Fiji: BULA!

Location: Fiji, Levu viti (main island)

Date: 19^th March – 25^th March 2011

****Due to no internet or very slow internet ( read VERY VERY VERY slow internet) this blog is only posted now. SOWWY! The posting of this page is also done via e-mail so layout might be rubbish.****

BULA! ( hello in Fijian)

The strange thing about arriving in Fiji was that we flew into the time line. We left on a Thursday evening but landed on Saturday morning. No the lfight wasn’t that long.. it was only 10 hours.. yes you can do the math. So we landed on Saturday morning in Nadi ( pronounce Nandi) but had to go to pacific harbour ( the shark dive nation of the world we were told). So jetlgged and all ( actually if you forget the whole “we missed a day ”it was only 3 hours later than LA ) we got onto the local bus and 3,5 hours later we arrived in pacific harbour.  Of course as the only white people on the bus we did cause some stir in the bus, but this time we were the attraction for the locals!

As true backpackers we went internet shopping for a hotel/hostel to get the cheapest price. Because we did it al very last minute ( read the day before) we managed to get such a good rate for a 4 star hotel we couldn’t resist ( this hotel was now the same price as a private room in a hostel. CHAKKA!). So there we were, jetlagged after a long trip, seriously hot ( cuz the heat in Fiji is a whole different ballgame) and very ready to take a shower. We walked up the long driveway of our hotel with our backpacks feeling very out of place between all the honeymooners and rich people. Ah well we did very much enjoy the nice clean shower and not to forget AIRCON J . Funny thing is as a young couple in Fiji you are very often seen as honeymooners which is something we like if this means: DISCOUNT! Unfortunately not here so NO WE ARE NOT HONEYMOONING! Been there done that!

We met a lot of nice people in the hotel all very interested in our trip. Twice we went to play beach volley with an American family and some ozzies which was really nice. The swimming pool was absolutely tropical however we only enjoyed it twice. The main reason of our visit to Fiji was DIVING.

The first dive we did was the infamous shark dive. Yes Mom, dad.... we dove with the sharks. No not in cages and not behind glass but actually WITH the sharks. I guess you can call it a tourist trap and i did not feel unsafe at any moment in time when the bull shark, silver tips, white tips and nurse sharks fed themselves but it was absolutely AWESOME.  We did 2 dives and it was amazing, apart from shark and, really big fish ( i mean same size as me!!!) there wasn’t much to see. So we booked 4 more dives. This time to see the infamous ( i told you diving was our main thing here) soft coral. And boy was it nice. The pillars of coral sticking out of the ground where absolutely amazing, the different fish we saw were so cool and the soft coral colours where B-U-tifull. On one of the diving the current was so massive i couldn’t swim against it and was literally swept away by it but the corals are the most beautiful where the current is so lets just say that we have had our exercise! Can I just say that I am in love with Nemo?! ( the clownfish) I just love the way they hide/protect their little house.

We also did the recommended jetski safari. Aside from the very sore butts the next day this was a very cool experience. We went snorkling on the reefs ( and saw another white tip shark WHOOT WHOOT). We had the ultimate aqua-blue-water-bounty-island experience. Wow there are some beautiful places on this world!

I just have to add as well that the Fijians understand tourism. We have seen a fair amount of countries and think that the Fijians are such a nice/friendly culture without being 2 nice if you catch my drift. Something very nice as well is that all women wear a flower in their hair/behind ear. I asked a local girl if this was something they did for the tourist and she said NO. This is something to express beauty and that I should wear one as well J thanks hun..... J

We noticed while driving in Fiji that there are many religions here. We saw a mosque, Jehova community, big Indian community and many churches. It all seemed to work for them, which is nice. When driving back to Nadi we stopped in a small village and passed a local market. Which is always nice to walk by. They had everything you could imagine but especially Indian spices and flavours. They also had mussels, crabs ( all alive) and funny looking vegetables I had never seen ( such a western thing to say).

So to end this blog post, we can truly say that we Love Fiji. It is a beautiful place, such nice people, a GREAT diving spot and ok I’ll admit it is very romantic for honeymooners as well.........

All our pics can be found here:

                                                    

2011 - Fiji

Current Location: Victor Harbour, Australia

Ayo Marrem