Ok so we caught our flight to Fiji and said goodbye to New Zealand, we'd had enough of beaches by the time we left Oz but was now very ready for some sun, sun and more sun!

We'd booked a night on the mainland at a place called smugglers cove, this would be where we would spend our last few nights in a dorm - yey, but it was a 34 bed dorm! We dropped off our bags at our designated beds and made our way to get some grub - the hostel was set right in front of the beach and had a pool (always good) it was early evening so we didnt go to check out the beach but we met two boys whom we'd met at the beginning of our Kiwi tour as Dave and Rich went lugeing with them (one of them was the guy who dropped the can of coke over the old ladies head! hehe) Anyways, we had a few drinks and a catch up then made our way to bed to catch the ferry in the morning (another early start) The next morning we went to get the shuttle but we wasn't on the list which was worrying as we may then not be noted for the ferry! but all was well and we got on, unfortunately the weather was rubbish, it hadn't been long ago that Fiji had had severe weather issues e.g. a cyclone (being that it is cyclone season!!) but we got settled and this is when we bumped into Jemma whom we travelled New Zealand with (she was one of the hooters girls from the poo pub) and a new couple called Mike and Jenny who we grew to love (I miss them already) we originally was going to go to a resort called Manta Ray but we couldn't get booked on so all of us ended up going to a resort together......

Coral View Resort, Tavewa Island. Day 1, 2 & 3

This island was one of the farthest at the top of the Yasawa's and took around 5 hours to get to but it went quick with all the chatting - the weather was so bad we couldn't even see some of the islands when we dropped and picked up people, luckily by the time we'd got to our island the weather had cleared up which was good as I didn't fancy getting in the little boats they cart you and your bag with all your worldly possessions into! On we got and we was shuttled off to our first Fijian island, it was low tide which meant that all the coral, some colourful was on show which did look impressive - the boat had to stop a way away so we had to walk through the shallow water to reach the sand - there was a line of the local fijian workers lined up waiting to welcome us, they all shake your hand and shout Bula at you (means hello, welcome) we all got to the sand and was told to get seated ready for lunch, before we ate they sang us a welcome song which we later found out they love to do, lunch wasn't quite what I expected - warm rice and battered aubergine? we tucked into this after our welcome song Dave didn't seem put off though and he added some pepper and wolfed mine down after his - we was then escorted to our bure and our big bags were brought along for us which was lucky I didn't have to carry it myself as I had used the wheels the whole time I'd been away and the massive bag I was carrying hadn't been on my back once - we'd paid a little extra and got private accommodation rather then dorms. Our Bure was lovely, after dropping our bags we went and met Jenny and Mike for drinks and a chat, soon after it was afternoon tea and cake time - omg they had chocolate cake! mmmmm then we got ready for dinner and watched the show they put on, our whole table was knackered pretty early so we all went to bed early - oh did I mention breakfast was at 7.30?!?! for some reason this was the average time for breakfast (after 22 days I'd had enough of getting up this early!)

Like I said we got up early for brekki, I hadn't had a lay in since Queenstown which wasn't what I was expecting but never mind as I could always catch up on Zzzzz whilst sunbathing! To be honest we really didn't do much today, sunbath, chat, ate 4 bits of warm chocolate cake between us, sunbathed some more - got ready for dinner - oh yes, no one mentioned that nearly all of the islands don't have hot water!! Didn't matter too much just meant you needed to have a shower almost as soon as you got in from sunbathing otherwise it got a little too cold.

The next day was our last day on our first island, the boat didn't come till around 2 but you still have to check out at 9, I did toy with doing a trip to the Blue Lagoon but ended up just sunbathing - me and Jemma did treat ourselves to ice cream though. Weather wasn't as good today so we went inside and read our books before the boat arrived, after a goodbye song we got back in our little boats (again with me praying they didn't drop my life aka big bag!) and onto the ferry, we needed to book our next place and had been toying with two places - we ended up with Long Beach resort after toying with White Sandy, the others went to another but that would have been to a slight extra cost for us and due to our time in Fiji we decided to stick to a free one for now. We also tried to book our next stop after Long Beach but the women on the boat doing the booking didn't seem to like booking ahead and they ended up saying they would contact Manta Ray and get back to us through Long Beach but I wasn't holding out much hope! So we said goodbye to Jenny, Mike and Jemma and went off to our next island.......

