Emma & Ben… Far From Home

​27th January 2017 – 4th February 2017

Bula! Bula! Bula! If I had a pound for every time someone said “Bula!” to me (a traditional greeting) whilst I was in Fiji, we would be doing the rest of the trip in 5 star hotels. 

Fiji was the only destination on our trip we knew we would be visiting in the rainy season. We were a little concerned about it; STA Travel warned us the weather could potentially be quite bad, and that the frequent storms often mean boats and other types of transport don’t run (not great if you are off the main island needing to get back to the airport). In reality, we needn’t have worried. Maybe we were lucky (or maybe it is largely dependent on which part of Fiji you visit), but the weather was much better than we had anticipated. We had a couple of torrential downpours in the evenings, but otherwise it was generally very sunny and very hot!

We arrived in Nadi, which we used as a base for one night. The next morning, we got up early to catch a ferry to the Yasawa Islands, which are to the north-east of the main island. We decided to visit only one; Wayasewa Island. We stayed at a place run by the family from the village on the island; the website and Trip Advisor reviews dubbed it as ‘a real Fiji experience’ (and it was clear some of the reviewers hadn’t enjoyed this experience). Although the accommodation was quite basic (we often had insects crawling around the floor and on the walls of our bure), we really enjoyed our time here. The family were very welcoming, we met some great people, and did some really fun activities!

The absolute highlight for me was the shark feeding; it was absolutely awesome! Em didn’t fancy it at all, so I went out with 3 other people to a reef where sharks can be found. I’ll admit to being a little nervous before jumping in the water, but as soon as I got in the water I relaxed. The reef sharks (and there were quite a lot, mostly about 1-2 metres in length) really weren’t bothered by the tasty humans snorkelling above them. That was until the guide grabbed a small fish swimming by and ripped it apart with his bare hands; the sharks suddenly became a lot more interested in us, and swam up to the surface. As the guide fed the fish to the sharks, the rest of us could stroke them as they went past!

The other activities we did included a game of beach volleyball with the family, kayaking, a traditional Fijian weaving class where we made bracelets and bookmarks, a visit to the village church for Sunday service, and an epic climb to the summit of the island we were staying.

Each night the family would sing to us whilst we ate. After, we were asked/forced to get involved in ‘bula dancing’. I’m not sure how authentically Fijian this was; most of the dance moves I’ve seen before at Christmas parties. It was basically a sequence of moves that had to be done in time to the music (like the ‘Macarena’). Anyone who’s had the misfortune of seeing me drunk enough to dance will know my repertoire is limited to some air guitar action and some moves stolen from Jarvis Cocker circa 1995; unsurprisingly, I was absolutely useless at the bula dancing, but it was fun.

After the dancing, we got to try kava, the traditional Fijian drink. It is made by mixing the powdered root of a local plant with water, and is usually drunk on special occasions. The Fijians absolutely love it; Em and I thought it tasted like muddy water. Supposedly it makes you relaxed and sleepy; I can’t say I felt anything! Suffice to say we won’t be hunting it out in M&S back home.

After 3 days on the Yasawa Islands, we got the ferry back to the mainland. This was probably the most stressful day of our entire trip so far; when we got on the boat we realised that it was going to be a struggle to get to our accommodation (on the south of the main island). We had assumed that it would be easy to arrange a shuttle or get a bus, but there were no shuttles running and bus station was a fair distance from the port. With night (and a sudden storm) closing in, we decided to bite the bullet and pay a small fortune for a taxi to take us. In hindsight, we think this was the right decision, although if we were doing it all again we would have tried harder to sort something out before leaving for the Yasawa Islands, or stayed another night in Nadi before moving on.

Our accommodation was on the Coral Coast, and it was here that we got to experience what I would describe as the “shiny brochure” version of Fiji. The place we stayed at a lovely dose of luxury after the previous basic accommodation, made all the sweeter as the resort was only about 20% full, so we never had a problem getting a deckchair or a table at a restaurant.

Overall, we really did enjoy Fiji. The hospitality of the people really is incredible. I’ve read in guide books for a number of different places how the local people of the country are very welcoming to visitors, but this might be the first time that I’ve felt that to be completely true. The islands are beautiful (especially the Yasawa) and we wished we could have seen more of the country. I would say it’s not as straightforward to get around as some other places; you do need to plan ahead, and be patient with the fact that things don’t always happen as scheduled (things run on ‘Fiji Time’…). If you are planning a round the world trip however, a visit to Fiji is well worth considering. 

Bula!

(Posted by Ben)