We arrived in Fiji at night and it was seriously hot! There was some rain but I kept my fingers crossed that it would clear up for the next day. There was some confusion around our booking. The girl in STA travel had managed to mess it up and book it for the wrong day. We therefore had nowhere to stay but luckily after being moved around two hotels, we found some space for us and the hotel sorted it out with the company.

First thing next morning we were up and on our way to our 12day island hopping around the Mamanuca and Yasawa Island groups. It was an absolutely beautiful day with not a single cloud in the sky. We got on the boat at Denarau and headed off to the first Island, South Sea Island, which we later found out was the smallest of the Mamanuca group. We hopped onto the transfer boat not knowing what to expect and started heading towards a tiny bit of sand and a couple of trees. I thought that we must be going around this to get to our island but sure enough we got closer and closer and I realised this must be the one we were staying on. Surely there was more island than what I could see but we stepped out of the boat into the crystal clear waters and realised that this was it! I could see the other side of the island from where I was standing and it was a perfect circle. It was like the kind of thing you would draw if someone said you had to draw a tropical island! There was one big dorm upstairs but there were not too many other people there so it was quite nice to know that we were gonig to be able to chill out and relax after all the trekking round coutries carrying half my body weight on my back!

It wasn't long before I was in a bikini falling asleep on a sunlounger in the sun. I think the hardest thing I did that day was get into a hammock to have a nap in the shade. This place really was heaven! However, I did wake up looking like an idiot with criss cross all over my back! Lunch was a BBQ and it was so nice.

In the evening we were lucky enough to see baby turtle hatching and going into the sea. They were so cute and tiny. It turns out we were really lucky to catch them as the staff have been waiting for them to hatch for a while. They were quite sad to have missed them but there was another nest on the other side of the island so they would keep an eye on that.

Later on I had to fight with an American over dinner! The stupid idiot took the dish that was for me as I had asked for no seafood and no red meat. He picked up the chicken plate and when asked if he could eat seafood he was all like, "I love fish"! He then told me that I had to give him my potatoes as I was getting a plate of chicken! It was such a petty thing to fight over but I wanted those damn potatoes! Well after some words were exchanged I gave him the potatoes and I ended up not even eating the chicken as it was just a plate of bones...nasty! This was my first experience on the islands of what hunger really feels like!

The next morning I woke up to a drum being beaten...apparently this is how the Fijians announce dinner and after a while I started to feel like I was in some kind of Pavlovian experiment, salivating at the sound of a drum! Today we were heading off on a sailing cruise on a yacht (why do I do this to myself)! Luckily it was really calm waters and the day started off well when we were greeted with free champagne. It turns out taht all of the drinks were free so we decided to get our moneys worth and drink them dry of beer. Fiji bitter was the drink of choice on this trip and it was all good!

Our first stop was at a village where we had to be initiated into the village by the chief. This involved drinking a slightly narcotic drink called Kava. Not everyone had to do it but I thought what the hell and gave it a shot. Now you can't just drink it, you have to clap once, say "Bula", down it in one, clap three times and say "Vinaka". Now there was the option of low tide, high tide or tsunami and Barry and I both had Tsunami, which meant an overflowing cup of what tastes like muddy water! After drinking it I could feel my lips and tounge going numb so decided one was enough! Off we went around the little village that had crafts made by the women and they were all pretty amazing things.

The next stop was the islnd where the Tom Hanks movie 'Castaway' was filmed. It was possibly the most beautiful island you have ever seen and it was like being on a postcard! The sand was so soft and white and you could see right to the bottom of the water. I went snorkelling for a while and the coral was so colourful and pretty and there were lots of cool fish hanging around. Later we went for a walk on the other side of the island and it was so amazing! There were coconuts just laying around and it was perfect. I never wanted to leave the island and can't believe how lucky Tom Hanks was to spend so long filming on it, damn Hollywood stars!

Lunch back on the boat was the best food ever, it was BBQ and you could eat as much as you like! After lunch we chilled out and went cruising around and drank more. All of a suddens oemone shouted "DOLPHINS" and I went to the side of the boat and they were jumping out of the water and swimming along with the side of the boat, playing around and swimming underneath then jumping back out like you see in the documentaries! It was so brilliant but a little sad as Barry was int eh toilet and missed it all! Next the Fijians were singing songs and playing guitars and it was fantastic.

Next, out came the chocolate muffins and coconut cakes! I think I had about three muffins and two cocnut cakes. I then went back and got two to take back with me! For the rest of the journey we kept getting beer and hiding it in my bag and by the time we were ready to leave the boat, the bag weighed a ton! I had the best day. It really was brilliant. Fijians are so welcoming and so happy all the time, so far, I'm loving this country!

Back to our island and a little dip in the freshwater pool before we had a shower and got ready for a nice dinner. We met some really nice people while we were on here who were a day behind us on the trip so we would give them all the island gossip when we met up every other day. We stayed up late chatting and drinking beer and had a great time. I loved South Sea Island!