November 12th
Today we arrived in Fiji - 5:45am The weather was warm but not to hot with a slight overcast that cleared up after an hour or so.. We booked our Awesome Adventures boat while we waited for the busses to start going as we found out that nothing happens in Fijian time before 9:00am. We then decided to go to the Town of Nadi for a walk as we couldn’t check in until 3:00 at Tabakula Resort. We walked the main street to a Sikh temple at the end of town and had some breakfast we got on the plane We then decided to head back through town to the public bus depot. We decided to take the local bus as the people were all very friendly and extremely helpful pointing us in the right direction. We found the bus and only had to wait 20 minutes before it left. To our amazement the bus left on time and off we went on a 1950;s school bus that had seen better days. If it didn’t rattle it squeaked lol. We were in for a 2 hour ride according to my GPS which is never wrong J .
The Island is very nice not too developed but each family seemed to have it’s own little plot that they farmed for food and to sell at the market. The bus eventually did stop at the market and most people got off but we were still 20 or so kilometres from our accommodations so we stayed on waiting for about 10 minutes until we were on out way once again. We arrived no problem at the resort and checked in to our lovely little burrow.. It is a great little place right on the beach with a nice little pool and friendly staff.. Seems that we are the only ones here but we have been told others will be coming later so we enjoyed the silence and beauty around us while we could. I took a quick swim as I have been very anxious to see all the amazing corals and fish. I was a little disappointed with the first swim as a lot of the coral was dead and there were few fish. I did not go out very far so I figured I would go even further next time and see if it improved further out. We walked down the beach and found a small market and restaurant and got some water to take back to the beach. We then walked back to resort and decided to go to town to get some groceries before it got too late. We went to 2 markets and three supermarkets and still didn’t get all that we wanted. They seem to sell deli at one store, dairy at another and bread and baked good at another plus the vegetable market. It all gets a little confusing especially when every one is trying to drag you to the stall to sell you jewellery and carving every 2 steps you take. We did manage to get the basics and headed back home. Before dinner I decided it was time to take that second swim and left Holly on the beach where it was blowing 70mph. I was surprised she didn’t get swept away when I got back in it was crazy windy.. This swim was much much better. I went right out in front of our resort about a half mile and the coral was great. There were swarms of small fish all around each one. The colors are indescribably bright. After about 30 minutes I decided that I would have many more chances to go out and swim so I headed back in to see what we could whip up for dinner.. First night Mr. Noodle and grilled cheese.. I hope to go fishing tomorrow and maybe add to the menu for the next few days. A local has even offered to get me some bate and help me catch some. Again they are so friendly here. We are going to have a quiet evening as it was a long day with the 16 hours of flying and the weather looks to be good tomorrow as well so it should be another great day in paradise.
November 13 Second day in FIJI at the Tabukula Lodges
Today we awoke to a overcast day but once again by 9:00 the sun was out so we slathered on the suntan lotion and headed for the beach after breakfast. We walked a ways down the beach to the East today and the plan was for me to catch some fish for dinner.. I did catch two small fish, not quite enough for a meal but they would go nicely in our soup later for dinner.. I took a swim as I hooked bottom once. The water was very deep where I went in and not very clear so I didn
November 14
Today was our third day in Fiji. We are stating to get tanned well burnt but we are trying to keep up with the liberal suntan lotion applications. Today we walked to the large bay east of the resort to find a good place for Holly to swim. Once we arrived after about a 40 minute walk we came across a beautiful beach to which we were the only soles. We played in the waves and soaked up the sun for a few hours. On the way back we managed to catch a few crabs to use for bait so I could try my hand at getting a few more fish. We leisurely strolled back to the resort where I fished for awhile without success and then went for a swim out to the edge of the reef. It was lunch time so we headed back to the bure for something to eat. As always it is crazy windy here so we decided to stay at the pool and take it easy for the afternoon. I took a couple quick swims in the ocean and back to the pool to warm up as the day progressed. Holly’s tummy was upset so she went to lie down while I went on another fishing mission. Success this time with two trigger fish, Unfortunately I buried them in the sand as I had no bucket and a big wave came up and swept them back out to sea. I was out of bait so I went to see how Holly was and we decided to get pizza for dinner. As we missed the sunset yesterday we decided before we ordered we would catch the sunset. I built us a wind break from bamboo and palm frawns and we waited and waited and waited.. The sun just didn’t seem to be going down so we left and decided we would catch it tomorrow as we were both getting hungry. We went to the onsite restaurant and ordered the pizza, while we waited we watched some TV in the lobby about travel in Australia. We took the pizza back to the room and ate in peace and quiet. It was delicious. We decided to move the bed into the front room as the street could get a little noisy at night. The rest of the evening we will play games and read until bedtime..
