Our Island
Fiji wasn’t originally on our itinerary. But when we saw that our flight from Hawaii to New Zealand would be passing directly over Fijian islands, we felt that we had to include a stop there. So we squeezed in three nights for Fiji. (Again breaking our quality versus quantity rule. But who knows when we will be this side of the globe again?)
This is the life...
Fiji (part of Polynesia) is made up of something like 330 islands! (Incidently, movies such as Blue Lagoon and Cast Away were filmed here.) Many of the resorts (like the one we are staying at) occupies an entire island. Our resort, aptly named Treasure Island, is truly a piece of paradise. There are only 60 or so villas on the island, so you don’t get that over-commercialized / over-crowded feeling.
Our Villa
Upon arrival we found out that our island was the “family friendly” one, meaning lots of kiddies around! As opposed to the neighbouring Beachcomber resort, known as the “party island”. Oh, well, you can’t always know these things in advance. The joys of traveling. While Hawaii is the “Mauritius” of America, Fiji is the “”Mauritius” of Australia. So, we had to quickly get used to the Aussie accent.
The staff greeting us with some folk songs when we arrived
The Fiji people are friendly and welcoming. Whenever we mention to staff that we are from South Africa, they just want to start talking “Rugby”. The bar’s television constantly streams Rugby. Walking around the island we, are constantly greeted by staff with “Bula” – hello/welcome in the local language. But I must admit that the service is laid-back. Island style. I had to quickly get used to it, and accept it for what it is. (One luxury cruise trip, and I’m a snob! I need to snap out of it, quickly.) With stories of cannibalism in their ancestry, when a staff member says there are no beach towels left, you smile and accept it.
Dolphins swimming next to our scuba boat
Though our stay was short, we got to do a fair amount: scuba diving, jet-skiing, kayaking and snorkeling. Oh, and more cocktail sipping. We also found ourselves a coconut that had fallen on the ground, and cracked it open to nibble on its flesh. A much harder job than we realised. That husk is thick!
Tomorrow we fly to another part of Polynesia, New Zealand, where we will be doing some sightseeing and visiting with friends and family.
Wow….you’ve come a long way baby!! I am just now getting caught up on your adventures – could not recall where I had written the website address, but located successfully in my overstuffed wallet. Great to have met you on the flight from Denver to Atlanta where you were then heading off to Puerto Rico – I have a lot of catching up to do. The site looks great and very informative, love the photos. Back in Denver after my son’s big wedding in S.C. Would love to plan a trip such as yours…do you know of anyone who would want to accompany me along the way? Great fun! Cindi
Hi Cindi! Great to hear from you. We are really grateful to be doing what we are doing, and can recommend it to everyone. We meet a lot of people who are traveling by themselves, so don’t let that stop you. You are bound to make friends along the way. It was nice to meet you – please keep in touch! PS Thanks for the wet-wipes. They were so handy!