Bula! Fiji Part 1

Bula!

This past week I returned home ( to Brisbane) after an amazing experience in Fiji. It wasn’t your typical tropical destination that most people would do when going to Fiji. I, on the other hand like to do more things than just drink and sit by the ocean all day. I found a tour company that was suggested by one of my roommates whos friends went a few months earlier. The tour company was called The FeeJee Experience. There had been nothing but good reviews and the fact that I would be able to see the main island of Fiji in a different light made me intrigued. Each day was filled with new activities, culture, and experiences that I know I would have never been able to experience without this company.

Getting to Fiji was pretty easy, besides all the customs stuff that you have to do, it was smooth sailing from Brisbane! It was only a 3 ½ hour flight to get there and a 4 ½ coming back. I took Air Pacific with my friends Melissa and Kelly and we began our journey at 6am on Easter Morning! I loved Air Pacific, I will recommend it to anyone! With a 3 ½ hour flight we received a delicious full meal and movie. It’s funny because Air Pacific is the sister airline to Qantas, which I would NEVER recommend to them, because their service is horrible. Anyways, the three of us arrived in Nadi International Airport at 5pm local time to be greated with “Bula!... Bula! …Bula!” In every direction.  We met up with Tourist Transport and they set our accommodations for us for the rest of the trip! The first night was interesting, for the first time, I experienced culture shock.  I didn’t realize that Fiji was a third-world country, and that was a big shock. The first day I felt terrible about being there, and how sad it must be…but I soon realized as the days went on, that the Fijians were happy, content, and didn’t want to change anything. Needless to say, the experiences that I am about to share really helped.

Feejee Experience Day 1:

Our guide and driver picked the 3 of us up at our hostel at 8:15am. We travelled from Nadi to Mango Bay, Coral Coast. Our first stop was in the Nadi Town markets to buy water and food for our BBQ lunch. We stayed there for minimum time because a lot of the shops were closed because of Easter Monday. After driving for a while, we stopped at a famous beach, Natadola Beach. It was absolutely beautiful! The water had to have been 84 degrees and it was so clear! We stopped there for a few hours, because our guide Ruben, told us lunch would be ready…when it was ready. About an hour  and a half later, BBQ was served. It took so long because, the local Fijians were out in the ocean catching fish for us to eat! Talk about catch of the day! Since I don’t eat fish, I had some delicious chicken instead, but the fact that we literally watched them catch our fish was awesome! 

Right after lunch, about 8 locals came and set up their jewellery that they make for a living. There were only 2 adult women, and the rest were young Fijian boys under the age of 12. A very different way of life but I was able to talk to some of the boys and they all make the jewellery by hand and with a small hand machine to sell for a profit. I ended up buying a coconut bracelet that was really different and I felt good, since the little boy I bought it from made it himself.  After lunch, our group went to Malomalo Village to visit and learn the traditional customs of a Fijian Village. It was so eye opening and a great experience. These people have housing, but there is nothing in the houses, it is just a protective area for them. Each village has a church and you must wear a Surong, that covers your knees and your shoulders cannot be shown. From there, we made our way to the Coral Coast and went sand boarding down the Sigatoka Sand Dunes! It was so scary! The hill was so steep and I was just thinking “am I really going to go face first on a boogie board here?”..well of course I did!  While everyone was becoming exhausted, the night was not over! We finally made our way to Mango Bay, a beautiful hostel with a beautiful view! That evening we watched crab racing, and participated in our first Kava ceremony. Kava ceremonies are held when new visitors come in, it’s a welcome ceremony and it is held in villages and hostel in Fiji went new guest arrive. The Kava was well, DISGUSTING. It isn’t alchol, but after a few cups of it, it makes you go numb. They call it Groggy. The Kava comes from a root and it harvested after 5-7 years. After that, I was ready for bed! Our hostels were nice! About 16 people per room, but we had misquote nets around our bunks so it was like everyone had their own cocoon!

Day 2:

This I decided to be my typical, relax on the beach and drink day. The tour was going to be heading into the rainforest to see waterfalls and experience the outdoors, but the past few weeks in rainforest had done me in! That wasn’t the only fact, our tour guide said that our shoes will be ruined on this trek and we will be walking up to our thighs in water…im adventurous, but I didn’t want to ruin my $100 Nikes for another rainforest. So I ended up going straight to Uprising Beach Resort. When I got there, a few of us were there before breakfast ended, so we ate another breakfast. Anything we could get for free, we would take full advantage of it! But the morning got better! Since we went though this tour company we were able to get full body massages for an hour! For $35 Fijian Dollars! ( our money is worth double there) 
So, needless to say, I took full advantage and then spent the rest of the morning hanging out. The rest of the group got back at around 1pm so we had  a group lunch and the rest of the day/night off. It was so relaxing! But by the time we had to go to bed, it was not as fun! We were in the “tree house” dorms, which sounds great…but in reality it was a big room with 28 beds, and 2 toilets and 2 showers. Awesome. So that night was a terrible nights sleep, but that’s okay, it was about the experience! Haha.

Day 3...continued in post below!