Fiji

Thursday 18th November - Thursday 2nd December 2010

BULA!!!

Hi everyone! I'm so sorry for the delay. It's been a mad rush since Fiji. We moved down the coast so quickly to fit everything in before Sydney I didn't have time (or internet funds!) to type this baby up! But, thanks to the journal Lucy got me I hopefully won't forget too much!

The flight to Fiji from Brisbane was fine. We had a few drinks (standard!) and I managed to spill a whole bottle of white wine on myself. Not only did it drench me but it created a nice puddle of wine for me to sit in until I had soaked up the entire bottle into my linen trousers and big knickers. I was so wet so I just took my trousers off and draped them over the seat to dry. Joe was a little shocked at my behavior to say the least but they were big knickers (and I left them on - don't worry!). When we got closer, the views of the surrounding islands were unbelievable. The sea was so turquoise, even from the aero plane and you could see the underwater coral surrounding the tiny circular green islands with a perfect trim of white sand round the outside. We got to the airport we got a typical south pacific welcome! It reminded me of Hawaii. All the men and women wore long skirts and flowers in their hair and played loud live music with banjos and bongos as we entered international arrivals! It was quite exciting but our booking agency (Peter Pan's) was rubbish and nobody was there to pick us up! We eventually got to "Sky Lodge" hotel and had a few Fiji bitters to celebrate our own arrival!

Unfortunately, I got really ill that night (NOT from the Fiji bitter! I only had 2!). I thought it was flu, I was shivering, being sick and I was absolutely freezing despite being in Fiji and making Joe turn the air con off. I shivering so hard Joe had to hold me to try and stop me at one point I was sat in my trackies with my hood up, head over the toilet crying because I thought I was going to have fly home. What a drama queen. But by the morning I was slightly more human and I managed to get on the bus to take us to Denarau ferry port so we could commence our tour of the Yasawa Islands with our Bula Combo pass. Neither of us felt great though and it was a god send that the bus had no windows! As we travelled through Fiji to the port, we noticed that it is quite a run-down place, definitely nothing much to see as a tourist. The kids are doing the traffic control with huge lolly pops in their school uniform before going to school and the roads are lethal! We had to go through a check point before entering Denarau and you can see why. The houses here look much more affluent, there is a golf course and it's a totally different world. Joe thinks this is where Surevi lives (he asks every Fijian where he is, even the immigration officer!).

When we got to the port, we were serenaded by a band of excited Fijians. At first they looked like a classical brass band but when they started playing 'Macarena' and the leader of the band went round the room dancing in peoples faces it was apparent that they weren't so classical! They also incorporated tribal dances into their performances; can you imagine a guy dancing around whilst playing the trombone?! It was so loud and exciting and hilarious! But it meant that we couldn't hear a word the girl from 'Awesome Adventures' was saying so we had no idea how our boat pass or accommodation worked! We got on the boat and it took us past the Mamanuca Islands then onto the Yasawas and to our first stop.

The Mamanuca Islands are the typical 'Shipwrecked' islands where I'm sure the 'Bounty' adverts were filmed. If you asked a child to draw a 'treasure island', they would draw the Mamanuca islands. They are tiny, flat, sandy islands with tufts and greens trees in the centre of them. They look like a strong wind could blow them away. South Sea Island is so small; you can walk around it in five minutes! Beachcomber is the 'party island' and has a ninety bed dorm in one huge shed! The Island where the Tom Hanks film 'Castaway' was filmed is also one of the Mamanucas and imaginatively named 'Castaway'. Unfortunately we didn't stop at any of these as our pass didn't allow it but they looked beautiful.

