Off to the island of Yanuca today for the island trip! As we were leaving I asked one of the guides if there would be a chance to do any surfing, which it turned out we would!

First stop for the day was sport fishing which was pretty unsucessful so it was on to the snorkelling! The driver said that there would be some pretty good waves near the snorkelling spot so I could go surfing! The reef was called Frigates and it was about 40 mins out to see in the middle of the sea! it was a horse shoe reef breaking over a coral reef about waist deep. The left hander was pumping with 4-6ft sets coming through consistantly. I was fairly reluctant to go in as I have never surfed over coral before but I thew caution to the wind and jumped off the back of the boat and paddled to the reef. I was about 40m away from the peak and it was the longest paddle I have ever done in my life, the thought of sharks was constant in the back of my mind! But I finally made it to the reef and had it all to myself. I couldn't believe it , here I am in Fiji, surfing the second best wave they have to offer (after cloudbreak) and I have it all to myself and its pumping!
It took me a little while to get used to the wave as I didn't really know where to sit, sometimes the wave would break wide and I would be stuck on the inside but in the end I sussed it out and got some absolutle beauts! No barrels though as 1) i'm not quite capable and 2) I was to scared as I was just trying to race the wave as it was so fast! The lowest point of the session was when I saw the boat leave and head off to pick up the snorkelers, so here I am 40 mins out to see, no land in sight and the boat is just leaving me! Suddenly every ripple, every shadow under the water was a bull shark or a reef shark (which I was told afterwards are found quite frequently in the area)
It was by far the best experience of the trip so far. I paddled back to the boat with a grin that would be very difficult yo wipe off my face for a long time!

The we stopped off at the island for some lunch which turns out to be the surf camp and then it was off to the island! We were greeted by some of the younger locals and then taken up to meet the elders where we sat down and drank Cava! Cava is a local beverage that they drink instead of beer! It is made from the root of a plant which is driedout and then placed in a rag which is rung out into the water. it is a strange drink to say the least. It is supposed to relax you. Some of the locals that drink alot of it were just basically sitting head down not evening realising we were here!
As we were visiting their island we had to donate to the school and the captain of the boat had taken a liking to me for some reason and had given me the responsibility of handing over the cash to the head teacher but unfortunatley he was one of the fijians that was pretty much passed out by the stuff! So to the amusement of the rest of the group I went over and knelt next to the elder and tried to wake him from his state and proceeded to reel off something about how it was an honour that he allow us to visit his village and thanked him for the cava and the hospitality. All I got was a nod of the head and he was head down and out of it again!

After leaving the island wewere heading back to Mango Bay when we came across a massive school of Yellow Fin Tuna jumping out of the water getting harrassed by bull sharks! Immediatley we had our rods in the water and within 2 minutes myself and Alex were on and reeling in what felt likle a massive fish! Boy did they fight, like nothing I have ever felt before. It was crazy. When we finally got them onboard which was about 10 agonising minutes later we had them weighed! 22lb Tuna, by far the biggest fish I have ever caught in my life!

That night we cooked them up and boy did they taste good!