Bula Bula,

So we arrived at Auckland International airport and went to the check in desk as usual. It becomes the run of the mill when you have flown 12 times in 8months and this was flight number 13...So we proceeded to hand over our ticket etc, the lady looked at it for a minute then went away, Jamie said to " That's strange usually she just puts it through and that's that, I am worried there is something wrong" We thought that maybe there was a delay or something. The lady took a while to return and as she did I we were checking the ticket and I checked the date on my watch, it was the 24th of May, I then looked at my ticket and the date read the 23rd....JOKE! We had turned up to the airport a day late for our flight to Fiji. WHAT?? So flight number 13 was proving to be unlucky and non existent!

Jamie started to panic and am sure the lady sensed this, the panic was thinking about what STA Travel had said to us before we left. When we initially booked all our flights the girl in STA travel in Dundee told us not to miss ANY flights because we had a rolling ticket, so if we missed one flight the rest of our onward flights would be cancelled. After having to remove our back packs from the belt we had to go over to the Qantas customer service desk (which Jamie RAN to) to try and sort something out. We got to the front of the line at the desk, the lady asked what we needed help with then Jamie started to cry, she thought we were going home. As Jamie couldn't speak I told the lady what has happened. All our flights had been cancelled but she re booked us on them all and gave us the last 2 seats on the plane to Fiji that day. PHEW.... Everything was sorted and we never had to pay a penny!! THANKGOD! We had a bit of a wait as the plane was a bit later than the one we were meant to get the day before. After a few hours in the departure lounge we boarded the plane to Fiji. After a smooth 3 hour journey we landed safe and sound. It was free drink on the plane so Jamie was tiddly when we landed, (excuse was all the hassle at the airport...yeah right J) we jumped on a bus then headed to our hostel in Nadi. That night was spent in the bar on the rum, not a great idea with a 5 hour boat journey the next morning!

Monday morning we were up early at 7am, and got the bus to the port. We boarded our "Fiji experience boat" for our long journey to Tavena, an island in the Yassawa group. (we picked this Island as its the best for scuba diving) After a very long and sick journey for Jamie we arrived at "Coral View" our home for the next 5 days. (coral view is a budget resort geared up for backpackers but done in style!) After lunch we hit the sack for a few hours sleep and to re charge the batteries from the night before. That evening we were given a delicious dinner and the staff gave us a nice warm Fiji welcome....everything on the trip was proving to be real "Fiji Style" done in "Fiji Time" We knew that we had booked the right place to relax for the week. Just being able to unpack our rucksacks and chill was nice, very very nice. We met in with a couple of Aussies from our favourite place "Melbourne" and they became our buddies for the evening. Bec and Russel were on holiday for the week and were doing a bit of Island hopping. After a few beers we retired to our nice double room for the evening.

Tuesday 27th of May, we were woken up with a very noisy Rooster at 5am...It was the loudest noise ever. So our lie in was cut short and we decided that we might as well make the most of our early morning call and visit the local village across the water. For those of you who don't know, Fiji is a very poor country and there as still a lot of people who are living without basic things. Its hard to believe as just opposite us on the Island was a multi-million pound complex, where the likes of Britney Spears, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Jessica Simpson and various others have taken their luxurious holidays!! However unbeknown to them and probably most others Fiji is poor and they earn a very very basic wage, most of the people we met in the resort only earn the equivalent of 10 pounds a week!! By visiting the village you are making a contribution to the school on the Island and helping the children complete education etc. The village trip was a great eye opener and really made us think how luck we are, but also let us see how the most simple things in life can make children smile, so just being there touched our hearts but also gave us a great sense of satisfaction to see that its not all doom and gloom and these people are genuinely happy with their lives. We visited a church, the chief of the villages home, met some of the locals and were then given the opportunity to buy some local hand made products...manly stuff made from coconuts and seeds. Marc mended some toys for the wee fellas, although none of us could speak Fijian we were able to communicate easily by laughter and body language. It was a great experience and one we will both remember! That afternoon we got ready to dive again, our favourite past time! It was to be our first dive in Fiji and we were both raring to go. Our dive master "Nico" set our all of our gear and we boarded the boat with a few other keen divers. We stopped at a dive site called "Cabbage Patch" named for the coral which looks exactly like a "Cabbage Patch"! The fish life were pretty spectacular from the word go, visibility was good and the coral was awesome. Overall we agreed that it was a nice dive, as soon as we were out of the water we wanted to get back in. Following the dive Marc played his Guitar and I did some Pilate's on the grass, you couldn't get any more tranquil. After a good bit of relaxation it was dinner time, every evening we were greeted by the Fijian staff who sang songs and played the guitar. The meal was a buffet style eat all you can with meat which had been slow cooking all day, similar to the Hangi in NZ. We tucked in and had a few beers with a Glasgow couple that we had met, Jed and Kira. Marc and Jed hit it off big time, the beers were sailing, it was great to finally meet a Scottish couple, they are also in SA same time as us so am sure we will bump into them again.

