Fiji 2014

Fiji 2104

Sun Jun 15th

We left Adelaide on the red eye to Sydney at 6am in the morning. It was about 8 degrees and still dark. We landed in Fiji at 3.30 their time to lovely warm sunny weather. We caught the Club Fiji shuttle bus and managed to smuggle mum and Monika on as well even though their transport wasn't included in their hotel fees.

The place was nice enough but we couldn't wait to get off the mainland to the real beauty of Fiji. The barking dogs made it almost impossible to sleep at night. We caught a mini bus into Nadi the following morning to exchange money and have a look around. We soon wanted to leave the enthusiastic sales people of Nadi to get back for a quick swim in the pool and a much needed lounge on the deck chairs.

The taxi was at the resort at 7am to pick is up the next morning, ready for our boat ride to our first resort. Mum and Monika amused themselves by chatting up a bunch of rowdy German backpackers who were readily sampling the local Fijian beer. The boat ride took about 4 hours due to the continual stopping to drop off and pick more people up.

Barefoot Island resort was stunning and fully booked with young backpackers, making us feel older than we would like to be. The tent with ensuite was awesome and the night’s sleep was blissful. We went to a Manta ray briefing and hoped that we would finally be able to spot one or two. The dinner was lovely and mum was quite happy with her smuggled wine from the flight as well as a beer at sunset. After dinner we were given a history lesson on Fiji by a well-seasoned Fijian. He was very animated and kept everyone interested and laughing, the whole time.

First thing on the agenda for the second day was to swim with the Mantas and wow, were we lucky. We were taken out into the fast flowing channel with a boat and dropped off. We soon saw the huge graceful creatures swimming so close to us we could touch them, but we didn't, in fear of frightening them off. We saw about 12 of them swimming around and feeding on the plankton that was being pushed through the channel. Phil took his go pro and I took my camera. It was hard work to swim against the current and you soon get tired, drift down the channel and get picked up by a boat and taken up channel ready to be dropped off again. It was definitely an amazing experience that we won't forget.

We met a couple of nice Irish guys who were on a working visa in New Zealand and were on a holiday in Fiji. They were looking at working for another couple of years in NZ and then trying to get work in Australia. After dinner that night, we had a quiz to see how much we had learnt the night before. Our table of mum Monika, Phil and I came third but we did notice that the winning table was googling their answers.

Phil went for a 2 tank dive after breakfast the next morning and I went snorkeling out the front of the resort. The snorkeling was average and the rip was quite strong pulling me further out so I gave up. After lunch we snorkeled out the sunrise side of the island and around the end of the island into Manta Bay and that was fantastic. I think that would probably top the list as the best snorkeling place we have seen so far.

We also did the lookout hike just before sunset and got a fabulous view of Manta Ray Island and a couple of other islands. By the time we got to the bottom of the hill it was definitely beer o'clock and yes I have well and truly adapted to Fiji time again.

The next day was quite windy and not so good for diving or snorkeling, so we went for another walk up to the lookout to watch the boat transfers from the top of the hill. We could see people diving and the dive boat had to race off and leave the divers in the water because they didn’t have enough transport for the people leaving from Manta ray Island. It was amusing to see the stuff up and the boats circling around waiting for the next boat load. The view was stunning and you could see across many of the islands.

Dinner was not on the beach deck as it was too windy, so we ate under cover but the food was delicious. It was our last night on this island so we had an early night. The wind gradually died down and we woke to calmer seas, lowering my anxiety about getting on the boat for the next leg of the journey.

Octopus resort was a very nice resort which was more family orientated with lots of children running around. We had a huge outdoor shower with hot water – bonus!.  The dining room had a sand floor and a television blaring with the latest soccer match and plenty of eager onlookers to watch. There was a lovely swimming pool and a great bar for sunset cocktails overlooking the bay in front of the resort.

The food was delicious and plentiful with three course dinners every night. The coral in front of the resort was very good but the constant swell made it slightly uncomfortable for me to snorkel all the time, never mind, you can’t have everything all the time. On Sunday, we walked across to the other side of the island for the church service and to listen to the lovely singing of the choir. Their strong voices singing in perfect harmony will always be a special memory for us.

We had a wild pig or forest pig as the locals call them, running through the front of our bure, and the locals just laugh and say, ‘did you say Bula to it?’ Mum enjoyed the kava which was served up to anyone who cared to join every night. Before we knew it, the time had come for us to leave and move on to the next island, Beachcomber – the party island, for our overnight stay before we went to Matamanoa where the wedding of Shane and Sam was to be held.

We had to do some last minute organizing for boat transfers as they had reorganized the ferry schedule in the last month making it impossible for us to catch the ferry to Matamanoa in time. We hired a private speed boat to take us there the following morning – expensive but necessary! After a bit of grumbling, we were upgraded to very nice rooms and the meals were also better than we had expected for a party island. The staff were lovely as always. We bought a carton of Fiji bitter at happy hour, leaving the staff confused as to why the oldies would want so much beer. Shane had sent us a text message and said the beer was very expensive at his resort.

The boat ride to Matamanoa was great fun. The weather couldn’t have been better, and the islands sped by as we travelled for about 40 mins. The resort was lovely and our room was luxurious. Phil upgraded his diving ticket to a deep sea diver, and I did lots of snorkeling. We even took a lesson in basket weaving which was not as easy as it looked.

The sunset wedding was stunning, and I admit to shedding a tear or two at seeing the first of our 2 children getting married. The dinner afterwards also ran smoothly, considering that this was the largest wedding party the island had ever catered for. Shane and Sam left by helicopter, the following day to go to another island and we had one last night on this lovely island, before we had to go back to the mainland for the last 2 nights before flying home.

We arrived back on the mainland after the hour long boat ride, and got a free bus to the airport and a minibus from there to our last hotel. The driver was a little too cocky; telling us that he was the best driver in Fiji, and then proceeded to get us lost on the back dirt roads in his brand new 3 day old minibus taking 40 mins instead of the 10 mins it should have taken us. We all thought it was hilarious.

The Manhao Hotel was impressive at first glance but it soon was apparent that there were many flaws and problems, especially for a 2 year old building. The fixtures were hanging off the walls and our shower screen was missing, the drain hole was in the wrong side of the shower and the beds were not much softer than the kitchen bench. However the pool was lovely, the staff were great, and the food was delicious. The rooms were cheap and clean so no grumbles from us. And so ends another fantastic holiday in Fiji!