The Fijian Islands
The day after the tour ended I jumped straight onto another bus which took me to the port and from there I caught a boat which goes via the Mamamuca and Yasawa islands. It was strange thinking that another tour had ended, and I had said my goodbyes again but I was looking forward to spending a few days in a hammock on the beach.
On the journey we went pass several different islands and each was beautiful, especially with the sun bringing out the best of the clear blue water surrounding most of the islands. The boat finally reached my island and it looked amazing, just 3 people including me got off and a Fijian band welcomed us onto the beach. There was no need to carry our bags since that was taken care of, and we had a fruit cocktail drink when we arrived!!! You should have seen the smile on my face, the island looked amazing.
The dorm there was very clean and quiet since many of the 30 beds were empty, and I spent the afternoon snorkelling just off the beach and I couldn't believe the coral reefs that were just on our doorstep!! I saw many different species of fish and beautiful colourful coral. The following morning a drum could be heard from the beach sounding the manta ray tour and this was probably one of the best things I have done. We went a little way in the boat just around from the island and then one of the Fijian guys pointed out some shadows in the water. The manta rays surfaced slightly and you could see the tips of their wings. Unbelievable. The boat stopped around 20 metres in front of their direction and we then jumped out with our snorkelling gear in deep blue water.
When I jumped into the water - I thought man, this is crazy, if I see one I'll be very happy indeed. And then I ducked my head under the water only to be faced by 5 manta rays coming straight towards me with their mouths open!!!! I merely gulped!!! There were small yellow fishes swimming in their mouths and I just stayed still keeping my arms and hands to myself!!! They just gracefully swam pass me and glided through the water effortlessly.
We did the same thing several times getting back into the boat and waiting for them in the water. I began to swim with them a bit more, diving deep into the water and following them someway.
Back on the island I relaxed again, but it was almost too quiet!!! And so when the first boat arrived at lunchtime and I saw two people from my mainland Fiji tour I couldn't believe it. One of them was Natalie from High Wycombe again, who I had met in Los Angeles, it was quite funny to see her there!! I began to call her stalker as she had joined my tour in Fiji and now the island too!!! We teased each other about it, but it was good to have some company on the island. We also met another guy called Andy from Devon, he was really cool and in fact we spent the next few days with him too.
I needed something to do in the afternoon so I persuaded one of the Fijian guys to teach me how to climb a coconut tree!!! He picked out one that wasn't too tall, though not too easy either and he easily climbed up and showed me how to do it, more difficult than it looks, or painful!!
It probably took me three times as long to get to the top and high enough to pick a coconut. The problem with this was that I had to twist the coconut around a few times and this required balance what with one hand reaching out for the coconut!!! But I didn't give up and finally the coconut fell to the ground, rather satisfyingly!! After the Fijian guy had chopped through the top of it (I've never been a fan of coconut milk) I took a swig and it tasted great!! AKA Robinson Crusoe indeed.
I did a bit more snorkelling again and thought about extending my two night stay on the island to three. I did the manta ray tour again the following morning and this time I dived again but upside down swimming underneath them. Amazing. I actually got a bit of an ear infection, but I think it was "swimmers ear" probably from my snorkelling antics in the water!!! I also did a lot of snorkelling that day checking out the other side of the bay as our beach faced onto another island's deserted beach and that was great. I was going a bit crazy in the water, diving deep and swimming upside down again going through gaps in the reefs like the boy searching for pearls in the Barclays advert!!! My ear cleared up eventually thank god!!!
After three nights on that island, I went to South-Sea island which is very small and a maximum of 32 guest are allowed. I spent two nights there and after the first night I decided to give windsurfing a go in the morning, especially as it was free!!! It took me ages to work it out (no guidance given) and quite embarrasing in front of all the guest on the beach!! But I didn't give up and finally I mastered bringing the sail out of the water and waiting for the wind to take the sail. When I did this there were a few claps from some of the guests on the beach!!
I sailed a bit, probably for around 20 seconds but getting back to the island proved difficult and took me quite some time, especially with the wind against me, so I swam with it back to the island.
On my final morning there I wanted to walk right around the island and after a few minutes I was surprised to find myself where I started, it was very small!!!
Spent my sixth night in the Mamamucas at Beachcomber island for one night, this is known as party island and it wasn't really a massive party but good fun nonetheless with a Fijian band playing. I caught up with Natalie and Andy there too, so we had a good laugh. I headed back to the mainland the next day staying at Nadi Bay hostel for one night and then I flew to New Zealand. Before I got my flight I took a few more pictures in Fiji of small old, rustic lorries carrying sugar cane and the mountains visible in the distance so hopefully they have turned out alright!!
