Nanuku

The next day we had to make a quick decision. Did we want to go on a two day trip to Nanuka, a private island two hour boat journey away. We decided, at the last minute that we would go, I mean how often do you get the chance to stay on a deserted island. They only run the trip when the sea is calm so when James chose to lay at the front of the small boat with the lifejackets thinking he would enjoy a relaxing journey. How wrong he was! When we got passed the islands and out to the open sea it started to get rough and I mean really rough! Uwe and I thought it was hilarious every time we hit a big wave we all went flying but James continually bashed his back and moaned even louder then all of us laughing. The second best part of the journey, after laughing at moany James, was seeing flying fish. Now, I have never seen flying fish before but imagined they would simply jump out of the water. They actually fly! It was awesome I got so excited every time one flew past. Gaby told us that they sometimes fly into the boat; they are my new favourite fish! We finally spotted the island in the distance, it really was in the middle of nowhere you could only see sea for miles.

After two hours of bumpy sea we docked on our own deserted island. The weather was closing in a bit so we went for a stroll around the island, which took all of fifteen minutes by which time the provisions and the chefs had arrived.

We went for a quick snorkel and watched in amazement as Matteo was spear fishing. He could hold his breath for ages, swim around 15m down, wait there for a while and spear a fish; it was like watching an episode of Planet Earth. The clouds became thicker overhead and we headed back to shore. It was only a short while later when the heavens opened and we had to seek shelter. The rain didn't affect our mood and enjoyed a lot of games of cards, kava and very frustrating matchstick tricks that Gaby and Matteo taught us.

The next morning the weather had turned for the better and it was a glorious blue sky and the sun was shining on our tropical deserted paradise. We got up and after a delicious breakfast we went out on the boat to see what the water had to offer. There were a lot of us on the tiny boat so we towed the canoe on the back of the boat and Gaby surfed along behind us. Everyone got jealous of Gaby and snorkelling turned into a canoe ride session/snorkelling. The snorkelling was amazing, the coral completely untouched and the fish seemed tamer. We saw plenty of fish, bright coral and lots of sharks. Every time we spotted one I got very excited and flailed about in the water until I was sure everyone had seen it. James stalked one of the sharks and managed to touch it for a brief second. Gaby kept telling us that we need to stay together but Kat found this very difficult and kept swimming off! Ruth and Robin spent about 5% of their time snorkelling and the rest was on and off the canoe. There was a hilarious moment when Ruth fell in and her bikini bottoms fell down and her top came up, she was completely naked and frantically tried to regain her dignity. Just at this moment James, Lars and I were snorkelling past the boat with Lars swimming directly at her! I caught a quick glimpse of her but Lars denied seeing anything, not sure if he was just being nice. The rest of the day we spent chatting, eating, taking photos and swimming. We were all sad to leave but the journey back was a lot more comfortable as the waves had calmed considerably.

On our way to Qamea we stopped at a local village and saw how a Fijian village is run and the typical houses. It was a simple life but extremely friendly and peaceful. Uwe got told off when he burst into his usual loud laughter and disturbed the peace. He had to try really hard not to be himself for the time we were there.

That evening we sang the normal Fijian tunes, had some kava and drinks and played cards with Kat, Dan, Jos and Ruth with some interesting revelations! It was a sad goodbye to Ruth as she left for the mainland the next day but only as far as New Zealand so I am sure we will catch up with her at some point.