Our Fijian adventure started in Nadi, where we had for an overnight stop before commencing island hopping. We decided to have a simple night in our hotel after long day of airports. This mainly involved having a quick tester dip of the sea to check it’s temperature (warm, a nice change), and sampling the local delicacies/beer.
*Not made from real turtles.
The following morning we boarded the ‘Yasawa Flyer’ (this, unsurprisingly, takes you to the Yasawa Islands) and headed north to our first stop Nabua Lodge on Nacula Island.
We disembarked the comfort of the large ferry (which only slightly smelt of sick) into a smaller boat to take us ashore. Boat was a bit of a strong word for the vessel, it seemed like one rogue wave and our luggage would have been catapulted overboard. The Fijians definitely know how to sail them though and we arrived, luggage intact, to a massive “BULA!” from the shoreline as well as a delicious pasta lunch with a view.
Keen to get in the crystal clear waters we hopped on a boat to the Blue Lagoon that afternoon. After following some cool fish around for a while, we spent the remainder of our time before dinner in Hammocks. This was to become a theme of our stay.
After dinner we were introduced to the ‘Bula dance’, which has armed us with some serious moves for the upcoming weddings of 2020. This progressed to a game of Fijian Musical Statues, with free beer for the winner – which in a group of mainly Brits and Germans is a huge incentive.
The next day we took a trip to the Sawa-I- Lau caves, and were pretty impressed with what we found.
Whilst splashing around enjoying the cathedral-like cave walls, we began to notice the group numbers were diminishing. That’s a particularly disturbing realisation when you know the number of Bull Sharks living around Fiji. Bewildered we swam over to our guide, who pointed downwards and told us to told us to hold our breath. “Just 2 seconds! 2 seconds!’ he said as he pushed our heads down and forward under the cave walls. 2 seconds later we found ourselves above water again in complete darkness. Our guide turned up with a torch and revealed an entire new cave system only accessible at low tide. Unfortunately, complete darkness doesn’t lend itself well to good GoPro visuals but this does illustrate the acoustics.
After the caves we came out to admire the view.
It was whilst taking this picture that Andrew had yet another ‘Sprite-Bottle moment’. His snorkel mask plummeted off the side, down the sheer cliff face to land in a seemingly unreachable crevice 10 metres below. Thankfully, luck was on our side again. We had earlier befriended an Italian who had grown up in the Dolomite mountain range, and saw no risk in clambering down the sharp volcanic rocks to retrieve the mask. Impressed at his mountain goat abilities we repaid him in coconut cake that afternoon.
That night there was no Bula dancing on offer but a far greater challenge lay ahead. One member of our group had recently travelled to South America where he picked up the card game ‘Cambio’. We were soon to find out this game was more addictive than our current goto travel game Monopoly Deal (a controversial statement for those who know us). It’s a fast-paced, brutal game of memory and sabotage. It featured strongly in all our remaining Fiji evenings.
The next morning we decided we were missing the relentless walks we had grown accustomed to in New Zealand, so took a ‘light’ hike to a 360 viewpoint. We had been warned it was easy to take a wrong turn on the return leg so we took our Italian mountain goat with us for good measure. It was warm but the breeze was hefty and the long grass along the path was scratching our bites nicely. A group of Zazu-like birds followed us on our path, feasting on the crickets we were kicking up along the way.
The view from the end point was definitely worth the walk, and had taken us 20 minutes less than expected.
Pretty chuffed with our speed we began the walk back with plenty of time before the afternoon ferry.
All was going swimmingly until suddenly we were far lower down the mountain than we had remembered. The Zazus had also suspiciously disappeared. To the left we saw the path we were meant to be on, far in the distance. We decided to improvise, it looked like we could cut across quite easily to get back on track.
This was a mistake.
Several fights with bushes and bracken later, we were in quite a state. Distressed we would miss the boat, legs scratched and out of water in 30 degree heat, Frances was fearing it was the end for her.
Amazingly we pulled through and made it back just in time for the boat to our next stop, WayaLaiLai island. 2 hours south later, another greeting party awaited.
Exhausted from the days events we had an early night. The following morning we headed out for some more snorkelling, with slightly more ominous marine life.
That afternoon we relaxed in more hammocks and Andrew joined the locals for a game of Volleyball.
After dinner we took part in the infamous Kava Ceremony. Kava looks like muddy water, but is made from the dried roots of a Fijian plant (kava). When drunk it numbs your tongue and apparently gives you a good nights sleep.
After 3 rounds we weren’t convinced of the effects and switched to beers. The locals continued drinking it late into the night, and one joined in our game of Cambio.
The next morning, having clearly already forgotten our previous days experience, we signed up for a sunrise hike. This time it was guided, and also in darkness, which helped significantly with the heat issue.
After another hammock nap, it was time to catch the ferry to our final island; Beachcomber – which is part of the Mamanuca island group.
It’s circumference can be walked in 5 minutes and it has an abundant reef right off its shores.
We briefly lost each other amongst all the fish, having to dive down to escape.
Clearly the permanent snorkel mask look Andrew had adopted on these islands was attracting some admirers. Some Asian tourists asked for a photo with him saying he looked ‘super cool’.
Our final night was spent back on the mainland in Nadi where it all began. We returned to the same hotel with around 25 more bites and 8 more tan/ burn lines between us.
We have now arrived in Melbourne where we have rediscovered the joys of Aircon. We plan to spend 4 nights here before heading off to Tasmania, but we will give you a quick update before we make that journey.
There & Back Again 