Long Beach Resort, Matacawalevu island. Day 3, 4 & 5

So onto another small boat, another little prayer that our bags weren't dropped - we was a little apprehensive about this island as we handn't had any recommendations and wasn't sure what it would be like - everyone was raving about Manta Ray and Octopus but this was no extra cost to us and we did have alot of time to try a few islands so we booked 3 nights, we arrived and checked into our Bure which was nicer then the first - it had a fridge!! The tide was out again on our ride over so we had to get out of the boat at one point so it could be dragged over a sand bank and then back in to go over another bit of sea - we met another couple called Ben and Mary, after dropping our bags off we went to grab a drink but.....they had no coke cans - I was very disappointed but not as disappointed when I found out the bottles I was forcing myself to drink weren't ice cold (just cant get the staff on these little remote islands!) anyway then it came time for dinner - our bure was nicer then the first place but the dinner hut was not, it was very small and dark but the people were lovely - this was one of the island run resorts which is completely worked and owned by the locals but...not even the friendly fijians could help with Dave's anger about dinner, it was rice with some bizarre sauce on it and cubes of chicken you couldn't eat as they had just too many bones (apparently this is fijian chicken!) The next day we spent on the beach - for a change - and Dave went snorkelling, it wasn't brilliant but he did see a lionfish, we didn't do much for the rest of the day - just a little bit of island living, dinner that night was just as poor so I decided not to get up for breakfast the following day. The couple we met (Ben and Mary) well Ben had been on the island before and went spear fishing with one of the young children whom we'd met on his last visit, they came back with a massive travelli which Ben gave to the young boy to give to his family, so boney chicken again for dinner but this time we noticed that as most people weren't really even touching their dinner when they cleared our plates it was coming back out and given to one of the workers sitting at the end of our table, at least the food wasn't going to waste but still a little sad all the same. The following day was Sunday which means that nothing gets done, e.g. no activities or tours but luckily this was the best day for sun so we settled for that - after the nibbled at lunch we went back to our bure and played cards like we had done most nights we was there but the following day was our last and the fact that we were both so ready for the next island teamed with Dave's hunger and massive desire for a crunchie we got the earlier boat, we also wanted to make sure we was guaranteed on our next island - Manta Ray as it was so popular, being on the boat that early meant that we had time to book a few other islands.

Manta Ray Island Resort, Nanuya Balavu Island. Day 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10

Where our Fijian holiday really begins!!
We got off our little boat onto the island to check in, then we bumped into Mike and Jenny again - it was sooo good to see them again, we put our bags in our room and headed straight down the beach, me and Jenny had a little catch up and the boys went snorkelling. The snorkelling here was amazing, Dave came back after seeing loads of fish, clams, octopus and rays so me and Jenny got in but I was using Dave's snorkel so he followed us out on a kayak, not long after being in the water a fijian guy snorkelling around said there was sharks over there, so unlike normal we all followed to where he said the sharks were!! It took me a while to see but on the sea bed I could see two big reef sharks - Mike wasn't feeling so brave so he let Dave have his snorkel and managed to get himself onto Dave's kayak! After a bit of snorkelling we got showered in the outside showers - oh forgot to say even though this turned out to be our favourite island it was also the only one where we didn't have our own toilet and shower! We met up with Mike and Jenny and had a few cocktails mmmm daiquiri's! then came time for the drums so up we went for dinner - such luxury here, they actually come round to our table and took our orders!! After dinner they did a bit of limbo and got some guests out of the audience, well most of the girls were rubbish but one was trying so hard she bent back but then bounced forward with such force she lost her footing and fell straight on her face! so funny - us, Mike, Jenny and an Irish couple Noreen and Tommy fell about laughing! The next day unfortunately was Mike and Jenny's last, we sunbathed, chatting and they had their last snorkel as this was meant to be the best island for it but eventually we had to say goodbye - that night we had dinner with Noreen and Tommy then went down to the beach to watch the nights entertainment. They had people from the local village to put on a show of singing and dancing, once again they wanted to get people up from the audience but Dave was adamant he wasn't having none of it and walked off - at this point they decided to get me up to dance which wouldn't have been so bad if I wasn't the only one they'd got up!!!!! Anyway to avoid any other embarrassment we went to bed after that! The next day Tommy and Noreen were due to leave, so we chatted while I was waiting for my coconut jewellery making to start, most of the girls decided to have a necklace or bracelet but I decided to have a ring which I didn't realise meant alot more filing and sanding down but luckily dave was on hand to repay the favour for the bone necklace I made him (thank god as I couldn't think of anything worse then doing such hard labour in the heat!) The next few days were pretty chilled, we went snorkelling a few more times but had to go at certain points in the day to avoid the sea lice as at times they were extremely bad! but in total we saw everything apart from a turtle (as the fijians found them really tasty and ate them almost to extinction before it became illegal to do so!) oh and a manta ray, we missed the season for this by about a month - so gutted, apparently they get about 9.1 meters in length but in total we saw octopuses, sharks, rays, amazing fish and coral, large clams, electric blue starfish and loads more - really was the best snorkelling either of us and ever done! One guy on the island was brilliant he done everything from the coconut jewellery making which meant he had to shimmy up to the top of one the trees to grab the coconuts, making hammocks, playing the guitar and singing - every time people left the island he sang 'leaving on a jet plane' but changed it to leaving on a jet boat - he was so good I filmed it the day we left. So onward to the next island.

