I ended my time in New Zealand with what was supposed to be a quiet night before heading to the airport, but it turned out to be quite the opposite. After arriving back in Auckland I made my way to a small quiet hostel up on the hill. I had the afternoon to kill so I headed for a walk through the Auckland Botanical Gardens and to go and take a look at the University of Auckland. Heading back to the hostel I met up with my friend Lena and made plans to grab some dinner and head out for a few drinks. Lena wanted to have some martinis so we found one of the nice bars of Auckland and started drinking. Apparently martinis are not the same in Austria because she was used to more Vermouth. Well now I had two martinis and the night went on from there. We started bar hopping and at some point it was someone's idea to start doing shots. After a bit of drinking, Lena wanted to try out her party tricks by lighting some sambuca on fire in her mouth. Well all didn't go to plan and she ended up spitting the shot everywhere. With only a slightly burnt lip, the party continued. I had to call it quits at 4 so that I could head back to the hostel, grab my bag and catch the bus to the airport. I did manage to have a quick shower, but it didn't sober me up too much and I only had my clothes from the night before. It was an hour ride out the the airport and I arrived to one hell of a check in line thanks to the new airport regulations about liquids that started that day. I noticed, finally being under the lights of the airport, that I had blue spots all over my clothes thanks to the flaming sambuca spit. I couldn't wait to get on the plane. We finally boarded and I took my seat with my head falling straight for the window so I could sleep. I might have caught thirty seconds of sleep before I felt a bump. 'Ladies and gentlemen, we have had a slight accident and need everyone to take their bags and exit the plane.' Someone drove a vehicle into one of the engines. How you have a fender bender with a 300 ton aircraft, I have no idea. Now it was a two hour wait for a new plane until I could finally catch some sleep on my way to Fiji.
Landing in Fiji, I headed to Nadi Bay Backpackers. Even being tired and probably a little irritable, I still managed to talk to people about the good places to stay and go in Fiji. I headed out the next morning to catch a boat to the Yasawa Islands. The plan was to spend the next ten days island hopping around the group. The first stop was all the way to Nacula Island where I would be camping at Oarsman Bay Lodge. A quick note about Fiji weather, it can rain at any time so always have your fly on the tent. After getting settled, I decided to start my vacation with a snorkel around the bay. The reef in Fiji is unbelievable, with coral every color of the rainbow, and fish so plentiful and bright it hurts the eyes if you stare for too long. I soon realized that I was in paradise. That night I met a few of the other people that were staying there with me, but ended up spending most of the night partying it up with the locals watching the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens. This is a great game, with all of the normal rugby rules, but only seven people on the field. Fiji made it to the final only to be beat by Samoa. The next day I headed out on a boat with some people to go and explore the Qwaqwarivola Caves on Saweilau Island. It was a short walk up the hill to the cave entrance, descending down into the large cavern. We threw on our snorkel masks and jumped into the water to go and explore the caves. We had a wait in the main cave for other people to come out of the other caves so the locals persuaded us to climb the cave walls and go cliff diving into the water below. After everyone showing off their aerial maneuvers, we headed into the cave system. To get in from the main cave you have to swim a few meters down under the water and then under the cave walls to the next cave. Having never done this before it was a little nerve raking to swim under water in the dark with only a small flashlight guiding you. We emerged in the pitch black caves, swimming through them with flashlights. It was pretty cool swimming through them, exploring the different caves. We headed back out of the caves and after some more diving headed back to Nacula Island. The next few days were spent on Fiji time. I did quite a bit of snorkeling, exploring the different reefs, reading books on the beach and just lounging around. On my last day at Nacula I was able to make it over to the village. Here we were shown around the village. While everyone else went off to the shell market, I headed over to where the guys were preparing the lovo (underground oven) for the dinner that night. They were really excited to have me there and were soon showing off their skills of gutting a pig. They all wanted their pictures taken performing the autopsy on the beast. It was a lot of fun and they showed me how they cooked everything and what they would be eating. After the lovo explanation, I headed over to the school with the group where we got a tour. They sat us down in a classroom where they had the class perform some songs and dances for us. It was really cool to see the kids sing and dance, but I think it was a little put on for the tourists. We left the village and we headed back to the lodge where I packed up my things to head to the next island.
