Bula!!

After a very annoying flight due to the man sitting in front of Hayley who decided to spend the entire 3 hours laying on her (although a few glasses of champagne did ease the annoyance slightly) we eventually arrived in beautiful Fiji.

It didn't take long before we were introduced to the infamous "Fiji Time" that laid back south pacific lifestyle, delayed flights, slow customs and hour long waits in a parked courtesy bus to name a few examples.

As we were late to arrive in Nadi, we spent our first night on the main island in Nadi Beach Resort, we arrived in the dark and left at sunrise following the advice of other travellers to leave the main island as soon as possible to see the real Fiji! So we headed off to Port Denareau and set sail for Malolo Island the views from the deck were phenomenial. Fiji defintely didn't dissappoint it was exactly as we had imagined and hoped.

On arrival in Malolo Island we were greeted by a traditional group of singing Fijians welcoming us to their island, this was a short lived ceremony though, when it became apparent that we were't staying at the luxurious resort but were infact booked into the cheaper (much cooler) Funky Fish Resort. We spent 3 nights at this fantastic resort our days were filled with snorkelling, vollyball, sunbathing and the occasional cultural treats such as weaving, coconut husking and learning about herbal medicines from our knowledgable guide Le Maki and our evenings were spent drinking with friends.

As there were only 11 of us staying at Funky Fish everyone got on really well, and as a result we continued our travels through Fiji with Elizabeth, Line and Tuva to Mana Island on the recommendation of our favourite bar man Joe...

Our time in Mana was a cultural experience to say the least, as the 5 of us ditched the luxury of the Funky fish Bures and found ourselves in Saki and his Family's house/garage.

We have a difference in opinion when it comes to Mana, Mike welcomed the rustic living where as Hayley was not so sure, however we cannot fault the weather, the beach or the local children with their relentless need to play vollyball. We also feel lucky as were able to experience the real Fiji and witness how the local people lived their normal daily lives as we were staying right in the heart of the village. We were even taken to the local Sunday morning church service, which was a real eye opener as all of the locals crammed themselves into the vicars living room. The whole service was spoken in Fijian so we couldn't understand much, but the singing was amazing.

In the evenings we were entertained by local fire dancers which was incredible to watch.

Unfortunately we had to head to back to the main Island after Mana, as ATM's are not a common occurance on the Islands!

However this turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Cyclone Gene hit and it was safer to be on the main Island than it was to be on the much smaller islands. So as a result the next 3 days were spent locked in Smugglers Cove, however this wasn't as bad as it sounds as we found ourselves making friends with a group of fellow evacuees! The Fun Club was made up of 2 other English guys and a couple of Canadians, we made it our rule that 3 o'clock was beer o'clock and thats when the fun really started!

So the hours were filled with laughter, booze and card games as we looked out onto bent over palm trees and grey Fijian skys!

As the storm cleared we all said our goodbyes and headed off once again. We eventually made it to Kuata Island (the Gateway to the Yasawas) after an extremely rough boat ride on which every single passenger was sick, it was like something out of a horror/comedy film as sick bags were being passed around from every angle! So as you can imagine we were pretty grateful to have our feet back on dry land.

Kuata was a lovely island, however because of the bad weather there really wasn't much for us to do, except sit in the dining hall and play cards and weave (hayley's new found talent!). Although Mike did manage to get out one morning to swim with sharks.

The nights were spent drinking Kava with the locals and the other guests. Hayley found Kava to be the most disgusting drink, it can only be described as muddy water, but the locals love it and it is seen as rude to turn it down. Mike found himself strangely attracted to the woody taste and I was getting worried he would turn into a Kavaholic!

The sun finally came out on our last day, so at least we had a smooth boat ride back to Nadi. We spent 1 more day in Nadi, doing all the touristy things before we left the beautiful Fiji and boarded our plane to New Zealand with fond memories and the hope that one day we will be able to return!

Hope all of you are ok. Sorry its taken so long to put up this blog.

Missing you all lots

Love Hayley and Mike xxxxxxx