Octopus Island, Waya Island. Day 10, 11 and 12.

Next was Octopus Resort which we had been told as a 5 star and even better then Manta Ray, when we arrived unfortunately we was the last to our room as we'd been booked into a dorm - crap! But after a little wait and a slight panic we was shown to our bure, it was def the biggest and our bathroom had an open top shower which was actually nice but did mean you had to be quick incase the mossies got you! After checking in we went down to the beach, the sand was really fine and much nicer then we'd had before and the deck chairs oooooo, they were def the most posh I'd every seen - they bent at the knees too and some had a table part for drinks - backpackers aren't used to this! So after a little bit of sunbathing we took a few pics of the sunset and made our way back to the bure to get ready for dinner, once ready I treated myself to a pineapple daiquiri and Dave, well he was trying to save pennies so helped himself to the free water! Dinner that night was a buffet - the amount of meat options was ridiculous - I couldn't even fit any salad on my plate, after dinner and a chat plus a few more pics we made our way to bed. Dave had been craving bananas and the next day for breakfast there was loads - infact it was one of the best breakfast we'd had, loads of options and again it was buffet so we indulged mmmmm, after breakfast we went down to the beach and while I did a bit of sunbathing on the posh sunbeds Dave went snorkelling. We'd decided to treat ourselves and order a T.V and DVD player for the night as we thought we could watch our sky dive and bungee DVD's again (the last time we'd seen them was the day we'd done them!), anyway we went to the office with the very stern looking english women (whom apparently was the ex-wife of the owner) and asked about the DVD, she immediately said yes but one of the other workers said it wasn't available, the english women asked why and was answered I don't know - we left after that as I could feel someone was going to get in trouble. Once Dave come back we got chatting to a really nice couple who'd been sitting next to us, we baked for a bit whilst chatting to them as they were in the shade then after that I used Dave's snorkel and did a bit myself, it wasn't nowhere near as good as Manta Ray but like Dave said the coral was much better. After finishing with our sunbathing we made our way back to our bure to find the TV and DVD set up for us - we quickly went back to the office to pick our DVD's - Dave (for some reason?) let me have to girley ones - actually he was prob just happy that it wasn't two dodgy horrors!! That night we made our way to dinner and sat with the couple we'd been chatting too in the day and they friends they had already made - they were all very interested in our trip and and had done quite a bit of travelling themselves, that night it was movie night but as the owner had his children there he let the child pick the first film (which we missed when we was getting ready and watching our bungee's etc) and then some film I'd not heard of so after finishing dinner and our chat with the table we all retired to our rooms - me and Dave put the first film on 'Couples Retreat' which was ok but not long before Dave was asleep, surprise surprise! So I put the second film on, 'He's just not that into you'. Unfortunately we could only afford two nights on Octopus so the next day was our last and it wasn't very good weather, after breakfast we packed and though we had to check out by 10 am we decided to drag it out as much as we could and put one of the films on again but by 10.05 there was knock at the door reminding us to check out, by now it was raining so we put our bags in the relevant place and went to the bar for a drink, we got chatting to these guys who were fab and as one worked for STA and had been to LA we picked his brain, Dave did intend on going snorkelling again as it was now overcast rather then raining but conversation got flowing and by the time we knew it we was ordering lunch and then not long after lunch it was time to get the boat to another island - we said our goodbyes and got waived off onto our next island.

