So I've been home for about a week now and it's been great! Lots of fun catching up with friends and family, definitely missed everyone a lot. Only a few more days until I move down to Santa Barbara to finish up my last year at Uni. Where did my college years go?? But anyways. I wanted to write one last post and tell you all about my adventures in Fiji!
I arrived Friday afternoon (June 24th) and as soon as I stepped off the plane I soaked up the warm weather and knew I had escaped the cold winter in Dunedin forever. You could say I was excited! We were greeted by Fijian musicians and singers and went through customs fairly easy. Of course we couldn't resist getting some some duty free beverages for the week so we made our purchases and got in our shuttle that took us to our hostel for the night. Once we arrived we chatted with the other travellers in our room, got some dinner and headed off to bed. We had to get up pretty early to catch the boat that would take us to our islands the next morning.
Our plane after we arrived
Duty free rum, appropriate for our tropical vacation
Outside our hostel
The courtyard
Reception area
That night it was strange to sleep in just a tshirt and shorts with a sheet rather than sweat pants, two shirts, sweatshirt, hot water bottle, comforter AND sleeping bag over. I was already in heaven and hadn't even been in Fiji for 24hrs. I didn't even let the cockroaches in the bathroom ruin my night. (I guess that's what you get for cheap hostels?)
The next morning we took a shuttle out to Port Denarau and got on the boat that would take us to our first island, Wayalailai. The boat ride took about 2 hours and the scenery along the way was amazing!
The boat we rode
Pulling away from the Port!
Carla, Julie and I on the boat
One of the views
When we reached Wayalailai island we had to get onto another MUCH smaller and MUCH older motor boat that would take us right to the beach. It was kinda scary but we held on and enjoyed the views. Once again we were greeted by music and a load BULA! from the locals. We were taken to the reception area to check in and quickly shown our dorm bed for the next two nights. It was a 20 person hut that was fairly clean. I was instantly impressed with the friendliness of the locals. I learned that this island was only one of three that are completely locally owned and any profit made goes straight to the people. Anytime we walked by a local they greeted us with Bula and asked how we were doing. Once we settled into our room, we quickly changed and headed straight for the beach. The water was warm and clear and it felt so good to finally be lying on the beach! It was overcast but the sun came out for a few hours.
Me and my British friend Carly we met along the way, on the motor boat!
Wayalailai
The singers that greeted us
Carla and our dorm in the background
Around the village
So cute!
Hammocks were EVERYWHERE
Beach!
After a nice beach nap, I woke to the sound of drums. They were the signal for lunch! Now the food was pretty good. Always endless fish, pineapple and watermelon and a delicious salad. I never found a problem with the food so that was a plus. After lunch we decided to take a weaving lesson from the local women. They took us to another area of the island where we each sat with a woman and learned how to make bracelets out of palm leaves. I really enjoyed it as well as conversing with the locals and learning more about their culture. Once our weaving lesson was over we went back to the beach for a few hours until it was time for our sunset hike. No one else on the island decided to go so it was just the 4 of us and our guide. Our guide was such a character, I loved him. He joked with us and made the hike so much fun. He pointed out local plants and species and when we came across a papaya tree, he picked a fresh one and cut it open for us. It was so good! Hiking in Fiji was completely opposite of hiking in New Zealand. It was so hot and I was sweating so much (very attractive I know). I was used to piling on clothes and trying to stay warm. Our guide took us to the top of the mountain which apparently was further than where he takes most people. He informed us we hiked up the "man way" because he knew we could handle it. One tough point for Renee? Haha. The view from the top was spectacular. You could see many of the other islands that surrounded us. On our way down we climbed a giant rock that wobbled, kinda scary, saw some bananas and grapefruit and chewed on sugar cane. It was such a great experience and our guide was awesome! When we made it to the bottom and back in the village we ran straight for the ocean and jumped it. I don't think I've felt anything more refreshing! After our dip in the ocean we took showers (cold ones since there was no hot water on the island...) Pretty soon we heard the drums for dinner and enjoyed another delicious and filling dinner.
Two bracelets I made, posing with a flower. :)
Views from the hike
Our guide picking a papaya
We made it!
Now after dinner is where the night got interesting. The locals played music and rolled out a giant bowl/caldron looking thing. They invited everyone to sit around in a circle and told us it was Kava Time! Now Kava. It's a type of root that they mash up and make into this brown water stuff that tastes just like dirty water. One of the locals told me apparently it is good for your stomach and is used in medicine to help relieve stress. So once we sit down a local turns to me and asks, "high tide or low tide?" I was really confused and didn't know what he was asking so I said high tide. He smiled and filled a small bowl right to the top! Now I get it....haha. You had to drink this stuff all at once and it didn't taste very good. After awhile your mouth starts to go numb and it feels really weird! The locals were so kind and kept offering us more and more. When I said low tide they would frown and yell high tide. After quite a few bowls I finally had to leave because I just couldn't take anymore of the stuff and I wanted to feel my mouth again. But they kept going all night it was crazy! But all the while they kept singing and it was so relaxing listening to the music and waves. After Kava Time the locals put on a show for us. We saw traditional dances, fire dances and were even taught a Fijian Weather Dance. It was a great night! :)
The next morning we woke to clouds and a little bit of rain. There really isn't much to do when the weather is bad so we just laid around in hammocks and had a lazy afternoon. We kept hoping the clouds would blow over but the weather slowly got worse. The wind picked up and the rain came harder until it was almost hurricane-like weather. Everyone on the island moved inside and played card games, talked and joked to pass the time. We went to bed pretty early since there really was nothing to do, such a bummer...
