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Tues 3rd,Leaving the fatastic islands of New Zealand,what a great place to visit,the North island is great the South Island is unbelievable,so much to see and do just ask my bank manager,we did so many activities that there is'nt much left for us to do,if you have read the previous pages you will know all about that,and the scenery will blow you away(if the wind in Queenstown does'nt get to you first,anyway on to Fiji.we caught the 1300 Air Pacific flight to Nadi on the West coast of the biggest island Viti Levu,Fiji is made up of 333 islands not all liveable,we arrived at 1600 and borded the shuttle bus to our first home for a couple of day's the Nadi Bay Resort,a quiet place and a bit out of the way but it will do us for 1 night 3 bed dorm $29.We had a walk up the road and were soon met by a friendly bloke offering us Kava(we would soon be very accustomed to thier local drink)it's made from the powdered down root from a pepper plant,some people say it tastes a bit like muddy water(Ian) but myself and Jamie quite liked it,anyway this man walked us to his shop,we sat down on a big mat in the middle of the room,shoes off,a few other people joined us and they spoke about the history of Fiji when they were cannibals and other bits and pieces,it's all aimed at getting bodies into the shop to buy thier wood carvings,we got out without buying anything and they did'nt use any of the weapons on us,first night in Fiji home safe and sound.
Wed 4th,We were picked up at 8am to do the Feejee Experience tour of the island (Viti Levu)our driver was a big lad called Liza and our guide was a mad man called Ruben,we only had about 5 other people on the bus so plenty of room,our fisrt stop of the day was in Nadi,we had a look round the shops and bought a fish from the market(red snapper) to cook on the bbq planned for the afternoon,we then stopped off at Natadola beach for a few hours rest then had the bbq on the beach,our 3rd stop was a typical Fijian village called Malomalo,we were told more about the live style and history plus the culture of the Fijian people,our last stop before our resort was at Sigaatoka to do some sand boarding,good fun but covered in sand suprissingly,we arrived at Mango Bay resort a nice place on the beach.
Thurs 5th,Left Mango Bay at 9am,our activity today was a trek through the Viti Levu rainforest arriving at a waterfall where we could swim,they did say to us we might get wet and muddy,an understatement as we found out after a few steps,Jamie's flip flop got stuck so he went bare foot,it rainned the night before so we were slipping and sliding all over the place,good fun though,we had to wade through plenty of water too,we arrived at the waterfall quite a while later but it was all worth it as we jumped off a rock into the water,after a nice swim we made our way back still sliding and slipping up,we made it to the river where a boat was waitng for us to take us back to the bus,we arrived at our next resort,the Uprising hotel,a really nice place,we had a 20 bed dorm but it was massive with loads of room.
Fri 6th,Left at 7.30 this morning as we had a long drive to the North East of the island,we drove through the capital Suva,saw the presidents house and had photo with the guard,we then visited a village school called Dakuivuna,Feejee ex encourage people to take gifts to the school as they are so poor,we took excercise books pencil's and pen's and some balls,the kids look forward to the visit and we each had our own guide to meet the other pupils and show us round the school,after the tour the kid's sing us some songs and do some dancing,we were asked to sing them a song back so we did the oki koki it went down a storm,well it went down!!we then had a visit to a village in the district of Wainibuka to meet the chief and give him some kava,it's custumary to do this so we can get the chiefs permission to visit his village,we then boarded a Bill Bill(bamboo raft)and drifted along the Wainbuka River,after another long drive we arrived at our home for the next 3 day's Volivoli Beach Resort,miles out of the way but a nice quiet place on the beach,we would be leaving Ruben and Liza as they were heading back to Nadi with the bus so we had a few drinks with them and quiet a few bowls of Kava.
Sat 7th,Lazy day today,just sat by the pool then walked to the beach to see the sunset.
Sun 8th,Same as above,lovely weather.
Mon 9th,we are off to do a bit more diving today,2 dives for $160,1 hour's boat ride to our destination,The Garden Of Eden,saw a Grey Tipped shark,the coral was fantastic and the visability really good,went down to 30m,met up with our new friends on the Feejee bus.
Tues 10th,Not A long journey today so left at 11.30,shame to leave here,nice place and staff,we passed through a place called BA,so many Indian's live here,the British Empire asked the Indians to come over in the 1800's to help with the sugar cane industry,they liked the country so much they settled here,there was 2 uprising's here in 2000 and 2006 because the Indian's wanted to buy up land and have more say in the running of the country,needless to say they did'nt get thier way and they still have to rent the land from the Fijian's,we stopped for lunch at a beach resort run by Indian's and had a nice curry in the sun,would rather have had a salad but hey yo,next was Sabeto Valley natural hot springs,a hot spring with mud,myself and Jamie covered ourself's in the mud,Ian had a cut so did'nt get in,we got out of the mud pool and went into the hot spring and yes it was bloody hot,got back to Nadi Bay resort,had an early night as early pick up in the morning.