We have something called the Bula Combo pass which entitles us to unlimited travel of the boat around both sets of islands as well as fourteen nights' accommodation. However, there are a list of places we can stay with our accommodation vouchers and any other resort will cost us more money. So obviously we are just going to stay at the places on the list! And unfortunately there are no resorts on the Mamanucas that our package includes. But, we head to our first island called Waya Lailai and stay at the Wayalailai Ecohaven resort. It's so cool how you get transported. The waters around these islands are so shallow so the big boat cannot get close to the islands. So, when the boat stops, a fleet of powerboats meet the ferry (one per resort) to pick up the passengers bound for their resort. So, we climb into this tiny power boat and the workers throw our huge bags on and we get blasted to the beach. The resorts we are staying at are all owned by Fijian families (some of the larger, more expensive resorts are owned by European and Australian companies) so they are small and 'rustic'. The whole family comes out to the beach to welcome the new arrivals and they play instruments and sing welcome songs as you are wading through the shallow water. We all have to shout 'Bula!' when they are finished.

The accommodation is very pretty. Beautiful little bures (Fijian style huts) with thatched roofs, all on a hillside with mountains above and the beach below. The Yasawas were created volcanically and therefore are much greener and lush than the Mamanucas. They are more mountainous and look like Laa Laa Land with their velvety green clearings and forests. The weather has been so hot since we arrived but we didn't get to appreciate it as we slept all afternoon. We woke up for our free dinner which was basic but filling and watched an amazing sunset. The sun lit up the cliffs like they had neon lights at their base and they sky turned fuchsia pink.

The next day we got the boat to a resort called White Sandy Beach on Naviti Island. The family at WLL sang us onto the boat and the family at WSB sang us onto their beach! Obviously! We are feeling better today and make the most of the 3 meals a day included in the package. To be fair, it's not like they couldn't include the meals as there are no shops so you eat what you are given, and sometimes it's not all that good! But you also get tea, coffee and cake in the afternoon so it's not all bad! The meal times are set and we do get hungry in between and have spent loads on buying cookies and crisps off the families! They sound the drums when the food is ready and everyone staying at the resort goes and eats together. The seating area at WSB was basically just benches in the sand underneath a wicker roof and the bar was a shed with a side cut out! It's a nice change not having to organize our every meal and just get served but I do wish I'd brought a cool bag full of snacks!

We read all afternoon in a hammock on the beach, I've never been so relaxed. It is the picture of paradise here. Our shack is fine but the bathroom is outside and I had to move the trees the water would actually hit me! There is no hot water but when it is so hot it doesn't really matter, a cold shower is just what you need! After dinner the family performed for us, doing their local tribal welcome dances with the boys in grass skirts and women singing and clapping. They all look so happy and constantly rip each other, they have funny banter! After their performances, they got us involved! Gutted. We played musical statues (which was fine apart from the 'freestyle dancing' we had to do when the music was playing!), we did the conga and the stick game. The stick game is where you are in pairs and have to pass a stick onto the next pair in the circle (whilst moving in a circle) and if you have the stick when the music stops you are out. Joe got very competitive (shock!) and when it was down to the last 2 pairs, he dragged his poor partner (a small Fijian woman) round so hard in a tight circle to try and get away from the stick that he nearly killed her! Everyone was laughing so much at how violent it all got! It was very funny.

We are trying to move on everyday so we see as many islands and resorts as possible so we basically get 24 hours in each place. Our next stop is Long Beach resort on Matacawalevu Island. We really got the Wow factor when we got off the boat at this place. The sea was emerald green in some places and so turquoise blue in others it didn't look possible that water could produce such colours. I was so excited and kept saying to Joe "Look at the colour of the water!" He wasn't quite so excited about it as me and just talked to the Fijians about rugby instead. The power boat had to go really slowly to navigate its way through the coral as the tide was out. The water was so shallow the guys had to walk the boat to shore for the last 2oom! The water was just crystal clear by this point and once again, I was amazed by it! The re4sort seems better than the last few places too. We have a big, private cottage with an indoor bathroom! Bonus! It has its own small decked area and hammock. We read all afternoon again in the hammock (they are easily big enough for 2 people but when you both fall onto it, you end up right in the middle on top of each other! It's cozy but comfy!). We paddled in the water but the tide was still out so it was too shallow to swim in. The water was so hot we had to run to get out! I'm honestly not exaggerating! There were dead fish in the smaller pools, trapped by the tide and boiled to death! When the tide came in though it was the best place I have ever swam. Well, we didn't really swim but wallowed in the water for hours until we got wrinkly. It was beautiful, crystal clear water which was so warm it was like a hot tub. We could have been an advert for 'Sandals', frolicking in paradise, but instead Joe made me play rugby.

