Bula...It's Fiji time!

So; Fiji. We crossed the date line on the way to Fiji so infact didn't even exist on the 2nd July. Bit of a weird thought.

Tuesday we arrived at Nadi and were taken to our hostel, which was set in tropical gardens with swimming pools. After a chill by the pool, we decided to walk into Nadi Town with a German guy who was in our dorm. It was quite bizarre to see the effects of colonalisation; primary schools with children in school uniforms, Christian churches and the Queen's head on all their money. The town itself wasn't really anything special, mainly just supermarkets and souvenir shops. We headed back to the hostel and had a nice meal in the restaurant, surrounded by trees with fairy lights in them, after which there was fijian traditional (fire) dancing.

The next day we were taken to the port to catch the big, yellow ferry to the Yasawa Islands; first stop Sunset Waya. Although showery, (i know we didn't know it rained in Fiji either!) the boat gave great views of passing islands. Our plans for the next 7 days were to island hop in the area (think of resorts with a beach, palm/coconut trees and a few huts (or bures), all backed by mountains.) The ferry stopped in the bay fo each resort(s), and those of us getting off got into a smaller boat. On arrival at Sunset, i spectacularly rolled out of the boat, and ended up lying pretty much face down in the sea (bag and all) much to the amusement of Megan. And there we go; we had arrived.

Daily life for the next week was pretty routined; meal times were set three times a day, at which time everybody in the resort came to eat together around long communal tables. We stayed in big dorms, and as nobody could really leave the resort, island life really lent itself to meeting new people. So we spent our days relaxed on the beach and in hammocks; sunbathing, reading, swimming, snorkelling, weaving bracelets, and knocking down and opening coconuts with our new friends. In the evening, it became dark at maybe 6 o'clock and as there was limited electricity, the night seemed to be really long. There was always some kind of after dinner entertainment; be it fire dancing, musical statues, a bonfire or bula dancing (fijian macarina), in which everyone had to participate, but generally the nights were early. And so the mornings were early too. We saw sunsets and sunrises and even the moon rise once...very eerie!

Today we arrived in New Zealand and were immediately hit with the sense of returning to civilisation. No-one ever said it looked so much like England here either!

It's a new chapter. Blog soon xxxx