Bula!

Fiji is amazing, pure paradise! This morning we got a catamaran from Nadi to our first island Waya Lailai.When we got near the island we had to get in a much smaller boat which comes out to get you. Arriving on the island we were greeted by the locals singing a welcome song. Once off the boat we were welcomed to the island and shown around. We are in a 16 bed dorm but everyone is lovely and the dorm is perfect. Cold showers and electricity only between 6pm - 10pm but its all you need out here. We spent the morning on the beach with Jo, a girl we met on the boat. The weather is gorgeous here. Lunch is between 12 and 1 and is really good with plenty of food. There are also scheduled activities on everyday. We layed back out on the beach this afternoon, Mike then played volleyball with loads of people and me and Jo went with a fijian lady from the village to help her pick leaves she was going to weave.The people out here are so friendly. This evening we all had dinner, and then chilled out before the evening entertainment started. There were 6 guys who were dressed up and did various dances, including a fire dance where they were stroking fire all over themselves. We then all had to get up and dance! Afetr this we just all sat around and had some drinks.

28th July 2009

This morning we were up early for breakfast, pancakes and cereal. We spent the morning laying on the beach again. Lunch was really good. After lunch I went and sat on a hammock on the beach as no one else was around, it was soo relaxing! About 2pm a few of us went over in a small boat to another island which is the village. No tourists stay here, it is where alot of the fijians who work on the islands live. We went to a small pre-school here which was so good. I knew I would like it but Mike loved it to. he was brilliant with the kids, they were all sat on/around him while he did sums with them, it was so sweet!! After spending time playing with the kids and taking pictures we were shown around the village. When we got back we chilled out on the beach.

After dinner tonight, we learnt the bula dance which involves alot of shaking! We then played a few games which involved us being in mixed pairs and dancing in the middle of a circle then all switching partners, it was a good way to speed date! Its like a workout here every night with all the games and dancing we do! Tomorrow we leave for White Sandy Beach. We have had an amazing 2 days on our first island. The island itself is stunning, the weather is gorgeous and the people are lovely.

WHITE SANDY BEACH

29th July 2009

We were catching the ferry around 10 this morning so after breakfast we all chilled out on the beach. The sea was pretty choppy today so we all got soaked getting the small boat over to the main boat. It was even worse once on the catamaran as the boat was swaying so much but luckily neither of us felt ill! We arrived at White Sandy Beach with another friendly welcome. Me and Mike are in an 8 bed dorm which is really nice and has a balcony white overlooks the beach. When we got here we were both given a fresh coconut which had coconut milk and pineapple juice in, it was really nice. We spent the day on the beach. Lunch and dinner was really good again. Tonight we learnt another dance, did the limbo and a couple of other games!

30th July 2009

We were woken at 8 by the big drum which they hit every meal time. These blogs are nice and short as most days we do the same here...sunbathe! It is generally cloudy every morning which then clears by about half 9, 10, and then it goes down early at about 4pm. We are in Fiji's winter so it is still very hot but it isnt humid at all which is really nice.

Tonight the Fijians did more dances for us and then we played a few games. the fijian's love getting involved with the games and the women are so competitive, lol, i got rugby tackled to the ground tonight! We leave here tomorrow for Sunset Waya.

SUNSET WAYA

31st July 2009

After breakfast, we spent the day relaxing, I sunbathed a bit more and Mike played cards with the others. A few of us are going to Sunset Waya so it should be good. We have both loved White Sandy Beach, it is a very nice island and the staff were all really friendly. the boat took about 1 and a half hours. Sunset Waya is different to the other islands we have stayed on. It is right next to the village so alot of Fijians stay on this island. The facilities here are very basic compared to the last 2 islands but the foos is really good, we have freshly caught fish for dinner tonight. We went over to the village this afternoon to watch 2 of the islands play rugby, one team were fully kitted out as a sponser set them a whole kit out so they looked really good. Some of them dont wear any boots thought, the are mad.

Tonight we had Kava night where you all sit on the floor in a circle and sing songs and drink kava. Kava is a grounded root which is mixed with water. It looks like muddy water and tastes a bit like cold herbal tea/muddy water, lol, but it numbs your mouth for a short time. it is meant to make you hallucinate but I had a fair bit and I didnt! Mike learnt a mind reading trick from one of the guys we met and he did it on one of the fijians here tonight which really freaked this guy out and they now all think Mike is a psyhic, lol!

KUATA

1st August 2009

We spent this morning playing volleyball on the beach, which I discovered I was rubbish at, so decided to go and lye on the beach instead! I few of us went in the sea for a while and me and Mike took it in turns to go out in a kayak for a bit whcih was good. We have had some really good food since being in Fiji, my favourite has been the fish we have had. This afternoon we got back on the ferry and heading further South to Kuata. Kuata is a bigger island but really nice. Our dorm is really spacious and the facilities here are much nicer. It also has a really nice beach. When we arrived we had cake, they make the best cakes out here!

Tonight we had dinner and then the evening entertainment. the dances are the best on this island, all the guys are so muscley, they wear grass skirts and then loads of baby oil, lol, its so funny!

2nd August 2009

We had cake for breakfast this morning at half 7, very random! It is Sunday tonight which is the FGijians day of rest, so there are no activities or evening entertainment. They all go to the village to church in the morning, so we went along also. There was alot of singing and readings from the chief, all the travellers had to get up and sing amazing grace!! The service was about an hour and a half, it was a bit boring but we were glad we went to it. the weather is overcast today so we have all spent the day chilling out and playing cards.

3rd August 2009

We sat on the beach most of today. It is still slightlyovercast so we are catching the sun when the clouds part for a while! We had really good entertainment again tonight, other than that we have done today what we do most days, sunbathe and chill out!!

4th August 2009

Me and Mike sunbathed a little more today, lol. Tonight was Fijian night which involved a kava ceremony and traditional fijian singing and dancing. There were about 40 backpackers so it was a busy night. Mike was asked to be chief for the night, with Stu as his spokesman! This meant that Mike had to sit at the front in the kava ceremony and drink the kava first, he also got to have dinner first, lol. It was a really good last night!!

5th August 2009

So today is our last day in fiji and the final day of our travelling adventure. We are really gutted it is all over but have had an amazing time. We have so many highlights and funny stories to tell! Although mike was ill in almost every country, lol, we stuck it out and the many amazing days we has completely outweighed the bad ones. We both agree that NZ was our favourite country, with the bungjy jump, skydive and snowboarding at the top of our highlights! We have also fell in love with Fiji. We have met so many people, learnt so much and had the best time EVER!!!!!

We cant believe that this will be our last blog :-(

Hope you have enjoyed reading our blogs and looking at our pictures as much as we have doing them!

Next stop...HOME !!