We arrived in Fiji after a very long overnight flight from Los Angeles at around 4.30am looking bleary eyed and tired. We then hung about for another 40 minutes waiting for our transfer to transfer us to the hostel in downtown Nadi which eventually he did. On arrival at the hostel we were subjected to a 30 minute check in and introduction which felt more like an interrogation in downtown Beirut (even the surroundings matched - downtown Nadi is grim - it is horrible). Eventually we were taken to our room (also grim - even the lizard on the wall didn't hang about) by the same guy who had hung around for 40 minutes before finally transferring us from the airport. Not wanting to break tradition, he would not leave the room instead insisting on showing and explaining to us the fridge, the shower and the toilet. Thorough I suppose if nothing else. We think he was holding out for a tip but since we had no Fijian money and only $6 and £3 and frankly were not pleased with his service, it wasn't happening. He finally left - taking with him the remote control for the air con unit (apparently there was only 1 for the entire building). At about 7am we crawled into bed sleep deprived and panic stricken in hell. At 8am we woke with a start due to banging from all directions particularly above. Enough was enough. We headed downstairs for a meagre breakfast of toast and tea and to formulate a plan of attack. This wasn't the Fijian paradise we'd hoped for.
So Mike headed down to reception to negotiate our early release. A total success - within the hour we were heading to a local boat transfer destination Walu Beach Resort, Malolo Island. We even had to wade out to sea to board the little boat. This was unlucky for Mike as he was wearing long combats, no shorts, which he sheepishly took off and used a travel blanket to cover his modesty much to the amusement and confusion of all crew and passengers. And so we set off.
From here on in, Fiji lived up to it's reputation as a tropical paradise. Every island we stopped at was stunning - bright blue, crystal clear sea, yellow sandy beaches and beach huts. Finally over an hour later we arrived at Walu Beach Resort, a fairly shingly rocky beach, with palm trees dotted around, hammocks and little huts at regular intervals just back from the coastline. We arrived to a greeting of singing and swaying staff accompanied by a couple of guys on guitars and the call of Bula! We'd finally arrived at the picture postcard desert island. We were checked in, shown to our own private hut (bure), told the times for breakfast, lunch and dinner and then told to go and enjoy Fiji time. To be honest, it took us a couple of days to stop and switch off after 2.5 months of busy cities, Greyhound buses and constant travel. It was just what we needed. We read a few books, hung about in hammocks (not as easy to negotiate as they look and there is no dignified way to get in or out), tried to remember to beware of falling coconuts and kayaked over protected coral reefs fish spotting all the way (predominantly blue starfish). We even made it out in our kayak to a deserted island although we didn't claim it for our own or venture onto it on foot as there were loads of birds on it which were quite squarky and scary. We should also add at this part that Kelly's cravings for baked beans finally were satisfied, thank you Walu Beach!
After 7 lazy, hot days we moved on to Mana Lagoon at Mana Island. Mana was a lot more basic - we both got that same feeling of dread we'd experienced the first morning back on the mainland in Nadi. But as basic as it was (the electric only ran from 6.30pm to 6.30am and the water was intermittent), the staff and guests made up for it. We made the best out of a bum deal and had a great 5 nights. The island itself was a lot cooler because of a persistent breeze so we slept much better. We had some nights of entertainment (traditional Fijian dancing and fire/knife dances too) and by the end of our 4th night, we'd also been to a birthday party and had a couple of nights just mingling with the other guests. We enjoyed our time even the basic-ness of the room, facilities and food and drink didn't dampen our spirits in fact the food improved no end when the chef left the island. Hurrah! We spent a good few hours discussing between ourselves the few things needed to make Mana Lagoon a great resort - it wouldn't be much. The sunsets were stunning, the beach was lovely and the sea was warm - like a hot bath. After a 5 minute walk through the undergrowth there was the Survivor Beach (where the series had been filmed). From here, on the rocks, you could see baby reef sharks and rockpools supporting all kinds of marine life). Aside from this, the beach itself was a bit disappointing - run down and definitely not isolated.
Next stop was Bounty Island which was back in the direction of the mainland. We'd seen Bounty on our initial trip to Walu Beach. It is the archetypal, picture postcard desert island - bright blue clear seas gently lapping at a yellow sandy beach with palm trees in the middle. It looked like paradise. It was a step up from Mana as it had electric on all the time, water (hot & cold - sheer luxury after a single tap at Mana) and air con (complete with it's own remote). Our bure was on it's own stretch of beach metres from the seas edge. It was a basic hut with a bathroom and double bed complete with a mosquito net and air con, did we mention the air con? Luxury! On our first day, while splashing about in the sea, we saw a 2 foot stingray swimming by just feet from us - amazing. Apparently there was 3 resident reef sharks on the coastline but despite all our efforts, we never even saw 1 of them. Gutted - maybe next time although I'm pretty sure we'd freak out if we did.
Today we left Bounty for the mainland - I think we both feel it's about the right time: we've exhausted the book exchange (only Mills & Boon and stuff about war left unread), the suncream is about out and the antihistamine/bite cream ran out this morning. It's our last full day in Fiji. Tomorrow morning we head to Hong Kong.