After work/school on Tuesday we had a lovely dinner at Isthmus of Kra, which is a Thai restaurant across the street from apartment that we've been meaning to try for ages (it was beautiful!), and then we were off to the airport for a red-eye flight to Nadi, Fiji. We had planned to sleep on the flight and wake up refreshed on a tropical island...little did we know that most parents of small children also feel that the overnight flight has better odds for having their child sleep through the flight. Unfortunately for us, with those odds we were bound to have at least one screamer, and screamed she did for a minimum of 30 minutes straight - it was miserable.
We finally arrived in Nadi at 6am to the sun rising and were wisked away by a taxi to our resort. Along the way it was fun to see the kids heading off to school and the local folks walking to work. We also noted the sugar cane was almost ready to harvest and our driver filled us in on the damage from the major floods that occurred late last year. Once at the resort we checked in, booked the tours we wanted to do during our stay, and then got right down to relaxing (after a tropical breakfast of course!)
We spent most of our first day in Fiji sleeping in the shade of palm trees, reading, and wading in the pool when we got a bit too warm - it was rough! Then that evening we got dressed up for a traditional Fijian dinner experience. Even though we did not get what we expected (we traveled over an hour by bus followed by an hour by boat to get to our destination, only to find out that we were at a backpackers hostel and the kava welcoming ceremony was more like a round of shots at the bar) it was a very interesting experience with wonderful food and dancing. The Fijians traditionally use a lovo or earth oven and that night they cooked us a few types of potatoes, spinach cooked with coconut milk, veggies, and meat. The food really was lovely and we decided it was better than the hangi we had in Rotorua and the luau we went to in Maui. Also, once they had removed all of the food from the oven they had fire walkers that danced on the coals! After dinner there was dancing, dancing, and more dancing. All beautiful and some so amazing - the fire dancers were especially awesome as they twirled firey batons through the air!
Day 2 in Fiji brought us an island adventure. We were up early to grab muffins and coffees before we were wisked away to the marina and we boarded a catamaran that took us out to Mana Island, where we spent a beautiful day. When we got there Josh and Kristi headed out diving while Carmen and Heidi took a ride on a sub-sea vessel to have a look around and then went snorkeling to get up close and personal. We met up for lunch and then Josh was off for a second round of diving while the girls did a beach photo-shoot and then went for another snorkel before relaxing with their books. On the catamaran ride back to the main island we sat on the top level and were treated with a most spectacular sunset, it was such a treat! After getting cleaned up we went to one of the restaurants at our resort and ate a wonderful meal while running our toes through the sand!
For our third and final day in Fiji we opted to hire a driver for the morning to take us to the sites in and around Nadi. It took our driver, Ali, a bit to warm up to us but by the time the tour was over we were great pals! We started out our day at a very colourful Hindu temple, the largest in the southern hemisphere. Then we admired Raymond Burr's magnificent orchid collection at the Garden of the Sleeping Giant. We visited the village of Viseisei, which is home to Fiji's current president and is said to be the first Fijian settlement. Apparently a Methodist Missionary and Naval Captain from Seattle, Washington is given credit for converting the native people from their warring and canabalistic ways. Still today Fijians in the villages are required to attend the Methodist church regularly, and we were told that the minister will seek out anyone who is absent. After leaving the village we spent time at a massive fruit and veg market in Lautoka. We only stuck out a *little bit* but it was facinating to see all of the fresh produce and watch the locals. Ali was great about helping us pick out the best fruits and trying to make sure we got the best deal. Before heading back to the resort, we took a side trip to one of Ali's friends sugarcane fields so we could try ripe sugarcane straight from the source, and then we picked up some local take-away for lunch. It was a great time and Ali really went above and beyond to be sure we had the best Fijian experience we could!Our final afternoon in Fiji was spent picnicing, swimming, sunbathing and reading, having tropical drinks in the pool, fighting ants that found our sugarcane, watching the sunset - and overall enjoying being in the tropics as we knew we were headed back to Melbourne winter all too soon. That night we had an adventure trying all of the fruits and cakes we bought from the market, and in the end we headed out for a light dinner as there were definitely some things we bought that weren't our favourite ;) And one more dinner with our feet in the sand wouldn't hurt us!
Saturday morning we were up early and on the plane. We had to fly back to Melbourne via Sydney so it was a long day of travel and we finally made it home around 4pm. We put on our running shoes and were off for one last run with Heidi before dinner. It was so cold compared to Fiji that a hearty Greek meal at Stavros Tavern with it's cozy warm atmosphere was just the ticket for their last meal in Melbourne! After mad unpacking and repacking the morning came all too soon, and then we were back at the airport to send Carmen and Heidi back to the States. It was a whirl-wind adventure, but it was great fun!!!
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