Fiji time!!

My Fiji experience is all but over so I thought I would share some of my tales, two of the best weeks of my travels if not life! I love Fiji and could definitely live here! We were greeted at the airport by singing Fijian men in skirts armed with ukuleles (think that is one of the best sentences I have ever penned!) and it kept getting better from there! My first excursion from Nadi was to Robinson Crusue Island, where I experienced some of the ace culture. We had a Lovo (food cooked in an underground oven), watched some traditional, fire and knife dancing as well as a Cava ceremony (traditional drink made from pepper plant root that numbs you up!) and some hot coal walking.......I think that is the extent of the cultural jazz, all very cool but my shenanigans and encounters with the locals will stick in the memory far longer.........

I partook in some sea kayaking around the island, I saw this as I chance to show off a bit (I am far from good but have done a bit before)....this pipe dream ended the minute I got cramp in my right side, squirmed and capsized spectacularly, amused as I was at this point by my 'specialness' it was nothing compared to my calamity of attempting to get back on (which took several attempts), illustrating I am about as graceful and coordinated as a hammered limbless donkey. (Note to self- don't try and show off, talent is needed for such things)

Other activities on Robinson involved snorkelling, beers around a fire on the beach and staying up till 4 drinking cava with a couple of the staff, the state of me the next day was extraordinary, Cava come downs kick your arse! This did not remotely dampen my spirit though as I was on route to go diving.....with some bloody great sharks!

I could talk about the dives all day and my resulting inability to stop smiling for three days after, but I will try and keep it brief.....

The first dive we headed down with no cages or anything, our only protection was two chilled out Fijians with metal poles (very encouraging as our entire brief was centred around our actions should the local Tiger shark came calling. The fool proof defence we were taught was; we would be alerted by some tank tapping, then to point at the shark and not take our eyes off it, I felt very equipped!) The tiger didn't come around though unfortunately so we were kept company by a few Bull sharks 3-4m long and 30ish smaller reef sharks (grey, black tip and white tip) where they were all fed fish heads 3-4m away by the boat captain, Papa (absolute legend) as if this wasn't enough excitement a moray eel popped his head out of the reef, mid-feed, a foot from where I was holding onto, que the underwater scream (from me) and frantic searching by mean and Ana (a Mexican girl brought up in America doing her first dive in the sea!) for anything else we might sit on, I don't trust those swines and was more nervous of him than the sharks! We then headed up to 12m to watch them feed just the smaller reef sharks, we were so close I had to duck out of the way of a couple!

The second dive was the main event, had a much more intense air about it and got the adrenaline going nicely, larger bait was used and 12-15 Bull Sharks turned up, swimming over-head and in front of us and competing for the fish. When one accelerate to full speed the sheer power was mad and you realise you are as useful in the water as a soggy chicken dipper. The whole experience was absolutely breathtakingly amazingly brilliantly cool. Come to Fiji and do it!

On my travels I visited Suva and had a walk around, partly to explore the capital but mainly, I suspect, because I missed my stop on the bus and ended up here! I had an explore though and took the opportunity to get my hair chopped off, the first time in nearly 5 months! I had forgotten what it was like to have my barnet altered by a stranger (thanks to my stylist friend Briony-miss you my dear!). I learned several important things, here's my advice so you swerve my mistakes:
1. Choose somewhere that is not down a deserted back ally with no advertisement other than a chalk board saying haircuts on it (I am still not sure it was a hairdressers....but they did have a mirror)
2. Try and find someone that actually understands you (the Chinese lady who cut my hair was englishly challenged on the language front)
3. Have a picture or idea of what you want to get done
4. Give more direction than 'short'
5. If bad things start happening say something (my beloved sideboards are no more!)

Seriously though I am quite enjoying my crew cut, albeit it sideburn-less, exfoliating my wonderfully large ears but she did do a good job. Hopefully the Bieber/Scooby do/Inbetweeners comments will subside, I definitely feel less like a ginger girl when I look in the mirror!

My next excursion was some island hopping, I headed to Mana island where I spent 4 days. On arrival I headed for an explore, got 30m down the beach and was summoned and forced (honest...ish) to drink at 11am in the neighbouring hostel. This then led to me spending all of my time in the competing hostel to the one I was staying in (which had bed bugs!) the staff were heroes and my evenings were spent with these boys drinking cava, just plain drinking and generally causing mischief. They properly took me in and I loved the ethos of "no one has anything, everyone has everything...we all share" this did however lead to us drinking the bar dry one night by accident! There is a Taki (leader) who takes all the drink and then passes it around methodically....it's hard to explain but awesome! Fijian people are the nicest I have come across to date and make Mr Happy look like a grumpy alcoholic (chuffed I managed to slip in a mr men reference!)

Another highlight of Mana island was the fishing trip come booze cruise. In which our most impressive catch was a fat red snapper (see picture, the nicest fish I have ever tasted, so fresh!)

Since said trip I can now officially say I have been evicted from an island, we went to Muscat Cove (named as it was traded for a lamp and muscat back in the day) for a replenishment of our inebriating supplies and it turns out the staff there don't look favourably on your captain getting boozy with his crew then setting out into choppy waters with a boat comparable to a bucket (one of the staff having already fallen in fully clothed!), I on the other hand am now disappointed by any other form of transport. Don't worry it wasn't as dangerous as it sounds, we had at least one life jacket!

I would love to go into more detail about the rest of my time on Mana but I am conscious my attention-keeping-ability may already be being stretched! Summery; Mana Lagoon is full of some of the best people I've met and I am going back some day!

After an emotional goodbye to staff and some awesome travellers I was off to Beachcomber, the 'party' island. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't as rowdy as I thought it would be, granted some ill-advised taser fun was had (hilarious but I won't extrapolate), projectile vomitting (not by me!), awful dancing (very much by me) and lots and lots of tequila, rum, Fiji Gold, cocktails and other such inebriating fluids were consumed and an absolutely brilliant time had, I was willing to swap the more commercial experience for the more traditional mana one though, but I would have to drag along the crowd from beachcomber!

The people I have met have all added something on the trip, be it the travellers or locals and I have been converted to Fiji time, a term coined as people don't do things on a schedule and everything is late but no one cares. The only time I have been keeping to is the rugby schedule, I have managed to keep up with most of it and watched the last Fiji game just outside one of the staffs shack on an oddly out of place looking flatscreen tv. Pretty bloody cool!

Missing my rugby though, especially as the mods (my team, good luck for the season boys, sorry I have abandoned you!) season has kicked off and the podge is well and truly creeping up on me!

Right I will sign off before I go on another random tangent. Hope everyone is well and enjoyed the read (sorry for the lengthy nature and cheers for the perseverance!) Feeling a bit out of the loop on the home front as my island time was Internet-less so let me know how life is treating you if you feel inclined.

Next stop New Zealand. Rugby World Cup.....go on then!

Luke. X