Although the shower is inside, it doesn't have a holder and there is no hot water still, so we had to hold the shower for each other while we had freezing cold showers! But it's not all bad, as afterwards we had our free dinner and drank on our balcony! I haven't worn anything on my feet for days and there are no cars or radios or TVs or computers, it's brilliant! When we wake up in the morning it sounds like the waves are lapping up against the building because we are so close to the water. It's another brilliantly hot day and we walk along the beach after a morning dip. There are crabs everywhere pretending to be stones! Joe decapitated a land crab (huge things!) to use for bait and fished in the shallow sea. We snorkeled in the afternoon and saw loads of fish. It is so clear; the light comes streaming through the ripples like a light machine at a disco. It's so relaxing and once again, we stay in the water until we are al wrinkly! We stayed two nights at Long Beach as we liked it so much and it was the first place we fell in love with. The places are very simple but friendly, the locations are idyllic but the food is getting weirder by the meal! For lunch today we got half a sausage, a fried egg and some cabbage!

On Tuesday (don't worry about keeping up with the days as I have no idea where I am, I'm just copying out of my journal!) we got the boat to Nabua lodge on Nacula Island. It's getting tiring moving everyday and we don't book our accommodation until we get on the boat so that can be stressful. We arrive at Nabua Lodge on our little speed boat (as usual!) and it is very similar to all the other places. I'm starting to figure out that you don't actually have to visit all the resorts and all the islands as they are all the same locations with the same views and same standard accommodation. But nevertheless, its fun exploring all the family villages and getting to go a power boat everyday! Once again, we wallowed all afternoon in the water and I got nibbled at by a pretty little fish that seemed very interested in my fingers and toes. We went along to a Team rooms on the beach. It was basically a shed with a family who made cake and sold it with coffee and tea to tourists. Joe was excited because William Ryder had autographed the wall there! Our bure/shed looks exactly how a child would draw a 'thatched house' only A LOT smaller! It is made from wicker and is big enough for a double and single bed which are pushed right up to the wicker walls. The door bolts from the outside only and there are gaps under the door big enough for a small child to get through never mind a mosquito! But because the weather and location is so beautiful, we don't really care and find it very amusing! I'm not sure how this can be the same standard as the accommodation of Long Beach but no one tells you anything when you book you have to just find out for yourself! If we were fussy eaters we would have starved to death by now and if you like your home comforts you might as well not get on the plane!

We were made to dance again that night after dinner (as well as introduce ourselves! How embarrassing! (But Joe secretly loves it! He rocks out his very special salmon dance and even managed some high kicks for luck! I found a huge coconut and one of the old men from the village opened it for me so we could drink the milk and eat the fruit, yum! When we went to bed that night, we lowered the fly net over the bed and saw a shadow on the top of it that looked suspiciously like a spider. Joe confirmed that yes, it was a huge, orange, crab-like spider with huge fangs! I was a total write off of a mess and adopted the fetal position on the other bed while Joe killed with a book and a flip flop. A bat flew into the side of the shed which nearly knocked it down and the heavens opened but we still managed to get to sleep! Only to wake up in the morning (at sunrise as there were no curtains) with a cat asleep on our bed which had pissed all over my bikini and Joe's travel pillow!