November 15
This was just a relax and play in the water day. We did take a stroll over to the Outrigger Resort yesterday to see how fancy it was and how much a car rental would be. The Resort had very similar accommodations to our resort just a little fancier. It was like walking around in a corn maze, there were trails every were. We wear hot so we returned to our pool and I took a few swims in the ocean and even took the long walk to the outer reefs end where I caught an octopus. When I grabbed it is sucked onto my arm and felt very strange so I let it go. I swam for an hour or so and then went back to the pool to warm up and get the salt off before dinner. We plan on going to Suva tomorrow by bus so it will be an early night so we can get up and catch the public bus in the morning.
November 16
We awoke to a light mist today. Looked like a good day for a bus ride as we would just get soaked sitting at the beach.. We found a cab that was going to Suva so we only paid $30 for the 2 hour ride. They don’t drive too crazy except passing on blind corners although we did get pulled over for speeding. The cops are out in force here, worse than in Nanaimo. Once we arrived in Suva we walked around the town seeing the parliament building a few parks and the crazy markets. You could really tell what part of town you were in when it changed from Fijian to East Indian. The vegetables at the market looked really good. We didn’t go to the meat market I am sure you can guess why. On our way home we picked up a few groceries and then got the bus back home. We opted for the coach bus as it would be more comfortable. Once we arrived back at our place we ordered dinner from the onsite restaurant which we have found is very reasonably priced and really good food. Chicken, fries and salad. A quick dip in the pool and off to bed. This will be our last night at Tabukala Bure;s. Next stop Edgewater Backpackers in Nadi.
November 17
Today we left Tabukala Resort, (our private resort) and will be staying at Watersedge AKA the dive.. Word to the wise don’t book any accommodations from the airport when you arrive. The is a very nice resort across the street for the same money with a pool and nice facilities so we went there for dinner and hung out on there beach.. It is only one night so no big deal. Tomorrow we are off to the Yasawa islands with Awesome adventures cruises for the next 14 days. I am looking forward to some amazing snorkelling and will take many pictures. It was very hot today but we managed to stay cool with a few dips in the ocean along the way(water temp was about 85). We are hitting the bed early as the boat leaves early and it is about a 4 hour ride to our new home.
November 18
Today we awoke from the dive (Edgewater) and were treated to a wonderful breakfast that consisted of Toast…. Yup just toast So we packed up our bags and headed to the bus grabbing a mango on the way for the trip. The bus was right on time and we headed off to the marina where our boat to the Yasawa Islands awaited. We boarded the boat which was a 60ft catamaran named cheetah. We decided as the weather was calm that we would go as far north as possible so that the longest trip would be out of the way . It was 4 hours on the boat. We finally arrived at the Safe landing resort where there was a warm welcome waiting for us. We were given an introduction and lunch was served right away. After lunch we were shown to our room which is very nice. Right on the beach with an amazing ocean view. I took a few long swims and found the elusive Nemo .. I had yet to see one so I am happy I got a really nice picture. There is some good coral right in front of the resort off the left corner so I swam for an hour and did the whole bay.. We will go to the blue lagoon and as we have heard the snorkelling is very good over there too.. We have had two meals here now and they have been very good thus far.. We are very happy with our first choice in the Yasawa Island and hope to find more treasures like this one along the way.. We will stay here for 3 nights before we move on. We will explore the island a bit further and go to the local village, and the church over the next few days. Another day on paradise with no complaints or worries..
November 19
The day started with another great breakfast. Some sort of pancake batter and fruit. After breakfast we decided to go for a little walk along the beach and ended up in a local farm were they had pigs chickens ducks and various other animals. We went for a swim and headed back home to the resort as after lunch we were headed for the famous blue lagoon… We were just dropped off on the beach and allowed to swim and do as we pleased for a few hours. This is the laid back style of the resort we are at.. IT IS GREAT you can do as you please like you are just one of the locals. The snorkelling was e excellent in the lagoon. I saw many fish that I knew the names of and all kinds of corals. I even played with a sea snake. We swam the whole bay. The boat came back a few hours later and went to the local tea house for afternoon tea! $3 for tea and cake; today was lemon cake! Lazed about until dinner; sweet lips fish; it was yummy! The weather was amazing again today and we are getting more use to the sun so I can spend more time in the water. Tomorrow will be our last day at Safe Landing and they have promised a traditional Fiji meal cooked under the ground. The local tribe will come join us too.. So it should be quite interesting.
