Fiji

Let me preface this by saying that I could have spent months here. I arrived on a red-eye flight on Air Pacific to Nadi that was less than half full so I got to have a the center four seats of a 747 to myself. Needless to say, it was the best I've ever slept on a plane. I arrived the following morning but due to the international date line, one day got skipped, which, unfortunately, was St. Patrick's Day. Bad planning on my part. Apparently this date line goes right through a little island in the eastern part of Fiji. Anyway, I smiled as I got off the plane at 5 am at the 70 degree temperature and the humidity because just then I realized where I was. I spent the next four nights in the two western island groups, the Mamucas and the Yasawas.

Fiji has a pretty well-oiled transport system that gets you out the beaches right quick, even if it takes a bit of time. I hopped on the catamaran to Waya Island and spent two nights at a place called Octopus Resort. Even finding the best deals I could, Fiji was a bit of a splurge, but absolutely worth it. Waya is in the middle of nowhere and the resort had a beach of its own, complete with palm trees hanging out towards the ocean. The internet cost $24 an hour. It seemed a bit steep. The Fijians are beyond friendly and have everyone returning their shouts of "Bula!" (which means hello) and I can't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it every time. They had beach volleyball, snorkeling, hikes to Fijian villages, lots of reading, and plenty of fun people to pass the time with at the resort. And I couldn't believe the starts! On one really clear night, we could see every single star in the sky so clearly with the Milky Way clear and everything. I've been in the city so long I had forgotten what a real night sky looks like. Here are a few pictures I took on Waya Island:

From Waya, I went to Beachcomber Island for a night as a unavoidable stop on my way to Mana Island. It has a reputation for being the party island of Fiji and having a dorm with one hundred beds in it. There was quite a chorus of snores that night which I was too tired to care about by the time I finally went to sleep. But the place was a pretty good time with a live band, limbo contests, and the "Bula Dance," pretty much a Fijian macorena. Here the internet was $28 an hour.

The next morning I jumped over to Mana Island for one more night on the islands before coming back to Nadi here before my morning flight to New Zealand. The snorkeling right outside the place was beyond belief. This morning and I rented a little kayak to go around part of the island to some cool secluded beaches and gorgeous views. There was also huge bats flying overhead for much of the afternoon, the Insular Flying Fox, it is called. Internet was $18 an hour here. Here are some pictures of Mana:

Beers of Fiji: Fiji Gold, Fiji Bitter. Fiji Gold is their typical lager and Fiji Bitter is a bit like a pale ale. Neither are great and nowhere do they serve them for cheap. Grade: D.

Anyways, on to New Zealand! I leave tomorrow and I should be able to be a in a bit better contact.

For those interested, I will try to pass on the boring details of how I get from where to where. Most likely it won't interest most people unless you are planning on doing a trip to the place I'm talking about. But it should serve as a good reference for those select few.

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Spokane to Nadi: Three stops. First Spokane to Salt Lake City, then Salt Lake City to Los Angeles on Delta Air. Then, Air Pacific is the only carrier that flies Los Angeles to Nadi. I had to leave the domestic terminal and walk along the sidewalk down to the international terminal. LAX is roughly U-shaped at at the curve of the U is the international terminal. You have to find your desk, check in, and then take your bag to the entrance of the terminal to have it X-rayed and delivered to the airplane. Upon arrival at Nadi, you go through the expected customs, get your passport stamps, then you are out with the masses of tourist agencies trying to seduce you with their offers. Since I knew I wanted to go to the Yasawa and Mamuca island groups, I booked an open ticket (hop on and off as many times as you like for a select amount of days) "Bula Pass" with Awesome Adventures Fiji, the only boat service in the islands not connected with a specific resort. I booked it online, costing me $181. Their timetables are here. The pass makes it fairly easy to island hop and the resorts are very good about getting their guests to the boats on time. Anyways, Awesome Adventures will provide a shuttle from the airport if you let them know in advance. You just have to walk out of the airport, out along the road that leads into the airport (a left turn as you walk out) and cross the highway to the bus stop outside of Raffles Gateway Hotel. It is about a 2-3 min walk. From there they herd you to Port Denaru and onto your correct boat. A little bit later, the boats leave for the respective islands. I took the yellow Yasawa Flier on that first day out to Waya Island. The resorts mostly don't have docks so they pick you up in little boats a little bit offshore. Octopus Resort on Waya Island has all types of accommodation, ranging from dorms to beach condos. The prices are typical of Fiji and a good deal, all options also have a mandatory $20 extra charge per day for food, making the price of the dorm $55 a night. The price doesn't include hardly any activities (only barring the walks to the nearby village), so expect to spend more if you want to do cool things, although truthfully, I found that the snorkeling just offshore was great and the views from the village walk awesome just themselves, though they have dive trips, other snorkel sights, sunset cruises, etc. The Yasawa Flier will take you back in the afternoon. I stopped at Beachcomber. Beachcomber Island Resort is the only option on the tiny island and the cheapest is the 100-bed dorm for $60 a night. From Beachcomber, the white catamaran took me to Mana Island. Here is one of the few jetties I saw in the islands. You get off to the music provided by the Mana Island Resort folks and although I stayed at Ratu Kini Backpackers, there is only the one stop. You simply walk down the pier and turn right at the beach, looking for the sign saying SEAFOOD, COLD BEER. This is a great budget option. It was about $17 a night without the food, the meal plan is not mandatory. The bar is great and plays good tunes til around midnight, relatively late for Fiji. The accommodation is nothing special but the snorkeling out front was even better than at Octopus. They rent kayaks for only $3 an hour and they guide hikes to lookouts on the Island. Leaving the next day late in the afternoon at 4:30, I boarded on the same boat on rode in on and headed the other direction. There is always plenty of room on these catamarans, so as long as you don't lose your little Bula Pass, there is nothing to worry about when getting on. Upon getting back to Port Denaru, they even provide a bus shuttle part of the way and a taxi the rest of the way to your accommodation, though you will have to ask the driver to let you know which stop is for your resort. I stayed at Horizon Backpackers, an unmemorable little place next to a big, associated backpacker joint Smuggler's Cove. The place sufficed and the next morning I caught a 6am taxi to the airport for my 8:45 flight to Auckland, costing $8.

Links to my accommodation reviews:

Ratu Kini

Horizon Beach Backpackers