After a bustling four day capital city tour it was time to check out another Fiji beach and backpackers resort. Volivoli beach resort offered us a deal if we sign up for their open water PADI certificate we can get free accommodation for four days. Something for free always gets a backpacker excited so we took a bus up to the north of viti levu island and signed up for the dive course.

Fiji is a cheap place to learn, we paid them 130 quid for the course material and six opportunities for the sharks to nibble at our toes.

When we arrived the place was very beautiful so we had to sit down at the bar for a drink. "Fiji tiiiiime" was the first words from our dive instructor, rolling out the word time in a very slow relaxed manor. Fiji time is a national institution here, it roughly means: something will happen when it should happen, not when it was supposed to have occurred but the something that was due to happen, was not at the wrong time but at, Fiji tiiiiime!

We were handed the dive book and told to read it for a test the next day. When do we have to finish reading the book? Don't worry, just Fiji time. Will we go for a confined water dive today? Maybe, Fiji time. What time do we have to be ready tomorrow morning? Whenever, remember, Fiji tiiiiiime. OK, Fiji tiiiime.




The next four days were great fun, we saw a lot of different, very colourful sea creatures and coral. Rolled around the dive boat and then off the side of it in a James Bond style. Learnt all the neccesary and difficult safety skills, for example the number 1 safety rule is: dont stop breathing. Genius.

Off to spend five days camping and fishing on a shipwrecked style tiny island.

Cooper Out

Love Dan & Kat