November 20
Today we decided to walk the island after breakfast. We headed to the top peak at 1200ft. We were very happy that it was a little cloudy and a lot windy to make the trip bearable in the heat. The walk took 1hr 15 minutes and we had a great view of the whole Yasawa chain of islands. We could also see down to the Oarsman resort (expensive resort). It did look like it had a very nice beach and even some decent snorkelling as it is in a sheltered bay. We took some good pictures and headed back to the beach to swim as it was still very hot even with the wind.. After a great swim we had another good lunch prepared by the staff at safe landing. The rest of the day was spent relaxing with frequent dips to cool off.. I did go for one long snorkel on the near by beach as it was the only reef I had not swam at yet as we are leaving tomorrow I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss any nice swimming opportunities. I saw a large spotted ray and some big sport fish. The coral were good but suffer from the silt on the nearby beach. All in all we enjoyed our first stop in the Yasawas at Safe landing and can only hope the trip continues on as positively at the next resort we arrive at. David (owner) and his staff made us feel very welcome.
November 21
We arrived at Long Beach resort today. Again we were welcomed with a Bula welcome song. The resort is very similar to the other resort but we are a day late arriving as we stayed longer at the last resort so we had to stay in the dorm room which was ok. We taught us how to make a palm leave basket and tool us on a medicine walk telling us what each tree and plant could be used for. We fund out the if you scrape the bark of the papaya tree that it will produce penicillin for healing cuts and wounds. We didn’t swim as it was very windy and shallow
November 22
I went out early in the morning and swam around the island that was near us and found some really good coral heads and the fish seemed to be less afraid of me as I don’t think many people get out as far as I swam. Took me just over an hour to make my way around the whole island.. The after noon we just relaxed and waited for the boat to take us to the new resort. We arrived at the new resort and got shown to our new room. Probably the nicest one yet so we will probably stay here for a few days.. There are a few walks on this island and some nice beaches and snorkelling too.. We took a long walk on the beach after arriving and had a really nice curry dinner, then some lively entertainment including dancing. Now off to bed as another day in paradise awaits us tomorrow.
November 23
Today we awoke to another beautiful day. With the drum betting for breakfast we went and ate pancakes and fruit. We then headed off to Honeymoon bay were we found ourselves to be the only one on the beach. I decided to go for a long swim and found the best snorkelling I have had all trip. The corals were magnificent and there were large fish in the deeper waters. I swam for about 45 minutes around the point to the next beach. We had lunch and just hung out as we where tired from a late evening the day before. Dinner was the local catch and was very delicious. We are going to do some star gazing and call it an early night tonight as we have lots planned for tomorrow.
November 24
8:00 came fast this morning. We have been sleeping in a little later each day. Again our breakfast was excellent. We have made plans with a few of the backpackers to go snorkelling again at the bay that was so good. Everyone was impressed with the wonderful coral growth and fish. After lunch we decided to climb the mountain to get a view of the bay and take some pictures and it was crazy hot. The after noon was spent chatting about every ones trips and more sun and sand. We will be leaving this resort tomorrow. Continuing down the Yasawa chain of islands.
November 25
We have arrived at Wayalailai Eco Resort today after a 1 hour trip on the Yellow Awesome Adventures boat. When we were on the boat a fish jumped 20 feet into the air and landed on the boat. It was crazy. The new place is nice we had a traditional Fiji dance and Cava ceremony before dinner.. Our first taste of cava and hopefully our last as it tasted like peppery dish water. Our room is set on a hillside and is nice with a private shower and toilet.. Tomorrow I plan to go on a boat trip to swim with the reef sharks and see some of the outer coral reef.
November 26
I woke up today and am feeling very sick. Some sort of stomach bug that I will get over soon. I had planned on doing the reef snorkel with the sharks and didn’t want to miss the opportunity so I went even know I was sick. The place they dropped us off at was about 10km from the island and was really nice for seeing the corals. Just as I was thinking how nice the reef was a 5ft reef shark swam past me about 3 feet away and startled me. I whipped out my camera and got a nice picture.. We got to see dozens of sharks and I even grabbed a few and got pulled around under water. It was a really cool experience. They seemed so gentle and calm but you could see how they could take a large chunk out of you if they wanted as the divers fed them the fish. I went back to the resort to rest for the after noon as we wanted to go for a hike to the mountain top before dinner.. We headed up the trail in search of the wobbly rock and the peak above the resort. We saw some hug birds on our way put but upon closer viewing turned out to be giant fruit bats. We never did make it to the wobbly rock but we did get to the cliff that stood a shier 800ft above the resort. We gathered a few bits of fruit on our way down and took a few more pictures. Dinner was again excellent and we headed off to bed as I was still not feeling well but hoped to be on the mend.