My next destination was Manta Ray Resort on Nanuya Balavu Island. This was a bit more upscale than the tent I was staying in the days prior. I arrived pretty late in the afternoon so there was only time for some reading on the beach and enjoying the Fiji sunset. That night I ended up talking for quite a while with the bar staff who convinced me to stay longer there so that I could drink kava with them on Friday night. Twist my arm... The next day I continued my usual island schedule of snorkeling with some reading in between. Sammy, one of the bartenders, was heading out in a kayak to go do some line fishing with him. We headed out just beyond the reef and drifted along trying to catch dinner. Sammy had a bit of luck, catching a snapper, while I only caught some ugly little thing that went back in the water. That night, while sitting eating dinner, a second plate came out from the kitchen with the fish that Sammy caught earlier cooked up. I shared the catch with the rest of the table because it was some of the best fish I have ever had. The next few days I continued the snorkeling around the reef. The reef at Manta Ray was even better with even more colorful coral and more varieties of fish. The highlight of the snorkeling though was a drift where I saw a white tipped reef shark, sting ray, moray eel, and sea horse to accompany the usual array of fish. I didn't want to leave because everything was so nice there, so I kept extending my stay. Friday night was the kava ceremony, a Fiji tradition. Kava is a root that grows there that they dry, grind, and then when ready to drink add water to extract the natural sedative in the root. I was honored to be the chief for the ceremony and was offered plenty of the milky drink. Kava actually tastes like what is is, a ground root that is steeped in water. It doesn't have a strong affect and just makes you tired. The next day though you feel tired still so I took it easy and spent much of the day relaxing on the beach. The weekend arrived with more of the same, but there was rugby sevens on again so the evenings were spent watching the tournament with the locals. This time Fiji won and there was a big celebration.
Leaving Manta Ray, I headed down to Waya Lai Lai Island. I would be staying at a small lodge here that was run by locals. It definitely wasn't as luxurious, but much more of an authentic Fiji experience. I spent a lot of time talking with the locals. I had a great time here and had the locals take me kayaking around showing me a bit of the island. The local elder, Lavatu, even took me for a hike to the top of the hill on the island, climbing to the top of the rocks called the father and mother. From here I had panoramic views of the entire island group and was treated to a fantastic sunset from the top of the island. We headed down back through the jungle in the dark, with my headlamp lighting the way. I was thankful to have my boots on because it wasn't an easy walk, but Lavatu did everything barefoot. Not bad for a sixty year old.
After my short stay at Waya Lai Lai, I headed down to the tiny Bounty Island. The entire island pretty much is the resort. I met up with some old friends here and quickly headed out with them to go fishing at sunset. I managed to catch two barracuda in the hour that we had out on the water. Thank goodness Lee caught a nice snapper for us to have for dinner. Unfortunately that was the end of all of the fun in the sun in Fiji. The next day was my last in the islands before heading back to Nadi. There wasn’t much to do as the weather just did not cooperate. It rained all day which wasn’t too bad because it made leaving the islands and going back to the main land bearable.
Once back in Nadi, I spent my last day doing the only thing that there is to do in Nadi, shop. I’m not much of a shopper, but it was cool walking around the stores and markets and looking at all of the touristy souvenirs they had. I got a full explanation of every single piece; my favorites being the weapons and tools of cannibalism that Fijians used to employ as part of daily life. After I’d had my share of getting harassed in the markets we headed back to chill out for a bit before heading out that night for our last meal. I had made some good friends in Fiji and it was sad to say goodbye, but I’ve become so used to it by now that it is just another part of traveling. And so I move on…
