Bula from Fiji! Its a cold day today in Fiji, Im sat in my cardigan on our veranda watching the waves crash on the shore. (Although we experienced the deep freeze over our ten days at home, cold for us is currently around 16'C!) The two twelve hour flights to Fiji didnt seem to take too long as we were used to the long journeys in South America. We left the UK on December the 28th and arrived in Fiji on New Years Eve ready for celebrations. We grabbed a shower at Nadi airport before boarding our flight to northern Fiji. Sue, the managers wife, met us at Labasa airport and kindly drove us to town. After buying some grog we hopped on Tui Mali's (the chief) boat and made our way to the island, our new home, where we immediately gave our sevu sevu (the formal presentation of grog to the chief) and met the few remaining tourists who had spent Christmas on the island. Sadly many of the Fijians who we had made friends with were no longer working. We had just enough time to drop our bags in a room before hopping on the boat to Vesi, a village on another island where the New Years celebrations were being held. The village was beautifully decorated. Shelters had been built to prevent people melting in the Fiji sun and streamers and brightly patterned material were hung up. Two or three bilos of grog were drunk before we were invited for food. A long table held dishes of fresh fish, meats and veg for us all to enjoy. After letting our food settle we returned to the grog mat and met some of our old friends. Sadly, not all the tourists wanted to stay for the two hour mass and new year celebrations but wanted to return to Vorovoro to drink alcohol. As there was only enough fuel in the boat for one trip, we too had to leave. Although it was disappointing, it was probably wise. By 11pm I was falling sleep. Si and I saw in the New Year sat together on a hammock staring at the millions of stars visible in the cloudless sky. Ten minutes later we had crawled into bed and crashed out! On New Years day everyone left. The remaining tourists and staff caught a boat with the Fijians to town. Si and I were all alone on our pacific island in the sun - not a bad way to begin 2011! The place was very quiet without the chatter and unforgettable sound of Fijian laughter. After sitting on the hammocks we took a walk around to see what needed to be done. In comparison to our visit in June, it was a mess! Weeds had sprouted everywhere, the vegetables in the garden were completely hidden and the kitchen area was swarming with flies and had a few too many cockroaches and spiders for my liking! I attacked the kitchen, screaming with every creepy-crawly I uncovered, whilst Si organised our bedroom. He set up a double bed and created two day beds with cushions for reading and relaxing on rainy days. It was a productive day and by keeping ourselves busy and awake we quickly adjusted to the time zone. The first few days were really quiet and I felt mega homesick. It was the first time in a long time where we'd been still. Our time in Brazil was busy sightseeing and preparing to go home. Then during our ten days in the UK our time was filled by seeing family and friends, celebrating Christmas and sorting things out for Fiji. It had been a hectic few weeks and I felt drained. The island was a good place to re-energise. During our first week on the island, a friend of ours, Leavi, came to visit with his extended family - Si thought my family was big! Leavi brought at least fifty people with him to look around the island where he used to work. It was great to see him and we loved having noise on the island. Children were playing in the sea and jumping off the pontoon. As the water is so calm and shallow, the children played without need for adult supervision. They were all so confident in the water. Si and I joined Leavi and some of the guys for some grog. They sat, drank and sang endless songs. After a few hours they were all 'lambchopped' and falling sleep! We had an open invitation to visit Leavi in his village on the main land but sadly didnt get round to doing so until we left as transport was a little difficult. Tui Mali came for a meeting in our first few days. The Fijian culture is male dominated, so the meeting was held between Simon, Tui and the off-island manager Chuck. We were told a few things about the current state of the company and provided with a list of things that needed to be packed away. It took us a day or two to completely pack away all the valuable and clean up and from then on we would just work on the upkeep of the grounds. Every morning we'd do some work - weeding, raking, feeding the animals, basic repairs (the pig broke out his pen a few times and made a mess!), clearing paths and collecting rubbish that washed up onto the island. I much preferred waking up at 6am when there was light but the heat from the sun wasnt too intense. By midday we were disgustingly sweaty!! Our afternoons were spent in the hammocks reading, playing cards, snorkeling or fishing. Occasionally we'd walk across to the other island during low tide and drink grog with our friends in Nakawaga. Within the first week of our stay the chiefs wife became ill. Anna had developed a large boil on her back and was suffering greatly for several weeks. Natural remedies were being used to help heal it and, after seven weeks, she went into hospital where it was drained. Its healing nicely now and she goes to the hospital daily to get a new dressing of salt water and aloe vera. Due to her being in so much pain, the Fijian family who lived on Vorovoro with us moved to the main land to help, leaving Si and I completely alone on the