The flight from New Zealand to Fiji was 3 hours and went by without any problems. We were welcomed into Nadi Airport by local Fijians who were playing guitars and singing:-) After we had collected our bags we went to find the Awesome Adventures desk, who we had booked our Fiji package with. The package covered our entire stay and included 1 night in Nadi, 6 nights on the Yasawa islands and then 2 more nights back in Nadi. At the desk we were given all the info we needed and directed to a shuttle, which took us straight to our Nadi hotel: Smugglers Cove. Smugglers Cove was a lovely hotel set on the beach complete with bar and restaurant. Our holiday from travelling had begun! :-)

We spent our first evening walking along the beach, having a lovely meal on the hotel decking as the sun went down and enjoying cocktails whilst watching a fire show. The following morning we were up early as we had to be ready for a coach collection at 8am, which would take us to the marina for our ferry departure at 8.30am. The Yasawa flyer is a huge boat and spends every day sailing up to the top of the Yasawas and then back down. It takes the ferry 5 hours to get to the top and then 5 hours back. We had decided that over our 6 nights we would stop at 3 islands, spending 2 nights on each. Our first island was 3 hours up on the Yasawa flyer. We got on to the boat and our bags were taken from us and stored in racks at the back. The journey up to our first island was absolutely stunning with amazing views of the bright blue sea and paradise-like islands. When we arrived at out stop we were transferred with our luggage onto a smaller boat and taken into the island. As we pulled into the beach the staff members from The Korovou Resort were there to welcome us with their guitars and singing :-)

We were taken to our little wooden bure where we would be staying. We spent the next 2 days lazing around the pool, walking along the beach, watching the staff climb the palm trees to get coconuts, walking through the middle of the island to find banana plants and learning about the traditional Fijian foods. After 2 nights we packed up our things and caught the Yasawa Flyer up to the very top island to Safe Landing Resort. Our bure here looked out over the stunning beach and sea and had a little wooden balcony and hammocks :-) Ben spent his time here learning how to crack open coconuts with his fist and hitting golf balls off a hill to a platform in the sea. I sunbathed and attempted the coconut thing but decided that dehusking and cracking coconuts wasn't for me. Although I did enjoy the coconut flesh cooked with brown sugar:-) We finished off our stay at Safe Landing with a trip to a nearby cave. The cave has a deep lagoon inside it with crystal clear water, which we swam and dived down in. At one end of the cave there was an opening that led through to a second cave. However, the opening was under water and so in order to get through we had to put on masks and swim under water through the narrow passageway. Quite scary! And also scary when you come out the other side into complete darkness. We made it through though and were guided around the second cave by a local guide with a torch. Amazing!

After 2 more great days on the islands we got back onto the Flyer and started to head south back down the islands. We got half way down and reached our final stop: Barefoot resort. Our bure at Barefoot was by far the best as the walls were a tent which could completely zip open, with a thatched roof and concrete floor, The back zipped open to our own private outdoor bathroom :-) Barefoot was the most well positioned for snorkelling and diving and so on arrival we immediately booked 1 certified dive each for the next day. We were taken out early the next day in a motor boat and were prepared with all our scuba equipment and wetsuits. The dive site was amazing with hundreds of colourful fish and amazing formations of coral. The reef here was unbelievable and a lot better than what we had seen on the Great Barrier. We enjoyed our final night on the Yasawas with nice food and cocktails.

We woke up on our last morning at Barefoot to torrential rain....we couldn't believe it after all the wonderful weather we'd had. The Yasawa Flyer wasn't due to pick us up until around 3pm and so the morning was spent with us and a few friends sitting in our room watching 40 year old virgin on the laptop. At lunchtime the rain stopped and the sun came out, so we got one last quick sunbathe on the beach before the ferry came.

Back in Nadi we booked into another nice hotel, with a pool and on the beach. We had two days left before our flight to Hawaii and spent the time exploring Nadi town, visiting the craft and food markets and relaxing around the pool. Wonderful!!