Fiji-licious!

On checking in at LAX airport we were pleased to hear that the flight was only 60-70% full – ever hopeful that we might get some extra space for the 10 hour flight! Heading straight on through security so we could get some dinner, we were disappointed to realise that all LAX (one of the busiest airports in the world) had to offer was – a hotdog cafe, a newsagent and a cupboard sized duty free shop. Assuming there must be some mistake, we walked...we walked for a good 15 minutes to check other gates. Nope. It really was that rubbish! So, 2 mediocre hotdogs later, we were waiting to board.

We were fortunate to have 3 seats to share between us, thus throughout the flight managed to adopt various interesting sleeping positions. At one point andy pretty much managed to lie right across them! The Fijian staff on board were so so friendly! Very reassuring to fly with ( a relief after encountering various “types” of cabin crew on United Airlines and American Airlines) After a smooth take off, everyone was out for the count. By the time we woke, breakfast was being served and we only had 2 hours to go! Great!

After a good landing, we adjusted our watches and tried to get our head round the facts it was now the 3rd sept....we left lax on the 1st....that damn international date line!

Fast forward a number of hours, we are on board the Yasawa Flyer Catamaran travelling from Denaurau Marina. First stop – Octopus Resort on Waya Island, or rather what we came to know as Paradise!
After a lovely welcome to Octopus Resort by the staff singing and cheering, we all responded “Bula!” (hello) and hopped onto the island

After a brief introduction, we were shown to our gorgeous bungalow, complete with beautiful fresh flower decorations. Worlds apart from the hustle and bustle of America – its time to relax.

Mornings roll into afternoons, afternoons roll into evenings. Everyday is a lazy Sunday! We are ashamed to say that reading books is about as much activity as we manage. The food is absolutely fantastic, locally produced bitter (andy has finally managed to get me drinking the stuff) and the best banana smoothies ever!

At meal times everyone groups together on big tables, we’ve spoken to people from America, Oz, NZ, South Africa, the Netherlands, Germany and of course – Britain! Such a huge eclectic mix of people

Sunday is an important day for the Fijian people, and always involves a trip to church. We joined in a trip to the local church - the singing is fantastic and children look so beautiful in their Sunday best outfits! Its great to get out and see some of “real Fiji”. The village is worlds apart from the resort we stay in.
On our return from church, a day of rain threatened to put a dampener on paradise, but fortunately we teamed up with a group of 3 other likeminded couples (Sidney and Steven from the US, Sam and Amanda from Engand and Tim and Nina from England (via Finland!) and manage to while away the day with card games and Pictionary. (with an obligatory afternoon tea and cake break of course) The day is finished off perfectly watching a movie by the pool, we even had popcorn dished out to us. The previous night we had watched the tri nations match between the springboks and wallabies projected on a screen above the pool. Outdoor viewing is definitely much better!
Our final night is supposed to entail watching some of the locals doing “fire walking” which disappointingly is cancelled!! However, we do have crab racing for entertainment instead. Its amazing how competitive some people get! Whilst we meander down to the crabs to choose a winner....one guy dons a head torch and heads to the beach in search of a beast!! Much fun is had by all. We all have to take our Crab Oath. Promising not to cry if we lose. Somehow our little fella manages to get to the final, however falls at the last hurdle. Perhaps we just didn’t cheer it on enough??

Octopus Resort was absolutely wonderful. There wasn’t anything we could fault. Fantastic food, fantastic people and fantastic surroundings! It was sad to leave, but we were also excited to hop to another island and see what that had to offer!

2nd stop - Nacula Island – Oarmans Bay Lodge

Our second stop in the Yasawas Islands – Oarsmans Bay Lodge, on Nacula Island. Well, we had been promised breathtaking beaches and crystal clear waters – and that is exactly what we got! The Catamaran dropped us off about a 15 min boat ride from the shore and our water taxi took us the rest of the way. We’ve never seen water like it. Waya Island had been beautiful, but this water was something else... Bright turquoise, calm and crystal clear. The beach was made up of bright white sand, with only a couple of people scattered along it. It felt like stepping onto a long lost island, or as if we were the first to discover it! Unfortunately, there was a slight hiccup to our accommodation. Although we had booked 4 nights a few weeks prior, we were told Oarsmans was over booked so we would be put up in the neighbouring accommodation for 1 night, then be transferred. We didn’t mind as the setting was stunning! (It however turned out that the neighbouring accommodation had actually been shut down as the resort had been sold. ...so we were a little miffed at being put in there! After an...’interesting’ first night (involving trying to construct our mosquito net – the ones on our Bure (hut) didn’t look up to scratch, waking to the sounds of rustling/scurrying noises in the middle of the night and identifying teeth marks on a plastic bag in our room in the morning – and droppings!) we made sure we were promptly moved in the morning!! Needless to say the Bure in Oarsmans was a million times better! All in all, we didn’t do a great deal in our time on the island. It was nice to bump into some familiar faces from Octopus Resort! Lots of lying on the beach, reading, kayaking..general relaxing. It was allot quieter than Octopus, but again we met a great bunch of people. Andy also managed to go on a visit to the local village! On the downside, we had been utterly spoilt with the food at Octopus, and Oarmans didn’t really come close! To top it off, half of the people in the resort were stuck down with a terrible stomach bug and meal times became a guessing game of “who next!?” A little scary!

A lovely relaxing few days. As the furthest away island in the Yasawas group we had a 5 hour catamaran journey back to the mainland at the end of the stay. Fortunately we were travelling along with some of the friends we had made at octopus – we managed to keep each other entertained! A fairly smooth journey – until the captain warned us of “low to medium winds” up ahead, which sounded very mild....but we did have another 3 or so hours to go and at points it was exactly like being on a rollercoaster. Up...and down....and up again....ick. Fortunately we had taken our sea sickness tablets, otherwise it might have been allot less fun! The last hour of the journey we were hit by a rainstorm – so we had to retreat downstairs. We were glad to get off at Denaurau Marina!!

Our final night in Fiji was spent at the Smugglers Cove Hostel Although we arrived after sundown and left before sunrise, we liked what we saw. Brilliant accommodation! Our first proper meal in days was very welcome (even if the chef seemed to be a cheese maniac when it came to decorating pizzas!) The banana fritters were to die for! And we managed to watch the All Blacks vs. Southa Africa Tri Nations match – Andy was happy indeed!

All in all, Fiji was paradise. Everything we had imagined – glittering blue waters, gleaming sandy beaches, relaxation and living on ‘Fijian time’. One of the true highlights – we met some great people who made our stay there even more fun! We were feeling full charged to take on NZ