We left that and went to Coral View resort on Tavewa Island. The power boat was the most fun yet! It went at full speed zig zagging in between the coral and we were the only 2 in it! The accommodation is much better here (that wouldn't be TOO hard!) but it is a larger resort, still family-run but busier. We are starting to realize that the friendly family atmosphere the resorts convey is not always so genuine (I don't speak for all the resorts but the majority). They try and get money out of you for everything and are really reluctant to help you book your next place. The people on the boat don't seem to have very good pathways of communication with Awesome Adventures and even less with the resorts and you have to work hard to organize your holiday as you go, which gets exhausting. So we decided to stay at Coral for 3 nights. The weather has turned miserable and the bure is good so it's probably our best bet until the weather picks up - Ha! We both also have dodgy stomachs (if you know what I mean!), the kind where breaking wind is too dangerous! We were excited by the drums and having meals cooked and served to us at first but the food is getting worse and they have ran out of snacks! I was given a piece of chicken (one piece, the size of a golf ball) the other night and there was not one stitch of meat on it, it was all bone and grizzle. Vile. So I just had rice and weird sweet bread. I'm bloody starving!

The weather doesn't get any better and we are getting miserable now. Everything is damp and dirty and there are no laundry facilities (even the bed linen is washed by hand here). We are stuck in our bure as the weather is so rubbish and we would kill for a hot shower, a Sunday roast and a dry duvet! Our spirits aren't too low though, we have a Super Series of card games going and we find it in ourselves to giggle at our plight every time we think about it! We really want to snorkel at the Blue Lagoon (where the Brooke Shields film was filmed) but we need the weather to pick up. We have heard about the snow back at home at actually feel quite envious. We are stuck inside in one of the most beautiful places in the world because of some rubbish drizzly rain and wind and would much rather be at home playing in the snow! But we manage to keep our spirits high, laughing at each other and making fun of our plight! The super series ok knock out whist is also getting quite gripping! Fiji Bitter steps in every now and again to lend a hand too!

We got the boat to Sunrise Lagoon Resort on Nanuya Lailai Island on Saturday. All of these Islands are quite close together at northern end of the Yasawas and there is no real need to stay at them all. If you find a good resort you should probably just stick with it. As we found out. We didn't particularly like Coral View because of the unhelpful staff and crap food but the bure was good. Because the islands are so close together, the ferry isn't always used for transport and in this occasion, we are transferred from one tiny power boat to another in the middle of the stormy ocean. It was very dubious and I'm not sure the health and safety in the Western world would have allowed it but it was an experience! We have to ride in the power boat for a good twenty minutes, crammed in with eight Swedes. I am absolutely gutted when we eventually get there. It looks like the ghetto. The whole bloody family comes out to meet us on the beach, even the Doberman pinscher! The main guy has a tattooed face and looks hellish and the first thing one of the toddlers does is steal my lucky zebra (Zebedee) from my bag! I want to cry. The weather is awful and this place is horrific. The "Bula Bula lady" (as the Swedish group call her) sits us all down and tells us that we have to pay $20 each for the boat. No chance. We refuse as nobody told us and I am NOT in the mood. She must get the vibes I am giving off and doesn't push the matter. She eventually shows us to our bure (after trying to get more money out of us for other things) and I almost break down. Joe is very disturbed as he knows how upset I am but cannot do anything unless he hires a helicopter to take us to Turtle Island (where all the celebs go), because the boat isn't coming for another 24 hours. We have also just been told that there is a hurricane on its way, hence all the bad weather - Ideal! We have also ran out of cash and this is obviously the only method of payment these places have so the Bula Bula lady tells us to 'walk around the corner' to a posh resort to get cash back. 'The corner' turns out to be the corner of the entire island and it takes us over an hour to walk in the surf and over sharp rocks in the rain to get to this place. By this time, I am able to see the funny side of things. Maybe it's because Joe is wearing a blue poncho and his shorts are wet from the deep water and he is NOT enjoying himself! But we somehow manage to not both be miserable at the same time and we keep each other going, somehow. When we arrive at this place we don't want to leave! It's very nice and posh and clean and nice. I don't want to go back to the ghetto! But, the lady at reception tell us that she can't do cash back today because it's Saturday. Holy Mother of God. We haven't even got enough cash to buy water. But after seeing the look on our faces, she risks her job and gives us cash back. We treat ourselves to a Pina Calada in order to get cash back! We NEEDED it! We also pay $20 for a water taxi to get back as the weather is looking pretty grim and everyone is anticipating the hurricane. It's quite scary and exciting at the same time. The sky is so dark and the wind is picking up, it's eerie. But, amazingly, the water still looks brilliantly blue! It's a reminder of where we are and what it should be like. I'm actually not too upset about the weather anymore, it's still an experience. But getting stuck at this place during a hurricane is not something I would like to add to this 'experience'! Joe has decided to name it Hurricane Sue!!! This keeps us laughing for a while and we now refer to the tropical cyclone as 'Bloody Sue!'

