Two years ago we came up with the list of countries we wanted to visit on our travels. We had decided that after almost a year of touring, we wanted to our last stop to be somewhere nice and warm where we could just relax. We first thought of Hawaii as it would have been on the way home, however we discounted it for obvious reasons. We then thought about Fiji. We knew people who had been and loved it, but knew little else about it. I imagined us being on an isolated beach, staying in a hut only a stone's throw away for the water. We took a chance and booked it hoping that it would be just as I hoped.

We flew into Nadi on the main island not knowing what to expect. As we left the plane, we were greeted by a band singing songs and welcoming us to their country. It was a stark contrast with Jordan where we were greeted with a scam and had to pay lots of money. I realised then that we would have a great time in Fiji. We stayed in Nadi for one night then the following day we got on a boat to Naviti Island where we stayed for the next 10 nights.

Naviti is one of the 330 islands that make up Fiji, and it is part of the Yasawa Island group. Most backpackers who visit Fiji seem to get an island hopping pass which means they stay on each island one or two nights therefore allowing them to see more of the country. After travelling for so long, we just wanted to stay still.

As our boat approached the island we saw some of the Botaira Beach Resort staff had assembled to welcome us. There were people singing and on guitar to play us a welcoming song. As we got onto the beach we were given a flower garland and a drink of 'kava' (a local fruit juice). We were then taken to our 'bure' (room) which looked like a big traditional looking hut. Inside it was very nicely furnished, and lots of flowers had been placed all over the room. The bure had a front porch to sit out on, and then as soon as you stepped off it you were only a few steps from the beach. It was perfect - even better than I had hoped.

The ten days we spent on the island was a bit of a blur. At most there were 12 visitors on the island, and some days it was just the two of us. We hardly saw anyone else on the beach - it was like our own private island. Our days would start at around 8am when the drum was banged to summon us to breakfast. We then could do things 'at our leisure' until lunch at 12.30. After lunch was 'chill out/reading' time until 3.30 when it was time for afternoon tea. We could then relax some more until 7pm when it was time for our evening meal. It was a hard life!

There were several activities that were available for us to do whenever we liked. We went kayaking one day. We did it for about half an hour and went up and around the bay. We only did it the once - it was too much of an effort! We also went swimming in the beautiful, clear and relatively warm sea. The best activity was snorkelling. We didn't have to swim far from the beach to see an amazing coral reef and literally thousands of fish. The coral reef took up quite a big area and was very close to the surface in places. It suprised me just how easy it was to get to. It's hard to describe the coral because there was such a wide variety of it - some looked like trees without leaves and had glowing blue bits on their tips, while others looked like enormous brains. There were also lots of different types of fish - little ones that were electric blue coloured, large rainbow fish etc. It was another world down there. People visited our resort for the day to go swimming and snorkelling, but we got to do it whenever we wanted.

While we were on the island we had a trip to the local village. It was about 40 minutes walk and is situated on the other side of the island. It was quite a strenuous walk because it was very hot and we had to climb a big hill. We got a stunning view of the island from the top of the hill though. The village was good to see as it wasn't touristy in the slightest. We were shown two of the main buildings, the church and the school, and saw normal daily Fijian life. People seemed happy. At the end of the tour some of the ladies brough out some local handicrafts for us to buy as souvenirs. We ended up buying quite a few things.

The food that we had on the island was always very good and there was always lots of it. All the ingredients were very fresh and were sourced from the island and surrounding waters. We had a tour of the gardens and saw hundreds of pineapple plants, mango and banana trees, and lots of different root vegetable plants. It's amazing to think the price we pay for a pineapple in England, and they can just go out and pick one of the hundreds that are there. On our first night on the island we had a 'lovo' meal which was the same as the 'hangi' meal we had in New Zealand (it is cooked underground). After the meal there was a 'Meke' show that was performed by the villagers and some of the resort staff dressed in traditional clothing. The show comprised of a number of songs and dances that were traditionally performed at special times such as warriors going to war or new child being born. It was an excellent show and the 'men with clubs dance' where the warriors waved their clubs threateningly at the audience, was particularly entertaining.

On our last evening we had a special meal made for us. A table was set for us on the beach just metres from the water's edge. We had a a very tasty starter of fish in a lemon/coconut sauce served in a coconut shell, the main course was a huge lobster and sides which was incredibly tasty, and there was cake for dessert. As the sun set, the waiter came and lit a couple of torches by our table. It made the perfect setting for the end of our time on the island, and indeed the end of our year of travels.

The following day we got the boat back to Nadi to stay there for one night before our long journey back to London.

D