Fiji

  Fiji, Fiji
Saturday, February 24, 2007

I left New Zealand rather drunk and attempted to check in at 4:30am with blurred boozy vision after one last crazy night out on the tiles in Auckland with Amy and Jenny my barmy ladies from the south island coach. Upon landing in Fiji my hangover firmly setting in I was welcomed by the kind of terrential rain you read about in myths, some rain god was flexing his muscles of wrath I can tell you. I was picked up and taken to my hostel where I was then welcomed by a power cut so they couldn't find my booking or check me in, showing me to my temporary bed I decided on a much needed early night. When I woke in the morning - well it can only be described as a mass feeding of the biblical kind, both my legs were completely ravaged by mozzie's and sand flies from the top of my knees to the tips of my tootsies! 67 bites the girls working at the hostel counted - 67 I tell you! I've never know such an overwhelming itching sensation like it, it felt like my legs were actually on fire. I had to sleep biting my knuckles to stop from clawing at my legs in an itching frenzy.

With my insect repellent firmly clasped in one hand and afterbite in the other I boarded a boat to my first island in the Yasawa group - Wayu island. The journey resulted in 2 hours of sea sickness like I have never seen. I was fine but 5 of the 8 people being ferried to the Octopus Resort were being held over the edge of the boat or with buckets for most of the journey as the boat was so small and the sea so rough. When we arrived we were then told that due to the sea being so rough they could not take us directly to the resorts private beach, instead we would have to walk over the island from the other side......oh yes and it was raining. Guess what, mud gets slippy when walking up hills in the rain. You can imagine the mahem, we were like bambi on ice. I was just so glad to realise that it was all worth it upon arrival. I was taken to my dorm bed and I could not contain myself when I saw the beach, hammocks, pool and the menu for dinner. It was gorgeous. That evening we were invited to a Kava ceremony which was quite an experience. We had to all sit round a large wooden bowl full of local plant roots beaten to a powder and mixed with water, we were then all inrtoduced to each other and taught the traditional way to receive Kava with various claps and shouting "Bula" at each other. I won't lie, it tasted like muddy water, but it was so funny because it makes your lips and mouth go numb, then you eventually start feeling a little like a drunken space cadet. The chiefs (apparently) have had to try and ban people under the age of 42 from drinking it as no work gets done. People just lay around giggling and laughing at each other or sleeping. Well it certainly knocked me out, I only had 4 or 5 cups of the stuff, but the locals have up to 15 to 20 of an evening. No wonder everyone is so chilled and constantly saying "no worries - Fiji time!" when you ask for something, Fiji time basically translates to - when we can be bothered. After a few days of snorkelling, crab racing, being taught island dances and getting back to grips with my tan I moved on to the next island.

My next location was right at the top of the Yasawas at the Blue lagoon, the journey up there was beautiful, but my next accommodation was awful! I stayed at Sunrise on Nanua Lai lai and all I cn say is, DON'T. Don't ever stay there, the showers, toilets, beds, food, facilities are all 'orrible, grotty, dirty, uncomfortable and yuk yuk yuk. I walked 45 minutes through tropical jungle over to the other side of the island to use a phone I was instructed was there, to find it wasn't, then walked 1 hour back along the beach (which I was also told was fine) to find that the tide had come in and I had to cling to the edge of cliff faces to try and get round rocky corners, sometimes I was submerged up to my waist in the sea with my bag over my head climbing on rocks I couldn't see under the water. Nightmare - I had stern words with them when I got bck about the imaginary phone and safe walking path across the island and round the coast I can tell you!!! Needless to say I left the next morning.

I left for Manta Ray hostel and was there by lunchtime, this one was much better, almost as good as Octopus even. I finally met some other people and had a few cocktails with them that evening after the HUGE buffet they put on every day. The food was amazing. After one too many 'island specials' I marched up tp the bar and demanded that I be in charge of the music from that point on for the evening. They showed me to their iPOD and sound system and left me there to wreak havoc. In all honesty they should have paid me, half the hostel was up dancing on the spot within 15 minutes and the bar stayed open specially for the occasion as so many people had stayed up drinking. When we all left Manta Ray they came down onto the beach while we were getting in the little fishing boats and they sung us a lovely goodbye song as we dissappeared off round the corner of the island. .

My penultimate Fiji destination was Bounty Island, which most people will know as Celelbrity Love Island. They have reused the set and made it into the only resort on the island - thus named Bounty Island Resort. Here I went on a fishing trip where we were given reels of fishing line, a hook and some chunks of fish and told to swing and throw. I did this, actually I did this 7 times because everytime I reeled the wire in to check the little g*ts had eaten the meat off the hook without getting caught! Clever fish in Fiji I tell you! After not one person managed to catch anything our rather dismayed tour guide took us back to the resort dragging his heels to go and tell the islands chef that for the first time ever he had not managed to catch anything - would be the one time I'm with him aye.

My last night out on the Yasawa island before heading back to the mainland for my flight I met up with the girls from Manta Ray resort and had some goodbye drinks and watched an island dance performance which was impressive. .  Then retired to my bunkbed which swayed everytime I moved for some shut eye. 2 more nights in Fiji and then I was flying to Rarotonga in the cook islands to meet my gorgeous man Ben whom I had last seen in Thailand 3 months ago. Although sad to be leaving Fiji I was so excited about seeing Ben that I was in bed by 8:30pm on the last 2 nights to make time go faster as though it was Christmas Eve when I was 5 again.