November 27
To day we are headed over to another new resort that is just across the bay to meet with some friends and see what new things we can find. We got ferried over in the small resort boat so we didn’t have to get back on the lady yellow boat. When we arrived we were hot so I took a nice long snorkel as the corals were quite nice right out front of the resort. Our friends found us in the after noon as we talked about the other resorts that they had gone to. It looks like we picked the best one as some the food wasn’t as good and the rooms were dirty or had no water for showering, so we will try to go back to the other resort for out last 2 days when every one else is gone.
November 28
We all got up early to day as we are going to hike the island to the summit. We decided to climb the steep rock face that is on the beach first to see if we could get a better look around. It proved to be quit challenging as the wind was strong and the rock very steep. We all managed to get up but the girls were not looking forward to going back down as there was no other way down except the way we came up. In the end we all made it safely. We asked a local boy the way to the top of the island and he pointed us in the right direction. We did make it to the top and had some wonderful views of the surrounding islands and reef. Back we headed for lunch and then as swim at one of the other beaches we spotted from the top of the island. I saw the biggest shark of the trip there. The corals were very nice there as well. We headed back to the resort to say goodbye to a few of the friends we made and just relaxed for the rest of the day.
November 29
Slept in a little today as we planned on having a relaxing day with the new friends we have made. A little sun a little time in the hammock, a few swims and time on the beach. We played some games at lunch and collected shells to play poker in the evening. After dinner we went back to their room and chatted laughed and played poker until the evening dwindled away. Tomorrow we say goodbye to everyone and we have one last day to relax on our own in this wonderful place called Fiji.
November 30
It was cloudy and windy today but the sun did make a few appearances. We had a typical laid back day. I went for a rock climb swam a few times and laid at the beach. I made a sand castle for the first time today. (I must be getting old as I would usually play in the sand much more) We saw our new friends off and just relaxed for the rest of the day. Dinner was better today and they had a Fijian dance after dinner. One thing I realized today was that I lost my wedding band when I was snorkelling; we will see if we can find it tomorrow, that’ll be something new to do! tomorrow we head back to the main island for our final week in Fiji which will be spent in the mountains and interior.
December 1
I went for a long swim before we left as this will be our last day for a week or two at the beach. Most of the day we just relaxed and waited for the boat but luck was with us and we searched where I thought I must have lost my ring and Holly found it! We travelled on the boat to Port Denaru and made our way to Lautoka for the night. We are staying at Sea Breazze Hotel for the night, we had a nice surprise our place has a pool! When we arrived the whole town was closed so we ended up just getting food from a corner stand. Fried rice and Sweet and sour chicken. After telling the 100th cab we don’t need a ride we headed off to bed.
December 2
This morning we walked around Lautoka and found the post office and a place to send e-mail that was cheap. After lunch we made reservations to go to Stoney Creek resort in the hills as our first choice was closed. We grabbed the bus and off we went rattle clunk bang chug. 30 minutes later the bus driver dropped us off in the midle of nowhere but of course there were taxi cabs coming by every few minutes and a 5 dollar fare got us to our resort in the hills. The resort is very nice with a pool and gorgeous mountain views. We will stay here for a few nights. We almost feel like movie stars, we have the resort to ourselves; they ask us when we want to eat! The feel to this resort is much different; almost a Mexican, Spanish feel to it. The room is huge, tomorrow maybe try the mud bath down the road!
December 3
Today we had a very nice simple breakfast and headed to the post office to send the rest of our post cards. Then we ere in search of the hot sprint and mud bath that we have been told is nearby. After about a 30 min walk we did find the hot spring that was literarily a large pond in a farmers field so we jumped right in LOL.
It was a little nicer that a hole but not much LOL we met a man there that I talked into taking us for a tour and he told us what we were to do. The water was very hot in a few pool but we got muddy first. Jumping into a mud pool up to our waists in mud. We lathered up and went in the sun to dry. We looked like the aboriginals all covered in dried mud. We then rinsed off in the hot pool that were about 103 and moved down the stream of pools getting cooler and cooler until we were all clean and cleansed. Once we cooled off back to the resort pool we went for the afternoon. We had a really good burger for lunch and an amazing dinner that we could hardly finish.. But Holly still got desert of course LOL. It will be an early night as we are off on the bus tomorrow to the national park to do some hiking.