island. Luckily neither Si or myself had any sickness during our stay on the island. I had a nasty fall from a hammock and really hurt my back. Si thought I was laughing as I lay on the floor - I was sobbing! I was walking very slowly for a few days but all is well now. After a week of sunshine, the rain came! All day every day for at least a week we had heavy rain. As we were living in open huts with tarp sheltering us from the rain, everything became damp and smelly! Being English we should be used to the lack of sun, but we've been spoilt on our travels and became a little depressed with the bad weather. We knew we were living in Fiji during rainy season but we didnt expect it to be that wet for so long! On the plus side, the rainfall filled up all the water tanks and the waterfall became the worlds best power shower. We were so grateful when the clear blue sky reappeared. Luckily we only had bad weather once or twice during our stay. The rain hammered down on our tin roof and the wind rustled all the leaves keeping us awake at night. The Fijian family came back to the island to nail down their windows as strong winds were approaching and it may have developed into a cyclone. Before they left they advised that we move into the chiefs house to protect ourselves. The weather became pretty bad and we were the only people on the entire island. Thankfully, the wind didnt cause any damage and just left a mess of leaves for us to clear up. Once every seven to ten days we took a trip into town. The boat only had a small engine so it took us forty minutes to get to the large island. Many times we got caught in the rain!! We would get dropped off at Malau and wait for a bus to take us to Labasa. The tin bus had no windows, bad suspension and a gear box that needed replacing ten years ago! The bus journey took forty minutes on bumpy roads through villages and sugar cane fields. Labasa town was always a shock to the system after living island life. Depending on the tide we usually had time for a brief stint online, a browse at the knock-off 60p DVDs, veg shopping in the market and grocery shopping in the stores. On the odd occasion we had enough time to grab a bite to eat. As there was no fridge on the island we sometimes treated ourselves by filling the eski up with ice and buying beers, meat and cheese! Most weeks our diet consisted of noodles, tuna and veg - Clare sent me some Taco and Tex Mex seasoning for my birthday and they were very much appreciated!! Back on the island when we unloaded our boat we'd throw our flipflops on the beach and take all our things to the kitchen. Si forgot to pick his flipflops up one time and they went for swim with the tide. Luckily we found both of them, one floating in the sea and the other caught in seaweed! As there were very few people on the island, we were lucky to see lots of wildlife. During low tide, when the water was warm and calm we often spotted baby reef sharks swimming in the shallows as we sat on the pontoon. We also saw lots of sea snakes on land. Si spotted a large one when clearing up rubbish tangled in seaweed. My favourite find was a turtle. Si had suggested walking to the end of the island to watch sunset. As we passed the rocks he spotted the large turtle wedged in between two rocks. At first we werent sure whether it was nesting or stuck. There was no one else on the island and it was too late to call for help as the tide was coming in. The next morning when it was still there we decided to get some help to lift it out as it was too heavy for Simon. Two guys came from Nakawaga, pulled it out and set it free. It was awesome to see it head back into the sea. Although the majority of our time was spent alone on the island, we did sometimes have visitors. An American guy in the Peace Corp was living in the island next to ours. Occasionally he'd pop over and we'd have a few beers and a camp fire - I finally convinced Simon that small fires are better than the blaze he creates! We also became good friends with an American family who had recently moved to the area to set up a missionary project in Fiji. They came for a snorkel and some beach time. When we had chance we would meet with them in town and they kindly let us stay at their house in town during our last few days in Northern Fiji, It was so nice to sit of sofas, sleep without a mosquito net and use a washing machine! Our last few days were filled with kava! We walked across to Nakawaga and enjoyed some kava sat under the party tree until the sun set. Tui came to Vorovoro on our last day to ensure everything was properly packed away. That evening we drank infront of Tui's house for a good few hours. He spoke of the magic of Vorovoro and the miracles that happen. He really hopes that one day it will re-open and Tribe members and Team Fiji will come back to the island. The following morning we said our goodbyes to the island and Hatchi the dog. From Labasa we commuted to Tui Malis house and did our official goodbye (e-tat-tau) and presented some kava. It was pounded and we sat on his porch for hours drinking and talking before catching the last bus. Neither of us felt right leaving Labasa without saying goodbye to Leavi. So the following day we made our way to Vuo village, bundle of grog in hand. He has a beautiful house in a secluded area of the village. We sat under a large tree and met all his family again. They were so unbelievably hospitable. He played his guitar and had us crying with laughter telling us stories of his trip to the UK. It was hard to say all the goodbyes. We caught the last bus home and left Leavi and his family to drink until the early hour of the morning!