Bula! Once you’ve mastered this word, it’s plain sailing through Fiji. At least that’s what I found. I’ve recently finished a fantastic 16 days in the country where I explored both the mainland and the islands. The people there were so friendly, it was lovely and warm, and you were constantly greeted with people slinging flowers and shell necklaces around your neck and singing a welcome song to you.
I started off with a night at Smuggler’s Cove in Nadi, the backpacker’s go-to after arriving into Fiji where I managed to meet up with Emilie and Jess again, two friends from uni that I had already bumped into in Byron Bay. Funnily enough I also ran into and had drinks with a friend that I had met on on my trip through New Zealand even though I had no idea he was heading to Fiji. That was definitely the best way to kick start my time in the country – by meeting up with a few friendly faces.
The following morning I waved goodbye to Nadi and started on a four day tour of the main island with Feejee Experience. On that first day we made our to Robinson Crusoe Island via bus and ferry. It was definitely a great introduction to Fiji – we spent the day on the white beach, enjoyed a ‘lovo’ lunch (food cooked/smoked in the ground), and enjoyed a traditional Fijian performance in the evening which included dancing and fire throwing. We also took part in a kava ceremony – kava being the national drink of Fiji – and it was a drink that I won’t be bringing back with me to the UK. For anyone that’s been to Fiji and have tried kava, I imagine they’ll agree with me when I say that it tastes of muddy water; probably half due to the fact that it’s made from ground-down kava root mixed with water. Tasty.
The following few days we ‘enjoyed’ (I’m going to use this word loosely) a rainforest walk that took us to a waterfall. Our only problem was that as it was raining extremely heavily the day before, the path that we were following was thick with mud. So much so that we were unable to wear flip flops as they kept plugging (breaking – picked up some gnarly Aussie slang). On the upside, the mud gave us a cracking fake tan. But it was only really on the way back from the waterfall that it was an issue as the sun had set and it was getting very dark. When we took a small boat back to the roadside along a river it was pitch black with the driver solely relying upon a torch – not hugely reassuring.
The following day we checked out the fruit and veg markets and bought some sulas in Suva, had a tour of a local school where we were also treated to some performances by the students, and had lunch at a local village (where we once again participated in a kava ceremony). Te spread included fried pumpkin, spinach pancakes, cassava and lots of fresh fruit. Here we also met lots of the villagers including the local policemen, and also got to go for a tour along the river by bamboo raft.
On our final day of the main island tour we hit up some mud baths and hot pools which of course got very messy. The final evening with the whole group was then spent back at Smuggler’s Cove in Nadi where we had ‘the last supper’.
The next few days a number of us began our island hopping and headed up to Beachcomber Island – the notorious ‘party island’. For some reason it wasn’t hugely busy when we were there, but in some ways that was quite nice to enjoy the beach days without a hangover. Our two days here were predominantly spent sunbathing and snorkelling, oh and gorging on the buffet meals (whoever said it was impossible to lose weight in Fiji was right!) I’d say the only downside of the island was the sheer size of the dorm room – 100 beds! – fortunately though it wasn’t full and I guess you could say it was an experience… apparently it’s the biggest dorm room in any worldwide hostel.
My next three nights were then spent at Coralview Resort which was pleasant but pretty basic – the power switched off twice for 15 hours and the water ran out on one occasion which meant no showers. The weather was also a bit of a shame as it was extremely windy and very cloudy which meant that sunbathing was a no go – instead I spent my time catching up on books, chilling in the hammock and playing volleyball with the locals and other guests.
However, the big event that took place on the resort was during my first night when I was by myself in a bute (managed to get an upgrade – holler!)… As I was trying to get to sleep with a sheet over me I felt something move over my feet and could also feel a rustling. I panicked, kicked my legs and then heard a thud on the floor. Oh. My. God. I quickly switched on the light and found myself face to face with an absolutely enormous cockroach. Seriously, it was huge. I would have taken a photo but instinct told me to kill it first. What a crunch. Let’s just say I didn’t sleep too well that night – surely if there’s one there’s probably more?
Fortunately my final island stay was cockroach-free. Actually, Octopus Resort was pretty amazing full stop. – I guess you could call it paradise. There was a beautiful white beach that sat right by a reef which meant you could snorkel out without having to catch a boat. The dorm room only had seven beds, and the beds themselves were singles not bunks. The food at lunch and dinner was a la carte. In fact, at dinner we were served five courses!
The resort had also set up some great activities such as the chilled out movie night on Sunday where we watched ‘Chef’ whilst enjoying popcorn and ice cream that was being handed out throughout. Oh, and the film was shown outside which meant that you could also do a bit of stargazing at the same time. I also took part in a quiz on the last night which unfortunately we didn’t quite win – the bottles of champagne being handed out would have been pretty nice.
On the final day I spent the morning lazing on the beach and then caught the resort back out to the mainland. I never normally feel sea sick but during that hour and a half I definitely did. The sea was so choppy (so much so that other boats had been cancelled) that we were literally being flung in the air as the speedboat raced over the towering waves. I think my tan started looking a little green by the end.
I then spent my final night at the Novotel where I relaxed before boarding my flight to Sydney the next day (check out my next post for the disastrous plane journeys). Fiji definitely proved a success. Although at times the weather wasn’t as great as I was expecting, I had a fantastic time enjoying the beaches, learning about Fijian culture and meeting some great people. Vinaka everybody!
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