December 4
Today started off well while waking up in our superstar accommodations. Breakfast by the pool in our private resort. Then back to reality with a local bus ride to Lutuka to use the internet and see about getting to Abaca. It is crazy how none of the locals know anywhere outside there daily routine. Finally we found a young guy how had heard of where we were going and pointed us in the right direction. This is where it all goes down hill. We didn’t realize that we would need a 4x4 taxi to get there so one of the taxi drivers after ripping us for $25 dropped us off in the jungle with what he said would be 2-3 km walk.. We walked for a while about to die in the heat when a truck came by and I flagged it down to see how much further.. Turned out we still had 12-15 km to go.. I could kill the cabby.. They were amazingly nice people that stopped and they gave us a lift to there house (Village) and gave us bananas and juice talked to us a while and even had the truck driver drop us where we wanted to go.. For a fee of course but we where just happy to not be walking. We did arrive and found our accommodations that are surprisingly nice as they are way in the mountains by a park no one has heard of. We will walk to the waterfall tomorrow. We did find a nice cool pool to swim in once we arrived and again are enjoying the piece and quite completely alone in the mountains about 25km from any civilization.
December 5
The sleep at the lodge wasn’t that best for me as there was crazy loud bugs and animals scurrying all around all night but the bed wasn’t bad so We did get some sleep. We woke quite early so that we could get out on the trail before it was to hot. It was a hour walk to the waterfall. We wound our way through the jungle on a hardly used trail following the odd arrow that pointed the way finally getting us to the waterfall. We were hot by then and took a refreshing dip in a pool and found a natural water slide. After cooling off we started our decent on the loop trail down the grasslands to a few lookouts and a gazebo for lunch. We sat and admired the amazing views while we ate. Only another 45 minutes back to the cabin so we could pack up and get our ride (a 1980 2 wheel drive Toyota that was on its last legs) back to Latuka where we would catch the bus back to a hotel close to the air port as we only had to days left and wanted to rest before the adventure begins in New Zealand.
December 6
Looked forward to our toast and jam for breakfast LOL O well it’s free… We plan to swim at the beach catch some rays and eat. You would think we would have the eating down but no we have been sharing meals as the portions are big but today we ordered spinach tortellini and we got what couldn’t even be considered a started LOL so we got a burger and fries later and were stuffed.. There was a traditional fire dance on the beach that we watched and off to bed..
December 7
Planning for a repeat of yesterday, but better luck with the meals as we are very low on Fijian cash. We hit the beach early, swimming in the pool and just relaxing on our last day in
Fijian paradise. Well it was until 5:09 when we got our first rain in the month we have been here. About a foot of rain in 10 minutes absolute crazy storm.
December 8th
Arrived in Aukland international at 2:00 and rented a Jiucy Campervan as we were tired of the busses and wanted some fredom to do as we choise. First day was a lot of strait driving to get as far up the North Island as far as we could with a few unwanted detours but we made it about 3é4 of the way. Still getting use to the narrow roads and the driving on the left side of the raod not to mention the roundabouts that are odd too. We have found a quit little place to camp for the night by a river with showers for the morning and will call it home for the night.
December 9th
Made our way up the West coast on some crazy windy roads. We went and found some glow worm caves and continued to our goal the most northern tip of New Zealand. We did make it and saw some amazing views. I hope the pictures can let us see how amazing it was. We are camping at a site only minutes from the tip and plan to go to the sand dunes and 90 mile beach tomorrow.
December 10
I got up early to and headed onto the road to go to ninty mile beach. Holly stayed in the back and slept as she didnèt get much sleep. An hour down the road and we arrived at the beach as she awoke to a beautiful clear day right on the sand. We had breakfast and asked a local if we could drive on the beach.. They said sure so we cruise down the famous 90 mile beach for about 20km and then found a road back inland as we were know headed to the inland park and forests to cross over to the east coast were we would be staying for the night at a place called sand spit camping. We made a few stops along the way at the forest sites a few times by some nice beaches and then at goat island where they do all of the diving. We haven’t swam as the water temperature is similar to Nanaimo. Holly almost braved the water but instead we got ice-cream. Of to explore our campsite and then another early day tomorrow as we head to the surfing beach for surfing lessons. I hope they have good wetsuits.
