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!

Fiji: Part 2

Day 3:

From Pacific Harbour, we headed out early in the morning because we had a lot of driving to do! We were heading to Volivoli Beach! But before we got there, we had a few more stops to make that were just as exciting as days prior! Our first stop of the morning was to go to Wailouta village to meet the chief and for our group to participate in a real sevu-sevu ceremony (Kava Ceremony!). We made sure our knees and shoulders were covered and we began our journey. The ceremony wasn’t like anything I’ve seen before. There was about a 5 minute prayer that was in Fijian before we could start and all women have their feet to their left or right, while all men sit cross legged. We were able to have Kava again, but this time it was not as strong, and I actually semi didn’t mind it. Once the ceremony was over, we were split up and I went with the chief’s wife. There we learned how to make bracelets out of Bandana leaves. We were able to keep the ones that we made, which was really cool, because now I have a bracelet that I made myself! 

Once we were done at the village, we then went to the local school. This was the most rewarding, because of course; children just instantly make your day. This school had 3 teachers, 3 classrooms and 6 different grades. Grades 1-2 were together, 3-4 together, and 5-6 together. It was amazing to me, grade 1 hasn’t learned English, grade 3 understands English and Fijian, and by grade 6 they are fluent in both Fijian and English, and are then learning Hindu.  Very different school system but the children were so happy with so little. That was probably one of the highlights of my trip.

During that day we also drove by Suva, Fijis capital city and we were able to stop at their “white house” and take a picture with the guard. After a full day of this, we found ourselves at a BEAUTIFUL resort called Volivoli beach. It was what you would imagine Fiji was like! It had a pool, sand, great rooms with only 8 people in them, amazing views of the sunset and sunrise..just amazing!

Day 4:

This was our last full day in Fiji, and as a group :-( . We started late that day, so that morning, the girls and I woke up early for the sunrise, went back to bed, and then woke up and hung out around the pool for the rest of the morning. We headed west to complete our circle of the main island and our first stop of the day was lunch. In Fiji the second largest population there is Indian. We were able to stop in Ba Town for a traditional Indian curry lunch. It was all about the Indo-Fijian culture and it was diffinatly different but I loved it! I never really ate curry before, and I feel in love with it. I also was able to make my own tortilla and everything! After a delicious experience in Ba Town, we headed to the Sabeto Valley mud pools and hot springs. It was a select few from the group that decided to strip down and go into what looked like a black hole, but don’t worry, I of course was the first one in :-). It was really gross at first but then a lot of fun. 

Who wouldn’t have fun in the mud! I didn’t wear my bathing suit in because I heard that mud pools could ruin it, so I decided to wear a sports bra so I could just throw it away afterwards. Once we were done with that, our adventure was pretty much over. We met for dinner in the town center of Nadi and we were able to have another traditional Fijian meal for our final dinner together.  The girls and I called it an early night though because we had to be at the airport at 6am.

Overall, this trip was 100% worth it. If I had the time and the money I would have loved to stay longer, but reality had to hit me and we had to go back to school. The FeeJee experience was worth the money, the places they took us, was so unique and I was able to learn so much about the culture and the Fijian way of life. I’d recommend it to anyone :-) 

Bula! (means hello and goodbye!)