Bula everyone (Hello in Fijian), sorry I've not wrote in so long but i have been in Fiji and internet access is remote and expensive......so now I've got to cram two weeks worth of sunbathing and drinking into a nut shell.....

Arrived in Nadi on the mainland and straight away booked our trip to get off the mainland and onto the islands. The mainland doesnt really have much to do or see so the islands are a lot better and get better weather. We spent a couple of days on the mainland at first though to relax and kick start our tans. Little did we know that it was actually rainy season so at 1.30 pm on our first full day in Fiji whilst we were sat around the pool, the heavens opened and our sunbathing was brought to a stop there and then. So we thought it must be a one off and tomorrow would be better. 12.30pm the next day, more rain. This was not looking good.

Woke up early on our third day there and went out to the port to get the boat out to our first island - Coral View. Plenty of sunshine so we were happy. Now we had heard rumours that the food was not so good on the islands and as I am the most ever so slightly fussy eater (!) I thought it was going to be a disaster.....it was. But since we had eaten a little too well in New Zealand, the waist band could have done with a loosening. So for the two days we spent on Coral View island, i ate not much more than furry watermelon (it wasnt fresh) and soggy fake cornflakes (they dont have good old Kelloggs over there surprisingley). But that was fine coz we had heard good things about the next island...Korovou.

To get back onto the main vessel (catamaran) we had to take a much smaller boat out to it. A bit like a fishing boat. So the day we were leaving, all our stuff is packed and our big bags are on another small boat, we just had a smaller ones to carry. It rained. And rained and rained. So we are all walking along the beach to the boats, towels over our heads trying to salvage the stuff in our bags ie all our valuables. We were soaked. Worse rain than in England and that is not anexaggeration. On board the big boat, everyone is stood around in their bikini's trying to dry off but shivering at the same time from the air con!! This was not the ideal Fiji we had in mind but there was some sunshine somewhere we just hadnt found it yet.

On Korovou, the food was better (edible) and they had a nice pool to sit around because the ater is that shallow in the sea, it is almost impossible to swim unless you go out a couple hundred metres. We met a few people that we had been on the Kiwi bus with and our friend Sarah also from Kiwi was there. So the drinking began and we played numerous stupid games whilst Bula dancing. Very amusing. The rain that day went into the night and we all got a bit ambitious and decided to conga out into the rain! No casualties which was a bonus, just a few dodgy stomachs from the food. Including mine. But wasnt Inca trek standard so that was fine.

The next island was South Sea and was the smallest island out of them all and there is a fair few. You can literally walk around the whole island in 5 minutes, walking slow. At this point we had a good group of 6 of us, two canadian girls, me and jade and adam and marc that we ahd met in New Zealand. Sarah wasnt actually booked on our island but the next one. So when we all got onto the big boat over to south sea, we kidnapped sarah and wouldnt let her get off on her island but we took her to SouthSea instead. ha. well not so ha ha coz there were no beds for her. they were booked up. hence why she wasnt supposed to be there. So she had to sleep on the top bunk with me instead. Nice and cosy.

Tea that night was better and much more edible and we got given the rules of the island....'there are no rules except one.....there is absolutely NO going into the sea after 6.30pm. 'Now the manager did not say why but he made it very clear that you couldnt. Maybe jellyfish who knows.

That night was our big night. We were all together and the vodka was flowing. (until then it had been a fairly tame trip) after a few drinking games which involved the losing team cross dressing and some wheel barrow racing, we got to try the local speciality...Kava. No not the çhampagne like drink, this was more like muddy pond water. You drank it from a small wooden bowl and was like a relaxant (no drugs involved dont worry) and made my tongue go numb for a few minutes. Well after a fair few bowls of Kava, i decided it would be nice if we all just stood in the sea to paddle. At this point there was only me adam marc and jade left awake. They didnt think it would be so much of a good idea but i was adamant. Then somewhere in all of this, the paddling turned into skinny dipping and before you know it, we're all frolicking around in the sea with only our knickers on. Well i wish they were big knickers but anyway....it was dark and nothing could be seen so it was all part of the fun. Until we heard a voice shouting 'GET OUT OF THE SEA, GET OUT OF THE SEA....NOW!!! oops. so trying to keep any dignity i had left, i clambered out of the sea stubling on plenty of coral in the process and slicing my hands and feet open in the process until i was finally out and back in my 'dry' clothes.

On the other hand Jade did not keep so much of her dignity coz she could not for the life of her get out of the sea coz her feet were hurting so bad from the coral (not sure why we hadnt caught ourselves on the coral whilst we were jumping around in the sea but thats by the by) so the guy had to paddling a few metres into the sea, holding what i can only describe as a piece of loin cloth (ha) and pick jade out. She didnt seem bothered or embarrassed (i think it was the Kava) so all was well. We get our bottoms slapped and sent to bed with no supper.

The next day was a sunny one and with awful hangovers, we spent most of it in the shade nursing our sore heads and broken hands and feet. Then after a BBQ dinner and some more Bula dancing, we went over to Beachcomber island...the party island...so they say. The food there was amazing. Compared to the first island anyway. We had indian buffet for dinner, chinese for tea. FRESH fruit etc etc. We had one more night of drinking left in us (after having a night off) and just chilled out and relaxed in plenty of sun with NO rain!! We did have a run in with a couple of cockroaches which resulted in yet a nother night of me and sarah sleeping on the top bunk together coz we found one on her bed. Although the alcohol did help when trying not to think about it. Then a mouse the next day was scurrying around our feet but apart from that, lots of fun and games.

Back on the main land we spent a couple more days at the hotel around the pool enjoying the sun, then rain, then sun again.

THE END

Bit of a big nut shell but I couldnt help it. Will update photos from Fiji asap xxxxx