The wind howled all night and the rain never let up! It rained all day it was such a let down. We hated spending our Fiji vacation inside playing cards and watching movies. At least we got to hang out with the locals? Around 4pm it was time for us to head to our next island. We got back on the boat and were so happy to see a break in the clouds and the sun setting. It was a good sign and we were pretty sure the weather would be amazing the next day.
We arrived around dinner time on Beachcomber. It was a MUCH smaller island but just as beautiful. We settled into our giant dorm room which felt a little like summer camp. There were 50 beds total all smushed together in one hut sort of thing. There were no walls, just screens but the weather was perfect so walls didn't matter all that much. After a luke warm shower we headed to dinner which was another amazing meal so I was feeling pretty good. A lot of people I met on Wayalailai had travelled to Beachcomber with us so we all hung out the rest of the night enjoying tropical drinks and music.
The next morning we woke up to clear skies and warm weather. Finally! After a great breakfast we went straight to the beach where we laid out pretty much the whole day only breaking for lunch. Julie bought a fresh pineapple to try and we decided pineapple milk is not very good. It wasn't as creamy as we thought and it was warm...no thanks. Carla and Julie had to leave that afternoon to get back to the mainland so I had to say goodbye to them. It was sad saying goodbye because it made me realize my trip to Fiji was just about over as well as my entire time abroad. :( After they left (around 5pm) I decided to watch the sunset and wow was it amazing! I got some really good pictures, see below!
That night I met a group of girls from the UK and they were so nice! It was so fun exchanging travel stories and getting to know them. I now have tons of places to stay if I ever visit haha. One of the girls and I decided to wake up for the sunrise the next morning so we headed to bed early. The sun rose around 6:30 so we didn't need to wake up too early but it was so worth it. Absolutely amazing and I took WAY too many pictures haha. See a few here:
The rest of the day I spent on the beach again before it was time for me to head back to the mainland. I was in shock because I was flying home that night to California! It all went so fast. Before I knew it I was on the plane headed to LA. Landing was such a strange feeling. Looking out at the city from the plane window was weird. I wasn't used to so many buildings and roads and ugly layers of pollution. Welcome to the USA? After the long travel through customs and missing my bus (long story I won't get into...) I FINALLY made it home to Fresno around midnight.
And here I am. A week after arriving home and I'm still getting used to things. I leave to move back to Santa Barbara in a few days and can't wait to start my last year of college. Why is my life going so fast?! Crazy.
So. Here's the end of my blog. Thank you all who followed me and on my adventures and hope you enjoyed reading them! It's been great catching up with people but I just know I'm going to get annoying with all my New Zealand stories but hey, I love talking about it.
Renee Rapin signing off of blog world. Bye bye!
KAVA TIME
Not very good?
Us watching the performance
Fire!
The next morning we woke to clouds and a little bit of rain. There really isn't much to do when the weather is bad so we just laid around in hammocks and had a lazy afternoon. We kept hoping the clouds would blow over but the weather slowly got worse. The wind picked up and the rain came harder until it was almost hurricane-like weather. Everyone on the island moved inside and played card games, talked and joked to pass the time. We went to bed pretty early since there really was nothing to do, such a bummer...
The one picture I took before the rain started...
The wind howled all night and the rain never let up! It rained all day it was such a let down. We hated spending our Fiji vacation inside playing cards and watching movies. At least we got to hang out with the locals? Around 4pm it was time for us to head to our next island. We got back on the boat and were so happy to see a break in the clouds and the sun setting. It was a good sign and we were pretty sure the weather would be amazing the next day.
SUNSHINE!
The sky was so beautiful that night
We arrived around dinner time on Beachcomber. It was a MUCH smaller island but just as beautiful. We settled into our giant dorm room which felt a little like summer camp. There were 50 beds total all smushed together in one hut sort of thing. There were no walls, just screens but the weather was perfect so walls didn't matter all that much. After a luke warm shower we headed to dinner which was another amazing meal so I was feeling pretty good. A lot of people I met on Wayalailai had travelled to Beachcomber with us so we all hung out the rest of the night enjoying tropical drinks and music.
Buffet dinner, yum!
My friend Carly that we met who is from the UK
Some of our group from the night
Beachside bar, yes?
Sunset:
That night I met a group of girls from the UK and they were so nice! It was so fun exchanging travel stories and getting to know them. I now have tons of places to stay if I ever visit haha. One of the girls and I decided to wake up for the sunrise the next morning so we headed to bed early. The sun rose around 6:30 so we didn't need to wake up too early but it was so worth it. Absolutely amazing and I took WAY too many pictures haha. See a few here:
The rest of the day I spent on the beach again before it was time for me to head back to the mainland. I was in shock because I was flying home that night to California! It all went so fast. Before I knew it I was on the plane headed to LA. Landing was such a strange feeling. Looking out at the city from the plane window was weird. I wasn't used to so many buildings and roads and ugly layers of pollution. Welcome to the USA? After the long travel through customs and missing my bus (long story I won't get into...) I FINALLY made it home to Fresno around midnight.
And here I am. A week after arriving home and I'm still getting used to things. I leave to move back to Santa Barbara in a few days and can't wait to start my last year of college. Why is my life going so fast?! Crazy.
So. Here's the end of my blog. Thank you all who followed me and on my adventures and hope you enjoyed reading them! It's been great catching up with people but I just know I'm going to get annoying with all my New Zealand stories but hey, I love talking about it.
Renee Rapin signing off of blog world. Bye bye!
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