Fiji

"BULA!" as the Fijians said when mom and I arrived in Nadi on the evening of our first day. We didn't have much time to see or do anything that night other than eat dinner and re-pack our bags for our trip to the islands over the next few days.

A bus arrived to pick us up from our hotel the next morning and took us to the boat where we had a 4 1/2 hour trip out to the first island we were visiting called Nacula Island where we stayed at Oarsmans Bay Lodge.

To get to the island, we had to off-load the big boat onto a little dingy boat that took us right up onto the beach where we were greeted by the staff with a traditional Fijian welcome song. After we were assigned to our Bures it was time to chill out, relax, and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

The next day we signed up for one of the daily activities which was to go to the caves. It was pretty cool. We entered the first cave where you have to jump into this big pool of water. The other caves were only accessible by swimming under the rock and through to the next cave. A little scary as it's pitch black in the caves and the guide is the only one with a little flashlight. It was really interesting though to see where the Fijians used to hide when they were being attacked.

That same afternoon we took a trip to the village on Nacula Island. As it wasn't part of the daily activities for that day, we had a private tour by one of the staff members. It was just a tiny little village with one church, one meeting hall (or large Bure), one medical centre, one school, and a bunch of Bures where the people live. After our tour we got to sit down with a couple of the elderly Fijian ladies and purchase some of their handmade jewelery and wood carvings.

Oarsmans Bay Lodge was known for it's spectacular reef which extends right off the beach, so that evening just before dinner I headed out to do some snorkeling and check the reef out for myself. It was pretty amazing how many fish and how much coral I saw only meters away from the shore. Not to mention the crystal clear turquoise water that was so refreshing to swim in after walking around the village all afternoon.

The following day we set out for the next island that we stayed at, Nanuya Balavu Island where we stayed at Manta Ray Island Resort. Well known for it's excellent scuba diving, I decided to put my diving certification to good use and went out for a dive. I have to admit, the first part of the dive was a little scary as the guide took us through a cave that I wasn't too keen on entering as it looked like a big black hole! So the guide had to come and take my hand to bring me through because there was no way I was going through on my own. After that it was sweet as! I got to hold a Seal-Faced Puffer fish and sea cucumber and we even saw a sea turtle, which are my favourite! All in all, it was a fantastic dive and I'm so glad I got to experience the reef in Fiji.

The last couple of days on the island were spent lounging around in the hammocks and on the beach. We took part in the basket weaving activity one afternoon where I made a beautiful basket out of coconut leaves. And for our last night on the island we were lucky enough to see the locals come out and put on a show for us. Little did we know that we would become a part of that show in the end dancing this crazy snake dance. Too much fun!

For our last day of our holiday, we went shopping in the town of Nadi and checked out the temple. We also got some last minute sun-tanning in and a few cocktails before heading to the airport. Note the amount of bags we had to bring back to Canada! I don't know how we didn't get charged for overweight baggage!

And then we were off... on our way back home!