Hi to you all and firstly let me apologise for the serious delay in blogging!!!!

Were now actually in Bolivia but as we are trying to catch up so this entry is to tell you all about our fantastic 2 weeks in Fiji!! Because we treated Fiji like a holiday there will be no day by day entry, as I think you may all get a little bored of "well today we sunbathed!".

We arrived in Nadi (capital of Fiji) on the 18th February after leaving Auckland that morning. The flight was about 4 hours, so not so bad! Everything went nice and smoothly on arrival with visas and customs all taking very little time at all. Once through and into the arrivals all we were greeted with a singing band and a BULA welcome!! (Bula was to become our most used word as it means Hello.) We had booked a Welcome package which was basically transport and accommodation with breakfast so after a bit of a wait we were put into a taxi and sent in the direction of Nadi Bay Resort.

Nadi Bay resort is a backpackers but it is what is known as a flash packers and it was lovely. We were in a 6 bedded dorm but no bunk beds!!! The place has 2 restaurants as well as a salon, a swimming pool and an internet café. So apart from nipping to the local supermarket to get lots of water for the islands we then spent the rest of the early evening and evening at the hostel. We used the pool, had dinner and drank a pina coloda each!! Very nice. Although the heat was a little bit harsh to start with as it was like being back in Asia with the super duper muggy heat with super sweating!! This was to continue for the next 2 weeks!!!!

So prior to arriving in Fiji we had booked an Island hopping package with STA in Auckland. The company was called Awesome Adventures and we had booked the Lazy Threesome Package. We booked this one as it was 6 days/5 nights and then it would tie in perfectly with when we were to meet dad and Mel. So on the morning of the 19th after getting up super early and having breakfast we were then picked up by the Awesome Adventures bus (with no glass in the windows) and driven to the port at Denarau Marina. The drive to the port went past lots of locals houses so we got to have a brief look from a far but also as it was school time we got to see all the kids going to school. There was a mixture of ages and religions. Prior to arriving I had though that the majority of Fijians were Christian but we saw a lot of Muslim school children. We were later to find out that there is a bit of conflict between the Fijians and the Indian families as the Fijians feel that the Indian´s have all come over to Fiji and taken over their businesses and lively hoods! So anyway once at the marina it was a quick check in and then onto the boat for a 5 hour journey up through the Yasawas islands.

So for the night of the 19th and 20th we were at Sunrise Lagoon Resort. Not really a resort at all!! For this package each night had a choice of 2 places to stay only it wasn´t really a choice more of a you go where you're put. And we were put on Sunrise. Not a bad place and in retrospect we would have probably chosen here over Coral View (the other resort) if we´d been given the choice anyway because it was family run. But at the time feelings among people were running high about the unfairness because Coral View supposedly was defiantly a resort where as Sunrise is several wooden shacks with thatch roofing and the schedule felt very much like you were at school!! Basically there was a bell to say when food was and if you weren´t there well then you were searched out by the owners. We were later to find out that all islands rang a bell for meal times but as most were larger places if you didn't go, then so be it!

So we were on Sunrise for 2 nights and the family was lovely although at times a little bit intense, such as watching you eat!! On our day of arrival we sunbathed the afternoon away and then lost track of time so didn´t have time for a shower before dinner and then got bitten alive by mossies at the dinner table!! Not pleasant. Not that I´m saying a shower would have made a difference but if we´d showered we would have considered mossie repellant at that point as well. We were also told tonight that it is tradition in Fiji to always serve the men before the woman. Not a problem to us but what we did find strange was that one meal time Caroline was first to arrive and then had to wait ages for everyone else but instead of giving her her dinner first the guy placed dinner in all the empty places before serving Caroline!! Strange but then he was a bit!

So whilst being on Sunrise we did do a bit of snorkeling in The Blue Lagoon region (where we were), it was ok but not the best ever. But as we were taken out in one of their scary, it's going to capsize, sort of boats it did mean we could go further out than just swimming. We also got to see two of the lads off the island do some spear fishing. This is still big practice in Fiji. We did see the most amount of Nemo´s (clown fish) that we have ever seen in one spot all together, so that was cool! 11 was our maximum count. Normally you only see them in groups/families of 3 or 5.