Wednesday 28th May, SHARK DIVE!!! One of the main reasons we chose "Coral View" was the fact that they do a shark dive. I'm not talking about reef sharks, you can see the big bad boys out there....Bull, Tiger, Hammer Head, and Lemon! Marc was desperate to do the dive, however I was really unsure and nervous. It didn't take much for the Gentles charm to kick in and before I knew it we were on a boat on our way to the deepest and darkest waters in the Yassawas! We were accompanied by 4 dive masters and about 6 other divers. In order to attract the Sharks they take two wheelie bins full of dead fish down to the bottom of the sea. Once the "food" is released you start to see fish coming from all over to feed, it starts off with the small ones and then gradually they just get bigger and BIGGER. It was a chilling experience, very scary. The visibility was not great on the day of the dive so the sharks themselves were scared as they couldn't see us clearly. Sharks believe it or not are actually quite shy creatures, so we did see a few big ones but just not as close up as we would have liked...Sorry, Marc would have liked! We seen some lemon sharks, bronze whaler, plus white and black tip reef sharks. It was a great experience and we would deffo do it again. After lunch we were back on the boat this time not to dive but for our first fishing expedition. There was only Jamie, Myself, Nico, Saki (the chef) and another guy from the resort. Things got off to a good start we had only left the resort and put the line in when i felt something on the reel, after a fight i reeled it in and on the end was a nice Barracuda. Result!! After passing the rod back and forth, between me and Jamie for about another 45 minutes there was nothing so we decided to do some line fishing. We thought that the line fishing was going to be much more difficult as neither of us could feel anything for AGES....but once those little fish started biting it was like a competition. Everyone was feeling them on the end of the line, it was just a matter of time before one of us caught a big boy. Marc was again the first....Beginners luck of what! Ha Ha by the end of the trip we had caught about 8 fish between us all. I say we, I didn't actually catch any, but hats off to the boys. That evening we were given a brilliant surprise, the fish Marc had caught had been cooked up and were given to us for dinner....Mmmm Mmmm you don't get more fresh or more tasty than that.

Thursday the 29th of May - HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARC. Marc woke up another year older, woo hoo. Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Marc....Happy Birthday to you. So it was Marc´s day. After the grand present opening Marc decided that he wanted to spend his Birthday diving and fishing. So that morning we went our to complete our first "Maze Dive", it was pretty special to say the least. Visibility was good, the group was small, and the maze was something we have never seen before. The site was called "The Maze", very original! Made up of coral walls, this was a great test of buoyancy as we were constantly going up and down in the water. The fish life was brilliant, many schools and lots of colourful fish. A totally different dive for us but by far one of the most memorable. After tucking into birthday lunch it was time to go fishing. Marc was sure he had become addicted from the previous outing. It was a beautiful sunny day, the fishing trip turned out to be another successful one although Marc and I didn't catch any...just Saki and the kitchen hand. Never mind maybe next time Marc! Marc played his guitar in the afternoon and I had a massage Fiji style, very very relaxing. We got spruced up for dinner that evening, once again we had a lovely meal, but this time there was pudding! After dinner one of the ladies announced Marc´s Birthday before coming out with a HUGE cake. Ha Ha, the look on Marc´s face was classic, he had no idea. It was time to Party Fiji Style which meant Marc had to lead 40+ people to do the Fiji Bula Dance. Everyone sang Happy Birthday and we celebrated with some drinks and party games....Bula Bula!!

Friday 30th of May - TIME TO SAY GOODBYE Our week at Coral View Resort had just flown in, and it was time to check out on the Friday morning. We said our farewells to all of the friendly staff, and friends we had made. Our 5 hour boat journey took us back to the main Island where we spend our final night in Nadi. We had a lovely dinner before hitting the sack, it was going to be another early rise on Saturday as we made our way back to Auckland to catch our connecting flight to South America. Until next time....

Jamie and Marc xx