We arrived at Nadi airport to a singing welcome from the airport staff. This soon erased the memory of the long wait for the flight back in Auckland. We had a couple of days in Nadi, staying at Smugglers Cove. Our first night was spent chilling in the hammocks with a couple of drinks, until 11pm when all the lights were turned off without warning and the bar closed, thats early even for us!! The following day we awoke to rain, so after booking our island hoping trip we went into Nadi town to get supplies. It had a similar feel to Thailand, with lots of people trying to get u to buy souvenirs, although the Fijian people were much more friendly. After struggling to find somewhere for lunch, we tried the cafe with the most people in and the least bars on the windows. After ordering a BBQ skewer, and getting a steak in a strange sauce we headed back to the resort. That night we chilled at the bar and had a great meal. We also joined in on a Kava ceremony with the Kavaholics (a fijian band as far as we could tell) who were great fun. The Kava wasn't so great and a bit like sawdust water, literally! It's basically grounded down wood with water passed through it! We managed to avoid the Tsunami sized portion, as they called it, and got away with a couple of low tides and a high tide instead!

We were up early the next day for our transfer to Denarau port to begin our island hoping trip on the Yasawas. Again we received a warm welcome at the port, before boarding yet another rocky boat for a 5 hour journey to Coral View Resort, on Tavewa island. Aimee did very well this time, to keep her insides, inside! The lovely people of Coral View welcomed us onto the island with songs, cold OJ and a spicy pasta and cabbage lunch!?! However when we checked in to our bure, we found ants everywhere and were also warned that the bure may flood. Oh well, cant have it all I suppose. In the afternoon we went snorkelling just off the beach, and managed to see some colourful marine life and coral. In the evening a buffet dinner was served and fijian people played guitars and sang for us. For some free drinks we had a hairiest chest man competition, and the best legged girl, a time when Aimee should have shaved, and I shouldn't have! This was followed by more singing and dancing from the staff.

Next day and the sun was out in force, so we made the most of it with a lazy day on the beach, and we were joined by Louise, an English girl who we hung out with for a couple of days. In the evening we walked to top of the hill above the resort to see the sunset. It was a lot steeper and a lot less of a path than we were told. Luckily Louise went first taking all the spiderwebs with her! There was a lovely clear sky once we eventually reached the top, but just as sun setting all the clouds decided to cover it up. Back down the mountain (hill), we went for a curry night at the resort, with the spiciest salad ever, and more fun and games that evening including the Bula dance (Fijian Macarena). After checking out and having breakfast, there was some more sunbathing as it was scorching hot. At Lunchtime we were treated to watery soup and yesterdays rice, and also a farewell ceremony, with more very nice singing from the staff. It almost made you want to stay a bit longer. However we boarded the boat for next island, luckily a fairly short journey compared to the 5 hour one, as we headed south back towards the main island. This boat trip was also a lot smoother this time!

We arrived at Korovou on Naviti island, with another warm welcome and lovely icy orange juice. It was a smaller resort, but also very pretty. We laid by the beach and relaxed before watching the stunning sunset. That evening we had traditional fijian food cooked under the ground. Another Bula dance later and we saw some fire dancers doing their stuff, as well as a strange how to tie your sulu (sarong) dance!! The next day included fish feeding and coconut smashing, as well as staff member Ziggy climbing up a tree to get coconuts for our fresh coconut cocktails.

Our next island was to be Waya Lailai, where the people were not quite as friendly as previous resorts, but the food was getting better island by island! The Wayalailai Ecohaven resort was run mainly by the village close by, with most of the profits benefiting the village community. This meant no electricity in the day time, no hot water, and not so friendly staff including a Kava intoxicated barman!! Some of the guys we had met along the way, were told by staff that the guide for their sunrise hike at 5:30 in the morning, did not show up because "sometimes we are sleeping"! Aimee did some weaving lessons with the locals and made a bracelet and anklet from leafs and shells, as well as making friends with a few of the younger villagers. These were the first we had seen on the islands so far.

Sunday brought us a quiet day as no activities are run, except for a church service on the island. The Fijians were not even allowed to join in on a game of beach volleyball, as it was their a day of rest. That afternoon Don and Victoria, who we had met at Coral View, arrived from Korovou. They were doing a similar trip, but a day behind oursleves. We had dinner and saw a very large spider minus a couple of legs hovering above us. As the activities were up and running again on Monday, we went snorkelling with Reef Sharks, 20 minutes off the island. The locals were spending a stupid amount of time underwater, catching fish for shark bait. It was a great experience to see them so closely, (sometimes a bit too close) apart from the locals handling of the sharks, which seemed a bit rough and unnecessary at times. In the afternoon we took advantage of the good weather on the beach before leaving for our last island.

We arrived as Beachcomber island resort, which was the smallest we had been to, and decided to explore a little before dinner. After 10 minutes we had walked all the way around the island and arrived back at our best accommodation yet. Dinner was also a great improvement compared to the first island, so I stocked up a bit!! We had heard that Beachcomber was known as a party island, and the drinking games soon followed dinner. Our team came second out of six. This was followed by a strange mix of a live Fijian band playing Frank Sinatra, and a DJ playing house music while the band took breaks. A few drinks later and we were on the dance floor, or beach floor, which we found a bit tricky. Aimee also had a young french guy on her tail most of the night, so much so she even lied about her name! (Annabel) haha.. All in all we had a great last night on the islands.

Once we were up, breakfast included freshly cooked omelettes, pancakes with syrup (Yum), and all the usual stuff (shame we were leaving that day). We spent the day on the beach, while we awaited our transfer back to Denarau. The boat ended up 3 hours late so after a few false boarding calls and a short trip in the dark, we were back on the main island heading for Smugglers Cove once again. After some traditional English food, fish and chips, we headed for bed.

The following days weather wasn't so great apart from 30 minutes of sun, so we spent most of it getting organised for our departure, and making more bookings for the US part of the trip. Only a month of travelling remaining now, and then its back to the real world again. :-( That evening we met up with Don and Victoria for some dinner and drinks. There was a fire dancing show that night, and probably the best we'd seen in Fiji. We were the last out of the bar, although after the lights and the football were suddenly switched off at 11:00pm, there weren't many people left. I guess thats the fijian way of saying get out. We spent the rest of our time in Nadi soaking up the sun, before our evening flight to LA.