We had dinner that night in a shed and the father of the family joined us ('us' being, me, Joe, two German boys and the Swedes). We all had to hold hands and say 'Grace' and obviously I was sat next to the sweaty, fat old man who didn't speak English and smelt like a wet dog. This place is weird. That night we went straight to be bed so to avoid the strange people and discovered that we had ants all over our bed and cockroaches on the floor. The heavens opened that night too. It woke me up so violently I was terrified until I could work out that it was actually rain. It sounded like machine guns and we didn't have a torch. Joe was convinced there was something in our room but we didn't dare investigate with no light (not sure if I've already mentioned this but they only have power for a few hours a day as it comes from a generator, usually 6pm until 12pm and that's it!). It was so torrential I was sure it was Sue but when we wake up in the morning they say that it's due to hit the next day. We attempted to get to the Blue Lagoon before the boat came for us but the pathways were too slippery after the rain. So we sack it off. Once again we have missed out on something because of the weather. I can't help feeling sorry for myself but know I shouldn't because I'm in Fiji! It's just funny that you always want to be somewhere else but it doesn't necessarily mean that it's 'better'. We are missing home more than ever now we are somewhere so vile and so far away. But, on a lighter note, we snorkeled that coral just off the beach (yes, with a cyclone imminent!) and saw some huge blue star fish and a deadly sea snake, so it's not all bad! We also visited "Lo's Tea House" which is another tea shop along the beach. They had a three-week old kitten there called Pampaleki who was adorable! We had to rush back to the beach as the boat was leaving early. They said it was because the big boat was early as the weather was getting worse. So we escaped the place of death and got back on the big boat. There was a huge swell and the boat was being thrown around. People were being sick everywhere. I was quite excited, it was like being on a rollercoaster! We wanted to go closer to the main land because we were quite unsure of what to expect from the storm. We had four accommodation vouchers left but we were determined to stay somewhere nice. We decided to stay two more nights on the islands, then two on the main land to make sure we caught our flight so we used all four vouchers for two nights at a nicer, three star resort. We wanted to stay at 'Bounty Island Resort" which is one of the Mamanuca's but the lady on the boat told us it wasn't available but suggested other places. I knew she was lying and she was just trying to spread the guests out between the resorts. When we asked her for genuine advice as to where we should stay she looked at the availability list and read it out! I am so sick of this lack of helpfulness and deviousness! We ended up at a resort called "Botaira" back on Naviti Island. I don't actually care as long as it's nice. The power boat was terrifying in the big swell but we made it to the beach safely. It was such a relief getting to that place. The staff were friendly but not overly, they didn't sing to us and we got a flower necklace on arrival! (To which Joe's response was, "Great! Something to attract the wasps!"). I almost burst into tears when they showed us to our gorgeous big bure with a dry towel on the bed! A dry towel! It's the best thing I've ever seen in Fiji! I also managed to have my first hot shower in almost two weeks. The radio is suggesting that the tropical cyclone will hit during the night and there is still a risk that we will be evacuated. We met Francine and Aaron at dinner and they also had some horror stories from their experience of the places on the Bula Combo pass. Including being woken up by two rats fighting in their room! We are all a little concerned about the storm but also quite excited! We are just all so grateful that we made it to a nice place before it hits. So we celebrated and got absolutely battered with them that night! (Sorry if my tenses keep changing, I have no idea what's going on!). We drank Fiji bitter and wine and the local barman introduced us to Cava. It's not the sparkling wine that you would imagine; it's the root of a plant that they mix with water through a linen cloth and drink! It makes your mouth go numb and apparently makes you sleep like a baby! It also tastes like dirty dish water and mud. You have to say "Taki" if you want a drink. Joe was the one saying "Taki" the most!