Waya Lalai Eco Heaven Resort, Wayalailai Island. Day 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16

We was a bit worried about this island as it was the last of the 'free' islands on our tour and coming from Manta Ray which was brill and then Octopus which is the 5 star prob wasn't the best way of doing things but that was just the way it worked with the islands. We tagged our bags and got ready to embark to the next island, we got chatting to some girls on our little boat over (no boys again for poor Dave) and once again were the last to our rooms - the girls were only their one night and they got upgraded but they seemed to be having problems with our booking, eventually we got shown to our bure which was in the lodge at the top of the walk and it would be fair to say it wasn't as nice as what we'd had - it didn't seem finished? But at least we had our own washroom which is always good, after setting our bags down we headed down for afternoon tea and to chat to the girls, Dave managed to find another couple so in turn got some 'man' conversation. After tea we made our way back to the rooms to get ready for dinner - I managed to shut the door and get it stuck? We'd waited for dinner time and or the drums but heard nothing so made our way down, when we got there our dinners had been plated up as we were late - It seems fiji time can come early? We got sat down to dinner when they come over to get us about our broken door, I went and left Dave eating and the little fijian lady held my hand all the way to the bottom of the walk - I got to the top and was met by another lady who took a look at the door and did the same as me trying to open it and eventually said she would send the handyman later that night - back to dinner and again we got chatting to the girls, lucky they got the door fixed for us by the time we got back. The next morning they told us we needed to change rooms (prob due it it not being finished?) but first us and the girls had booked onto the shark snorkelling - we all jumped in the boat and went out to sea, I was hoping it would be on shallow water and not like the dark water when we went dolphin swimming in NZ! Luckily for me it was shallow - Dave as usual was the first in and it wasn't long before we saw our first shark - the sharks were only small black tips but still cool to see, the fijians speared a tropical fish and used it as a lure for the sharks, at one point one of the fijians swam to the bottom and placed a rock on his lap to keep him down while he waived around the dead fish in order to lure over and then hand feed the shark. The fijians were extremely good swimmers and at some points swam down into the coral and disappeared - Dave tried to follow one at one point but even he couldn't go as far as they did. We didn't see as many sharks as I thought and they didn't come as close as I actually would have liked but we did see more then the group the following day who didn't see any. Shark snorkelling was good and I was nowhere near as worried or petrified as I normally would have tho I still don't think I have or ever will be over my shark fear - as far as I'm concerned its a healthy fear to have! Once we got back - after changing rooms - we sunbathed with the girls for a bit and Dave did his usual snorkelling and then continued with the usual daily routine, though we all quickly noticed that the staff were rather stingy on the not so good food and didn't like it if you took more of one thing and nothing of another, so meal times for me weren't so good - the girls were due to go today so we waived them off later when the boat arrived. That night at dinner we sat with the couple and chatting with them, after dinner they played the usual games and after we watched a fire and dance show which was good - though a few mistakes were made and landed a bit to close for comfort! doh! After this it came our turn to dance and even though Dave once again tried to run he ended up getting collared and dancing like the rest of us and even though he says he hated it - I did see a few smiles on his face! After dancing us and the other couple had a few more drinks then hit the hay. The next morning however we was woken up by them hammering a new door handle on at around 6.30 am!!! I wasn't happy as breakfast was really early anyway and I missed out on that our of principle that it was too early and too be honest the food here wasn't great anyway, I think the workers heard I wasn't happy as one of them apologised later on oooops! Most of the day was the usual sunbathing - lunch then at afternoon tea we got chatting to the couple from dancing the night before but unfortunately they was leaving later that day. The next day was really hot so we didn't do much sunbathing and played cards on the veranda - that night at dinner they had a cava ceremony which I ducked out on as they make you drink the whole ladle and I'd be worried about vomiting it all back up on them again so went back to the room while Dave got himself involved in the cava! The next day was our last day and the closer we got to the main island the longer we had to wait for our boat to the next island though you still have to check out at 9/10 so the day really did drag, though I must say this seemed to take the longest! So after packing and taking the few final pics, we had lunch and played cards to pass the time before the boat finally arrived to take us to our next little island.