After eight days of shopping and strolling through one of the most cosmopolitan countries in the world, our next destination was going to be a total different one. Warming sun, turquoise blue water and waving palm trees were waiting for us on the white sandy beaches of one of the many islands of Fiji. It was time to relax and unwind and so we set our clocks to island time.
Just a few days before we were heading to Fiji, we realized that we had quite a long flight ahead of us. Eleven hours to be exact. Somehow we thought, since we were already in Singapore and so much closer to Fiji than ever, that it would be a short flight… Oops… Luckily it was a night flight and we could catch some sleep before arriving at Nadi, capital of Fiji and located on the main island: Suva. Our first day and night we spend in Tokatoka Resort not so far from the airport. We played in the pool and enthusiastically made use of the water slide. We ate our first Fijian meals and also got a first impression of the food and beverage prices on these tropical islands. The next morning our pick-up brought us to the harbour were we would board our first ferry, the Yasawa Flyer, to take us to Nacula Island.
And so, after four and a half hours, we arrived in tropical heaven. Once our ferry was in reach of our island, a small boat from Blue Lagoon Beach Resort came to pick us up right in the middle of the ocean. We were greeted in the most Fijian way possible by resort staff: singing, playing music and happy to see us. The manager gave us a quick briefing of the island and off we were to our villa. Since it was Jens’s birthday he decided to give himself (and me!) a little upgrade. So bye bye regular room and bula (Fijian for hello) to our wonderful garden villa. Since we were staying on a small island there weren’t any other dining options than the resort’s restaurant but after our first lunch we didn’t mind at all. Food was delicious! Even so delicious that I followed a small cooking class to learn how to make the most famous local dish: kokoda. It’s a Fijian style ceviche made with fish, lemon, coconut milk, veggies and some coriander and chili. Yum! Can’t wait to make it myself at home. Once we get back home off course. Which is still a long way off. Just saying…
Our days on Blue Lagoon were mostly filled with snorkeling and relaxing on the beach or swimming in the pool. There is a reef right in front of the resort and an excellent snorkeling spot to spot some really great marine animals like titans, boxfish, pufferfish, anemone fish, christmas tree worms and even stingrays and white tip reef sharks. No need to say that I went snorkeling a few times a day. Also to test our new (and immediately approved) underwater camera but mostly for the fishies. Since Blue Lagoon has their own dive shop, it was planned long ago that we would be diving here in Fiji. But as you now, my last dive in Indonesia, two-and-a-half months ago, didn’t end that well and I had a little visit to the hyperbaric chamber. After weeks of no diving and consulting different doctors, I was cleared and was fit to dive again. And so, I got into my wetsuit and jumped in the water. Only to look at my dive watch during the entire dive since I was nervous beyond imagination and didn’t see a single fish. Luckily, the second dive, the day after, went way better, I was more comfortable in the water and I got to enjoy the underwater world much more.
We couldn’t spend all our time in the water (No? Sure? We can’t?) and we went on a hike to discover the beautiful nature of Nacula Island. We climbed all the way to the top of the hill looming behind the resort’s premises, where we were rewarded with an amazing view over the island and the surrounding ocean. We took tons of picture and couldn’t get over the gras being that green. It’s like nature went a bit crazy with Photoshop and filters and made it an impossible bright green. Maybe the gras really is greener on the other side… It was a walk in a new kind of nature that I haven’t seen before and was really the highlight of our trip to Fiji (next to the diving off course).
After our last breakfast and snorkel at Blue Lagoon, we were picked up by the Yasawa Flyer to take us to our next island: Beachcomber. It wasn’t our first choice, nor our second, but due to cancellation by our preferred resort and all the others in the area being way to pricey, we had no other choice. From the moment we arrived there we knew that this wouldn’t be the same island retreat as in Blue Lagoon. First there was a mix up with the room, then we found out that the beachfront bungalows don’t have a beachfront because the beach is completely washed away except in the front of the resort and then it was time to eat dinner that couldn’t be more disappointing. So yeah, not that great. But because we were only there for two nights we decided to make the best out of it and we went diving the next day with the neighboring island's dive shop. That really made it better! Jens did two dives, I only joined for the second one and went snorkeling on the first one. And what a beautiful dive site it was! Filled with hard and soft corals, an abundance of fish species and white tip reef sharks. My third dive on Fiji was the best one, I was finally looking around again and checking my dive watch on a regular basis instead of watching it all the time.
After our not so great stay at Beachcomber, we were off on the Yasawa Flyer again, only to board another, smaller vessel that would take us to a few more islands before going back to the main land: a Seaspray Day Adventure. We snorkeled at two small islands, one of them quite famous because Tom Hanks got stuck on it. We liked it because of the nice reef it has. Again we saw some great species: different types of anemone fish, two titans building a nest since it was nesting season, juvenile butterfly fishes, sea cucumbers and two amazing trumpet fishes that did this amazing synchronized underwater dance for us. We were also going to visit a village on an island but that plan got canceled apparently because on Sunday there is not much to see in the village since everybody takes the day of rest very seriously. We were not aware of the cancelation since we were still in the water looking at fish when the changing of plan was run down with the other passengers. So very disappointed, since this was kind of the reason for taking this boat trip. I couldn’t help but make a complaint to the organization once we were on the Yasawa Flyer again. They weren’t eager on compensating the fact that we didn’t visit the village. But you know me, I don’t give up so easily! So they arranged a little private tour for us after we disembarked in Nadi harbour. Our impromtu guide, Anare, took us around his little village, explaining the local way of life and the history of Fiji. Next, we drove on by taxi, to our last stop in Fiji: Oasis Palms in Nadi. A little hotel with a lot of palm trees, a pool and yummy food. Ideal to spend our last day relaxing and preparing our road trip in New Zealand, coming up next!