Needless to say, we weren't feeling the best in the morning. We woke up to find Francine's flip flops on our porch and eight unopened bottles of Fiji bitter! Joe's first sentence was "I'm going on Aaron's stag do in Sydney with Johan". What happened?! Ha! We laughed at breakfast about how drunk we got and tried our best to piece the night together but couldn't. The only clues were photos of Joe on the camera with his t-shirt tied around his belly! No idea. But Joe really is going on Aaron's stag do in Sydney as they are getting married there in December. The ferry isn't running today either because it's too dangerous which is worrying as we fly in three days. But so glad we left Sunrise and came here or we would've been stuck there for three days! We have completely ran out of clean clothes though. The washing bags are huge and absolutely stink! Joe hasn't worn boxers fro three days now and he has two more to go! The day we left for Port Denarau it was beautiful sunshine! Typical! The cyclone actually didn't hit at all. I was almost disappointed. The sea was still rough though and just after our bags had been loaded into the tiny power boat a huge wave came and engulfed it so the few remaining dry clothes we did have were no longer dry! Joe's towel was also nicked off the front of his bag and my day bad broke. We got back to Nadi and stayed at the Nadi Bay hotel for the two nights before our flight. I managed to deal with the bags of doom and wash a few items so we had underwear and dry towels, but even after being in the laundry they still stank and were stained and shrunk! I can't wait to get back to Oz and wash everything, including myself properly. We look like right hobos! Our toenails are black with mud and we can't get them clean and my skin is awful with the constant moisture and humidity. The weather was amazing while we were in Nadi (one again, typical!) and we had some nice meals and mango daiquiris! Our Fiji trip has been sponsored by Capital One so we had enough money in the bank to get down the coast from Brisbane to Sydney and it has cost so much more than we expected! We thought it would be much cheaper than Oz and it actually wasn't! But never mind we'll pay it off when we start working - fingers crossed!

The flight had some beautiful views of the islands and we had a good laugh again on the flight! Joe couldn't decide between getting coffee and M&Ms or wine and cheese and this amused us! He also amused himself with the 'face game' (see the pics!). When we landed we got a taxi straight to the Greyhound station and then the Greyhound to Byron Bay. We arrived at Belongil Beach house in Byron at midnight after a mammoth journey and slept!

In conclusion, Fiji is beautiful and idyllic. It really is a paradise where you can lie in a hammock all day and snorkel in the clearest water I have ever seen. The Bula Combo would probably be great for a week in gorgeous weather but if the weather is bad, there really is nothing to do. If I went back I would pay more nicer accommodation and if the weather could be guaranteed (which it actually can be in their dry season!). I'm glad we went because it was so pretty and relaxing and I suppose we were just unlucky with the weather again but it was still an experience and a story to tell! On that note, I will wrap up this novel and start the next one! I was intrigued to see why people rave about Byron Bay. I wasn't particularly impressed with the Gold Coast to say the least but how can it be that much better?...

Love to everyone and remember the moral of the story is, don't always want to be somewhere else, no place in 'better' than the other, it's just where you think you want to be! You all wanted to be in Fiji and we wanted to be in the snow! Ha!

Lots of Love,

Elle and Joe x x x

p.s. Sorry about the 'blobs' on all the pictures! It's something that's got inside of it and is on the sensor so I can't do anything about it except buy a new one! We are going to get a water/everything proof one when we earn some funds!