On our second day on sunrise we also got to eat the nicest chocolate cake. As I have said before the "resort" was family owned, well actually the whole island was owned by the same family. Which made it more a settlement than a resort. So the sister of the woman who owned Sunrise ran a small café 5 minutes up the beach from us. We also found out from her whilst eating our fantastic home made chocolate cake that she was also the wife of the chief. The chief lived over on there main tribal island and she only saw him about once a month for some fun times!!! And yes that is what she said to us!

Night times on all the islands involved a bit of beer and some evening entertainment. The first night on Sunrise we had a big bonfire and a few beers (bar shut at 9:30pm) so not too many. Then on the second night because there was a storm we all sat and played cards whilst drinking and chatting to other people like us and the strange guy who worked there. He like us that night but it all changed depending on the weather!! We were all convinced he was gay and one of the guys tried to get it out of him but it didn´t really work so we were all just left with our suspicions!

As there were a few other people doing the same package as us we got to know them all quite well over the next few days. There was Charlotte and Steve (English couple) and Tom (good friend of Charlotte and Steve. Then there was a few others as well who we saw once or twice along the way.

On the Sunday which was the 21st we were due to move islands but as the Big Yellow boat wasn´t due till about 1:30pm it meant that we could travel over to the main tribal Island and attend Church! I know, us church, I can just see all your faces now!! But we wanted to go and experience an all singing all dancing church like you see on the telly!! Unfortunately the church we were taken to wasn´t really like that as it was a Catholic church. But we did pass one on the way. We went over to the island in a boat and got very wet on the way over due to the waves and the way the boat was going. We then walked through the village going pass 3 different churches on the way. There were four on the island in total, all Christian of one sort or another. Before attending church we were introduced to Bill´s parents (Bill worked at Sunrise and had bought us over on the boat) and invited into their house. The 2 Japanese girls that were with us were coming back to the house after church for lunch but because we were moving on we couldn´t stay for lunch. The church service was meant to start at about 10am but because it was on Fijian time it was nearer 10:40am when it started and we had to leave at 11am so unfortunately we didn´t get to see a lot. But hey never mind, it was nice to see the village and meet some locals.

So after returning to sunrise and having lunch it was time to say goodbye and move on. From here we went to the Naviti area where we were staying at Korovou Eco Resort. "Coral reefs and bays with their pristine white sandy beaches set the scene for a wonderful couple of days exploring and relaxing." So we were here for the night of the 21st and the 22nd. Korovou was lovely and it was actually a resort!!! The only thing here was, the dorm room was for 30 people, we have never slept in such a big dorm. But thankfully it wasn´t too bad!! So our 2 days here were very much sunbath, swim and socialize. It was lovely. We sunbathed by the pool here as the beach was full of dead coral! The storm they had in December has cause a lot of damage to the reef in quite a few areas in Fiji around the islands. One strange thing here was that we bumped into someone that knew Emily and Jo very well!! Her name was Donna and she lives in Rugby which is where there from, it's a small world. So she along with a few others joined us all on the second night and we all had great fun dancing with the Fijians and playing some awful drinking games!!! A lot of drunk people that night!!

On the 23rd we left Korovou at about 2:30pm and then had a 2 hour boat ride to our final island which was South Sea Island. South sea is only half an hour away from the main land and it is used quite a lot for day trippers but thankfully they were leaving as we arrived. As we didn´t arrive until 5pm there wasn´t a lot of time left before dinner so we sunbathed for a bit before hearing the bell just before 7pm for dinner. Tonight was spent chatting to various people, some like us were finishing the islands and some were just starting!

On the 24th we heard the dreaded breakfast bell at 7am-god help us!! But we did go down. It was probably the best breakfast of the island as there was hot food as well. Caroline was very pleased with the baked beans. I stuck with cereal and peanut butter on toast! All happy in the end though!! We were getting the 11:30am boat back to the island (we had a choice of 3, but opted for the earlier one for obvious reasons!) so after we checked out we snorkeled around the island which was great. A lot better snorkeling here than at Sunrise.

A useless fact for you, South Sea Island is the smallest Island around the Yasawas and it takes a grand total of 5 minutes to walk around the whole island!!!!

At 11:30 it was all aboard the Big White Boat this time and back to Denarau Marina for 12pm where we were after 11 months of not seeing them, happily greeted by Mel and dad!!

Join us for part 2 of Fiji, our 8 days with Dad and Mel xxx