Fiji - Nadi and the Yasawas

Well, what happened to Monday? One of the disadvantages of travelling around the world westwards is that at some point you have to cross the international date line and so you lose an entire day. Still shouldn't really complain as the compensation is that every other time I fly I gain a few hours and I don't have to face winter for an entire year!

First day in Fiji was spent organising a week (well 6 days actually) up in the Yasawa Islands, which are meant to be really beautiful and relaxing. I also took a wander into Nadi town. They mustn't be used to people walking around here as I lost count of the number of taxi drivers stopping to give me a lift from the hostel into town - and it's only a half hour walk! The town itself is no better for being hassled, with virtually every shop owner wanting you to come in and have a look around. Still, it makes a change from the UK where you basically have to beat someone around the head a few times before they realise that you're there!

Wednesday was a fairly early start in order to catch a big yellow catamaran, the Yasawa Flyer, up to the islands. Also had my first experience of 'Fiji time' whilst waiting for breakfast - I thought I had plenty of time to grab something but ending up running out the door with a handful of toast and eggs. Nothing works fast out here! Of course, once I got out the door I discovered that the coach couldn't fit everyone and so we had to wait for another - which was plenty of time to finish off my breakfast!

The first two nights were spent on Tavewa Island in the Coral View resort. Not the resort (or even the island) I was expecting to be on but it seemed pretty nice and chilled out. After an afternoon of lazing on the beach and a bit of swimming in a really warm sea (bit like getting into a bath - I could get used to swimming in these sort of seas!), we had afternoon tea (including cake!) and then decided to go for a wander around the island. I mean, they're only small islands aren't they? So off we set in shorts and thongs (flip-flops, not G-strings!, for those of you who don't know) for a short stroll. There were 6 of us altogether - Mark & Lynn, Nicky, Louise and Jon (Boy). After we had been walking for a bit and getting towards the third of the resorts on the island, a couple on the beach said that we couln't actually walk all the way around. But then we got to the third resort and one of the people from there did say that we could get around so we carried on. I suppose we really ought to have started asking questions after spending the next hour or so clambering over rocks, a lot of which were damp and very slippy. Not even the snake (which we later found out was a poisonous sea snake!) put us off. However as it started to get darker we did really begin to wonder if it was possible to get around and after a short discussion we decided to had back the way we came, especially as the tide appeared to be coming in. By the time we got to a big clearing in the forest at the edge of the shore it was really quite dark and we wondered about finding a short cut or even stopping for the night there. That idea was soon abandoned when someone's foot went down a hole. Not too much of a problem you would think, but when a very pissed-off crab scrambles out on it's back legs, pincers in the air, it didn't seem such a good idea! We eventually made it back to the third resort and one of the locals offered to guide us back to our resort via a shortcut through the forest. We then tought we would be able to creep back into our resort as if nothing had happened. No chance of that! - some of the staff had formed a search party to come out and find us - very embarrassing! Still it gave us something to talk about!

This next morning we went to visit the Sawa-i-lau limestone caves, this time with a guide! In order to view them properly you have to get wet and swim underwater through a short tunnel. However, as it was high tide outside, it was low tide in the caves and so we didn't have to swim underwater that much. Whilst in there we were introduced to another creatures that likes biting - sea lice, as if the mossies weren't bad even on their own! In the afternoon we take a trip over to the Blue Lagoon, from the first two versions of that film. It is incredibly beautiful, with white sands and the bluest water I ever seen. Unfortunately the resort didn't have any snorkelling gear left so we thought we would only get to see a bit of the sealife that was near the surface, such as a royal blue starfish. Luckily we bumped into some Kiwi couples who had just anchored in the lagoon. They let use use their gear, which let us have a look at the reefs. Whilst these were mostly dead, there was still a lot of fish swimming around, mostly very brightly coloured (the most vivid memory is of a very swim blue fish which almost looked as if it was glowing). I even found Nemo! Unfortunately I did forgot one thing whilst swimming around the lagoon - sun cream! Time for the first lot of sunburn!

We weren't due to leave the resort until the afternoon so we spent the morning on Suntan beach, which was just across the reef from our island. To make a change we had a competition - guys vs. the girls to see who could build the best shelter. The guys won!

The next island was Naviti. Nicky, Louise and I stayed at the Korovou Eco Resort, with Mark and Lynn staying at the Coconut Bay, which was a few minutes walk along the beach. Korovou was a very nice resort, with a pool that had just been opened on that day. However, Coconut Bay was very quiet and so Mark and Lynn tended to spend most of their time in ours. The entertainment for the evening was a Fire Dance, performed by the staff. Pretty impressive apart from the times when some of the torches slipped out of the dancers hands and ended up under the tables! The next couple of days were spent not doing much, especially as we couldn't go fishing. We did go kayaking on the final morning, not realising quite how tiring it was!

The final night was spent on Kuata Island. This wasn't as interesting as the other two islands and so we spent the evening drinking and decided that we would try and wait for the sunrise but ended up giving in at 4:30am! Needless to say, the final day in the islands was a very quiet one!

The next few days were spent back in the hostels in Nadi, basically just chilling out by the pool. However we did have a reunion (including Lee & Helen) in Horizon on the Thursday (some of the others having gone to Beachcomber Island for a few days after the Yasawas). This was also my first chance to listen to Tai and the Kavaholics live (I would hearing them quite a bit of the next week or so). Friday was meant to be a quiet day before joining the Feejee Experience on Saturday. However, that was before we discovered Ed's Bar!