Bula! Fiji is paradise and the people are so nice and welcoming - even when we arrived at the airport we were greeted by some guys singing and dancing to the blua song. We stayed in Nadi Bay Hostel which is defiantly the most luxurious hostel we have stayed in and a big improvement to the airport seats where we spent the previous night! They have 2 swimming pool, 2 restaurants and even a massage place. We set off and tues on a 7 day island hopping trip to the Yasawa islands - it was a four hour boat trip to our first Island but the scenery along the way was fantastic with crystal clear waters and we past the mamanicas islands which are really small and cute. We stopped at Taveua Island. A tiny boat picked us up from the big boat and took us to a resort called Corel View - as we pulled up on the beach all the staff were outside singing and welcoming us. As soon as we got off they were offering us drinks and getting our bags of the boat - it was really welcoming. We stayed in a bure which is a traditional fiji house with a thatched roof (a hut with a door) and it had a light which we were soon to realise was a bonus. The resorts are not what you would call luxury but they are in the most stunning settings. Can you believe that they don't have any mains electricity and have to have a generator!!!!!!! The showers and the toilets are outside and the water is cold (If Nick tells you otherwise don't believe him - i did and was shocked when i got in) We chilled out on the beach and in hammocks until 5 o'clock which turned into Nicks daily volleyball match with the locals - all the staff come out and play and they absolutly love it. We were warned by Jim (the manager) that it was crazy hat night night and that if you turned up to dinner with out one you wouldnt get any food. I decorated a hat with some of the flowers that they have put in our bure and nick puts one of my hair bands around his head and sticks loads of leaves in it - he looked v funny but surprisingly was not the craziest. He did try and make up for this in the catwalk parade when he did a flamboyant handstand to demonstrate the durability of the hat!!! We had our food and then the staff all sang us a welcome song and we did some crazy dances including the snake dance - which was all quite funny. 'Figi time' is big here everyone is so chilled out - for example jim was explaining the bar opening times which were 6pm until the last person leaves the bar. The Fijians do not rush anything - i think this is why they are all so happy and relaxed. In the morning Nick and some of the others went to the Sauvailaue caves that have underwater caverns (and leaches). After lunch we caught a boat over to Nanuya Lailai which is really beautiful and we went in the blue lagoon (from the films) the water is unbelievable. Nick does some snorkelling and I met up with Leanne and Amy from our first Fraser island group in oz which is really nice. After dinner we had a bonfire on the beach with singing and dancing - brilliant Next morning we have a coconut demonstration where nick tries to learn the art of bag making from coconut palm tree leafs which is v amusing. We then caught the boat to Matacaveleum and stayed at Long beach which had one of the longest whitest sand beaches in the Yawas. I know keep saying this but this place really is like paradise - the water is like stepping into a luke warm bath and it is really clear. at 4pm we headed down the beach to a man called Mattes 'house' and had 'the best cake in fiji' which was actually really good. This place didn't even have a light in the bures we had to use lamps and they didnt have a full power generator and cooked all food on the fire - which included octopus which was surprisingly ok apart from i kept imaging it to move in my mouth. Next morning we went to the local village and school which was brilliant. The children where so happy and were really polite. The school was lovely and right by the beach. We had tea and biscuits with the head and teachers. Nick went into one classroom and practised being a teacher by making all the class shout bula so he could take a photo. Our next stop was Navit - one of the largest islands where we stayed at quite a developed resort of Koravou. After our dinner these figian guys dressed up in grass skirts started singing and dancing - it was really good. After we all had to get up and learn the 'bula' dance and other games. Next day nick went to another village which was good but he didnt get to meet the chief as promised. After we stopped at Waya at Sunset. We were the only people staying apart from a couple from oz that had got married last week. He was half fijian and his dad came from the local village so they where having a wedding ceremony which we were also invited to - which was really good because we got to see some more Fijian culture. About 15 villages came over and everyone sat around on a big mat with the couple at the top in decorated tree bark and flowers. They did some chanting thing and drank cava (alot) which is some mashed up root that they mix with water and makes your mouth num - minging but an experience. We had tradional food that had been cooked under the ground and everyone sat around singing - One guy said to Nick 'play us a song my friend' thankfully for everyone he declined the offer!!! We meet this guy called Tom who worked there racking up the leaves. He started work at 5 in the morning and we also fished for sharks in a tin boat. He had caught over 300 and he sells different parts to send his son to uni. He had no money for himself and his wife and hi didnt know how he was going to get enough money for his son - it was v sad but the worst thing of all was that he had had a tooth ache for 7 months but couldn't afford to go to the main island to a dentist. These people are unbelievably poor but they are so happy and have so much respect for everyone. Most people want to get out of fiji to make some money and one guy says he dreams of touching snow. Last stop was Kuata where we just chilled out then caught the boat back to the main land. I really loved these islands and there people - it was a real high of our trip so far xx