Fiji Time!!!!
Trip Start
May 20, 2006
1
23
25
Trip End
Aug 17, 2006
Yasawa Island, Yasawa Islands, Fiji
Tuesday, August 1, 2006
Ok, so we're writing this from memory, but bare with us!!!
We weren't quite sure what to expect from Fiji, we'd heard good and bad, and we'd decided on the day before flying out of Auckland that we'd maybe try and plan our two weeks there!!! We spent a frantic afternoon sitting at a travel desk with a travel agent trying to plan our trip, but were getting increasingly scared by the prices she was giving us and the emphasis she put on the fact that it was their peak season and we really did need to book somewhere! However, through a mixture of lack of time and uncertainty, we decided to take the true traveller route and winged it freestyle!!
It turned out to be the right choice! We flew into Nadi airport and managed to brush off the many touts and make our way to the hostel we'd picked up a leaflet for in NZ. It turned out to be OK, so we based ourselves there for a couple of nights while we planned our trip round the islands!
There are two island chains off the west coast of Fiji that seem to be the main choice for travellers and holidaymakers. There's literally dozens of islands that range in size from so small you could comfortably swim round them to large enough that you definately wouldn't!! Limited on budget, we decided we'd head up to the top of the Yasawa Island chain (cheapest) first for 5 nights then head down to the bottom of it for a further 5.
So..... we arrived at our first stop, on one of the bigger islands, nacula, at a 'hostel' called malbravo. It was a real kind of traditional feeling place, with little boarded huts dotted around a central green that was right next to the beach. The sea looked amazing and it really did have that tropical island feel. This was helped by the fact that once we'd dropped our bags off in our hut, we were treated to one of the many fresh coconuts (that fell from the surrounding trees regularly) by one of the locals. The resort was run by the local villagers, and we got treated to some of their traditional dances, kava (the dirty muddy drink) and their favourite tradition, rugby, while we were there! The rugby was the only real interuption to the hammock dwelling lifestyle we enjoyed in our 5 days there!
Soon it was time to move on though, and so we boarded the ferry for the 2 hour journey to our next island haven, sunrise lodge on the island of waya. We'd been told that as you move down the islands, the closer you get to the main land, the more developed the resorts become. This proved true for sunrise, as although it still had that deserted island feel, the huts weren't quite so basic and there was even a volleyball net (the luxury!!!). The beach was even nicer here, and in the first couple of days we enjoyed some pretty decent snorkelling in the coral bay. On the 2nd day though the weather took a turn for the worse, and we were treated to some tropical storm action..... for the next 3 days straight!!!! So with sunbathing and snorkelling out of the question, all that was left to do was play every card game under the sun and attemt to beat the locals at their second favourite pastime of volleyball. Luckily we had again met some really nice people so the time passed quite quickly and we still managed to have a really good time. When it came to the end of our 5 days on waya however, these same people persuaded us to join them on another island close to the mainland called beachcomber, aka 'the party island!'. After some deliberation we decided to take them up on their offer and headed off for some much needed r+r after our hectic 9 days of doing.... nothing!! Beachcomber is really just set up for people looking for a good night out. Its just got one massive dorm then a huge restaurant and bar with plenty drink. We put its facilities to good use, and rolled into our bunk beds in the early hours not looking forward to the boat trip back to the mainland the next day.
It seemed we were being punished for getting drunk the night before as the boat trip was the roughest we've had yet, and although i managed to get through it relatively unscathed, i think it was perhaps one of the longest 45 minute's in lynzi's life!! We had a couple of nights back on the mainland before we had to fly off to LA and luckily the weather had taken a dramatic turn for the better, so we enjoyed some serious sun bathing and topped up our, well lynzi's, tan before heading for the bright lights of hollywood!!.....