That was Fiji, a great place and great fun.
On the journey we went pass several different islands and each was beautiful, especially with the sun bringing out the best of the clear blue water surrounding most of the islands. The boat finally reached my island and it looked amazing, just 3 people including me got off and a Fijian band welcomed us onto the beach. There was no need to carry our bags since that was taken care of, and we had a fruit cocktail drink when we arrived!!! You should have seen the smile on my face, the island looked amazing.
The dorm there was very clean and quiet since many of the 30 beds were empty, and I spent the afternoon snorkelling just off the beach and I couldn't believe the coral reefs that were just on our doorstep!! I saw many different species of fish and beautiful colourful coral. The following morning a drum could be heard from the beach sounding the manta ray tour and this was probably one of the best things I have done. We went a little way in the boat just around from the island and then one of the Fijian guys pointed out some shadows in the water. The manta rays surfaced slightly and you could see the tips of their wings. Unbelievable. The boat stopped around 20 metres in front of their direction and we then jumped out with our snorkelling gear in deep blue water.
When I jumped into the water - I thought man, this is crazy, if I see one I'll be very happy indeed. And then I ducked my head under the water only to be faced by 5 manta rays coming straight towards me with their mouths open!!!! I merely gulped!!! There were small yellow fishes swimming in their mouths and I just stayed still keeping my arms and hands to myself!!! They just gracefully swam pass me and glided through the water effortlessly.
We did the same thing several times getting back into the boat and waiting for them in the water. I began to swim with them a bit more, diving deep into the water and following them someway.
Back on the island I relaxed again, but it was almost too quiet!!! And so when the first boat arrived at lunchtime and I saw two people from my mainland Fiji tour I couldn't believe it. One of them was Natalie from High Wycombe again, who I had met in Los Angeles, it was quite funny to see her there!! I began to call her stalker as she had joined my tour in Fiji and now the island too!!! We teased each other about it, but it was good to have some company on the island. We also met another guy called Andy from Devon, he was really cool and in fact we spent the next few days with him too.
I needed something to do in the afternoon so I persuaded one of the Fijian guys to teach me how to climb a coconut tree!!! He picked out one that wasn't too tall, though not too easy either and he easily climbed up and showed me how to do it, more difficult than it looks, or painful!!
It probably took me three times as long to get to the top and high enough to pick a coconut. The problem with this was that I had to twist the coconut around a few times and this required balance what with one hand reaching out for the coconut!!! But I didn't give up and finally the coconut fell to the ground, rather satisfyingly!! After the Fijian guy had chopped through the top of it (I've never been a fan of coconut milk) I took a swig and it tasted great!! AKA Robinson Crusoe indeed.
I did a bit more snorkelling again and thought about extending my two night stay on the island to three. I did the manta ray tour again the following morning and this time I dived again but upside down swimming underneath them. Amazing. I actually got a bit of an ear infection, but I think it was "swimmers ear" probably from my snorkelling antics in the water!!! I also did a lot of snorkelling that day checking out the other side of the bay as our beach faced onto another island's deserted beach and that was great. I was going a bit crazy in the water, diving deep and swimming upside down again going through gaps in the reefs like the boy searching for pearls in the Barclays advert!!! My ear cleared up eventually thank god!!!
After three nights on that island, I went to South-Sea island which is very small and a maximum of 32 guest are allowed. I spent two nights there and after the first night I decided to give windsurfing a go in the morning, especially as it was free!!! It took me ages to work it out (no guidance given) and quite embarrasing in front of all the guest on the beach!! But I didn't give up and finally I mastered bringing the sail out of the water and waiting for the wind to take the sail. When I did this there were a few claps from some of the guests on the beach!!
I sailed a bit, probably for around 20 seconds but getting back to the island proved difficult and took me quite some time, especially with the wind against me, so I swam with it back to the island.
On my final morning there I wanted to walk right around the island and after a few minutes I was surprised to find myself where I started, it was very small!!!
Spent my sixth night in the Mamamucas at Beachcomber island for one night, this is known as party island and it wasn't really a massive party but good fun nonetheless with a Fijian band playing. I caught up with Natalie and Andy there too, so we had a good laugh. I headed back to the mainland the next day staying at Nadi Bay hostel for one night and then I flew to New Zealand. Before I got my flight I took a few more pictures in Fiji of small old, rustic lorries carrying sugar cane and the mountains visible in the distance so hopefully they have turned out alright!!
That was Fiji, a great place and great fun.
posted by Adrian at 12:00 pm
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