming that we just sat with the rest of our roomies and played cards with a few frothy bevvies - we have now become so advanced at every single card game there is, that we are working on a new game which we have decided to name 'circles', and when it is finished we will teach you all ;) We were advised to check out the sunset on sunset beach by some of our Mana island buddies, so with beers in hand, we headed across the private airfield, and we were not disappointed by the stunning view across the ocean. Although on some days it was pretty cloudy, but beautiful nevertheless.

On the other evenings we had a few drinks, including some BIG bottles of vodka :), and had ourselves a little party at a bar just down the beach. The pictures should be able to tell you more than we can lol. We ended up cutting our stay on Mana short, and headed back to the main island earlier than scheduled. Back on the main island we found a cosy little Indian owned bedsit, which cost us a staggering 3GBP a night to stay, with meals available for around 1.50-2 quid!!

The semi finals of the Champions Leaugue was being shown at a bar across the road, so Ben and Ryan got up at 6.45am to watch it. We met a local girl called Geraldine that night, and chilled with her and a couple of her friends on the beach and made a bonfire. Unfortunately Alex had had one too many drinks and consequently lost his wallet, which contained his bank card as well a many personal items, on the beach. This now left him in the same position as Ben. What a pair of massive idiots!!!

So now 50% of our group had little or no monies, so many favours were granted in order for them to survive. As our days in Fiji were coming to an end, we experienced what people had described as 'true monsoon weather'. Just as we were about to go out for the night, the heavens opened and we got pretty wet lol. It was literally like someone turned on a massive tap and left it on for ages. It died down in the end, but we had to navigate through flooded gardens and streets to get anywhere!

That night, Al and Alex (bug boys) decided to play a prank on the sleeping Ryan and Ben by introducing some of Fiji's finest and squidgy toads to their beds. Looking back it was pretty funny, but at the time it was not a pleasant experience lol!! Al now awaits a pranklet for payback as Alex had his in San Diego, being covered in pen and conditioner due to his bear snores lol.

On the whole, Fiji was mint. Everyones proper friendly, especially the mozzies! But beware of the over friendly market indians who give you 'special price' for 'real' pearls. Also the Fijians who give you free Kava (the national drink consisting of the Kava root with water. Essentially muddy water), then decorate you with jewelery and ask for a small donation to their village. They are very nice people but they can try and send you on a guilt trip by being too nice.

So now to New Zealand! Bula! x