BULA! Fiji in a fortnight.
At the raw age of 24 (nearly 25) I can definitively say I have seen some awesome things in this world. Perks of having a Dad that is a travel agent. Travelling from the age of 3, I would like to think I know a few things about a good holiday - Fiji was a great holiday!
Flying out of Brisbane to Nadi International Airport was a nice short 3.5 hour flight, a nice opportunity to read a book or catch up on your favourite T.V. show uninterrupted without that "I finally made it. Now where is the nearest shower and barista coffee" feeling. True to form Fiji was as happy as always to see people step off that plane, greeted by a Bula Band singing sweet melodic island songs made wonder "Why is this the first time I decided to come here!" A quick trip through immigration, my sister and I collected our bags, a quick change from the winter woolies into some summer gear and we were on our way. With some great advice from Dad, we hired a car and drove from Nadi to Suva, to visit the cousins.
(Fire Show at Port Denerau)
The drive was beyond beatiful and you got a real taste of Fijian culture, with the two hour drive taking you along the Coral Coast with waves breaking a few meters of the coast, through the little towns with footy fields featuring posts made from wooden poles, through the forest and little hills that bring you to the Islands Capital Suva. But the most fascinating part of this little car ride, the realisation of Fiji Time! Majority of the trip you would see workers waiting on the side of the road waiting to be picked up by a ute or van heading the same direction and with a little space for them in the back.
We arrive at my cousins house which is located near the Australian High Commission and the Aussie Expat community. We spent the rest of that day relaxing and took a nice walk along the seawall after returning the hire car. The next day we hit the shops to see what Fiji had to offer! Turns out we found some amazing gifts for our parents, a REAL LIFE weapon that was hand carved from wood. Now at the time we had no idea it was an actual weapon, because we bought it from a department store - we didnt realise this until we were leaving Fiji and the lovely ladies let us know...woops. We also got hustled that day and bought some souvenirs off a guy who carved your name into the hand made mask and knives (not real weapons this time...phew) before you knew what he was doing, coming to $20 FJD it ended up being a nice little souvenir that sits in my room reminding me of my awesome trip!
The following days we went exploring in Suva, with the best tour guide possible a local! Our cousin took us around to the near by domestic airport, through the mountains and a few amazing views went along with that. We also did some exploring of the local culture by heading to the Museum and boy oh boy did we learn a thing or two. The Museum was a small entry fee and off we went getting a real look at how the locals would and still hunt, gather and celebrate. There was also some amazing art, wedding gowns and gruesome stuff featured in the second half of the museum. We drove onto the University campus, ventured through the "rough" parts of town and did the ulitmate tourist geek out - posed with the guards infront of the Parliament House. Tell you what he gives the guards outside the Queens Palace a run for their money. This guy was staring straight into the sun in the Fijian "winter", I cringe to imagine it in summer. We also met the Fiji Mens and Womens Rugby Sevens Team before they headed off to the Rugby Sevens World Cup! This was cool! I am a bit of a sports Junkie and meeting an international sports team or
player is a little thrill this average folk to enjoy!
The rest of the Suva stop featured a visit to a Natural Pool off the main road past little huts and through a
turn off, on a dirt road only a keen eye would notice; and an All Terrain Buggy adventure from the beach, across the highway, passed the golf course and up into the hills, were we met some locals living in a hand made houses. The owners of the house were not phased by our presence - apparently this wasn't a usual stop, but seeing as only 3 of us were there our guide decided to drop in on a friend - the dogs on the other hand were not as inviting considering we found their quiet bit of paradise. This was also the day we were introduced to the delicious, budget food of the century Rotti Parcels!!! This little parcel of goodness was sitting in a not so flash house come restaurant off the highway.
Soon enough our Suva stop was over and we caught the Bus back to Nadi, got a cab over to Denarau Island a man-made gated community filled with resorts, water-front houses and an awesome golf course. Sheraton Fiji was all we could ask for and more! A singing Bula Trio to greet us, every hotel staff member cheerfully greeting us with Bula (never been to Fiji before? Bula is HELLO and let me tell you every single soul on Denarau Island will say BULA!!! To the point where you get so used to it, you catch yourself saying it to them before the words cross their lips) We check-in to our second level room and immediately step outside to a beautiful view of green grass, palm trees and water. First things first, check out the room, two single beds, balcony, a huge bathroom with double vanity and a decent size storage cupboard for both our suitcases. Next, off to the pool with a cocktail soon to follow. We found a couple sun chairs, ordered some drinks and cooled off to some sweet Island beats. The next 5 days were similar to this, we ate at the hotel a couple of nights, till we discovered The Denarau Port with a grocery store, Hardrock Cafe, Pizza Bar, Copenhagen Ice Creamery and a few other souvenir stores. The Island has the Bula Bus service, which is a little open air hop on/hop off trolley (a bigger version of the trains that cruise around Circular Quay) that stops at nearly all the resort and major stops on the Island. If you're lucky, someone will be singing and playing the guitar on your short trip.
On the third day we made our way over to a small Island just off the Main Island, it was visible from our hotel and we spent the day with other hotel guests, drinking Kava, eating a fantastic lunch and drinking local
beer, swimming, kayaking, horse riding and an epic 2.5 hour Volley ball game with the locals on the Island, the tour guides and those of us that decided to stay behind on the Island. After multiple phone calls from the Admin office, wondering where the hell the tour group was, we called it a day and were treated to a local song - the cheeky sort where the whole boat was either singing or doubling over in laughter. This was by far the best day we had and felt like the ultimate experience you feel lucky to be part of!
Towards the end of our trip, our cousins from Suva popped over for some quick R&R and stayed two resorts away from us at Radisson Blu, which was just as beautiful and definitely on my list for next time. We enjoyed their pool and cocktails and that night we headed over to Port Denerau for some Pizza and Ice Cream. They also took us into downtown Suva for some cheap souvenir shopping and we definitely hit the jackpot! Later that day wevisited some of our cousins, cousins and got to see the locals Nadi, which featured hotspots like: clubs, bars and an airfield where the young future Fiji Airways pilots learnt the ropes.
We also discovered that you can walk from resort to resort and we headed over to Westin (part of the Starwood Group) for happy hour which was charged back to our room. Every resort was open to wonder through and the pools were open to all visitors, not sure if that was the rule or whether we made that up!
All I can say is, no matter the age whether it's couples, singles, family, reunion whatever the reason, Fiji is a destination for everyone and you can always find something to do their. If you're looking for a nice little get away that doesn't involve long flights, Fiji is your destination.
Want to know more about Fiji? Shoot through and email to roger@rogerstravel.com.au and use the name of the blog in the subject line.
Bette yet, book your next holiday to Fiji. Give Roger a call on (02) 66 522 799