Wed 11th,Pick up at 7.30 to catch the 8.30 Yasawa flyer boat to the group of Islands to the left of the main island,we bought a combo bula ticket that covers our accomodation,transfers and food,we can pay extra to upgrade to a few of the better resorts,we were going to the very top and working our way back down,it all works really well,the flyer turns up and small boats from the resorts pull up along side and you transfer onto one of them,they put your bags on the boats and take them off,5 hours later we reached Nacula island and staying at Nabua Lodge,a really quiet place and only enough room for 33 guests,at 10.30 the generator goes off and the lights go out so if your not in bed tough.10 bed dorm.
Thurs 12th,Did a trip to the Blue Lagoon,this is where the film called the Blue Lagoon was filmed,saw some nice fish and coral,myself and Jamie climbed a hill to watch the sunset.
Fri 13th,Catching the flyer to Tavewa island and staying at Coral View resort,really nice place and good food,every time you approach the islands you get a nice Bula welcome,the staff come out with thier guitars and sing a welcome song.20 bed dorm.
Sat 14th,Going diving again this morning,the first dive is a shark dive,2 dives $175,we went miles out,dived in and straight away saw loads of different reef sharks and nurse sharks then a massive Lemon shark swooped down and took the feed,about 3.5m in length and a big old boy and only a few feet away from us amazing!!!the 2nd dive was good also but no more sharks.
Sun 15th,Caught the boat at 1pm and staying at Korovou eco-tour Resort on Naviti island,30 bed dorm,great staff and good food.
Mon 16th,Sat by the pool in the morning then went snorkelling.
Tues 17th,Boat to the island of Nanuya Balavu and staying at the Mantaray resort another resort where we had to pay an extra $40 for better food,it was worth paying the extra here as the food was really good with lots of choices,met up with Nikki from NZ again,still as mad as ever and we had a few drinks in the bar later.
Wed 18th,Lovely morning by the beach,we had the best snorkelling we have had anywhere,it was like swimming in an aquarium,the colours were great,the fish and coral,we then saw a reef shark,an octopus,Moray Eel and a stingray not bad for a ittle swim,the main reason we came to the Mantaray resort was to swim with the Mantaray's,we were told a few times that there would'nt be a problem to swim with them at 1pm and get the boat to our next island at 3pm,when it came to 1pm and the drum sounded for the Mantary trip they said we would'nt have time to do it,but within 20 mins the boat was back as they could'nt find any,it is pot luck if they turn up,we then caught the boat to Kuata and staying at Kuata national resort,great staff,met up with Kye again(Stutgard)had a nice massage.
Thurs 19th,Going snorkelling and out to feed the Reef sharks,a good trip andmanaged to see a few Reef Sharks,would have been able to touch them if it was'nt for this idiot Isralie bloke who wanted to take over and ruined it for everyone else.got the boat over to Waya Lailai resort,it was a bit choppy,the staff offloading our bags managed to get all of them wet,they left them on the edge of the shoreline,very bright,we had to wash some of our clothes again,Ian had to dry out his passport and stamps,there was a 21st birthday party going on but it was really boring,a few old boys playing boring songs and drinking loads of Kava,met up with Suzzane from London,strange thing was she had met up with Lina our friend from China in Peru,what a small world as they say.
Fri 20th,Time for a bit of luxury,our friend Harriet who had visited the islands a few weeks before us had said to book this place up as soon as we got on the boat the resort called Octopus,we had a 20 bed dorm but all single bed's and we also had warm water,5 star stuff and very nice,after dinner we watched a Fiji staff show then had a beach party where we met up with Lucy and Dan and a few others.
Sat 21st,Found out they had some nice sunbed's, rude not to use them so used them all day,was hoping to do a trip to see Mantarays but got cancelled as not enough people wanted to do it
Sun 22nd,I went to church in the village,you have to cover your shoulder's and leg's so out came my sarong and matching shirt again,it was really hot in the church and a few people were starting to nod off but then the preacher would raise his voice and in the only bit of english he spoke REMEMBER THE NAME OF THE LORD!!!!and woke everyone up again,it was worth going though as the preacher was good and the choir sounded great.I had a word with the dive people and the manager to see if I got 8 people together if we could hire the boat to swim with the Mantaray's,they agreed and within 20mins I had 14 people but then they said the price only £5 short of a full day's trip $55 so that put a few people off,in the end we only had 6 but the manager could see we would be dissapointed so let us go out,we managed to swim with 2 differnt Mantaray's,what a fantastic experience,they are so big and so gracefull well worth the $50,we then got on the boat to our final island Mamanuca,staying at Bounty resort where they filmed celebrity love island,nothing left of where they stayed and the beach was stoney othing like when they would have been filming,another 20 bed dorm ,same price as Octopus bt nowhere near as good.
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