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We slammed onto the runway in Nadi in the middle of a tropical thunderstorm. Zero visability on the runway, and it appeared that the plane's altimeter needed recalibrating because we really walloped the runway.

We spent only 1 night near Nadi (pronounced Nandi) before heading out to the Yasawa islands. The boat trip north to the Yasawas is spectacular. It takes you past the Mamanuca islands which are a string of coral islands that look exactly how you would draw a desert island; a lump of coral/sand only just peeping out above the sea.

Fiji

Thomasin Turner
2006-08-21 15:19:57

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if you know what I mean. It was close enough that if it had attacked I would have struggled to have time to get Tom in front of me!

We saw another bigger white tipped reef shark, two baby WTR sharks hiding under a rock (2 1/2ft long) and a leapoard shark which must have been 6ft long. They are actually facinating to watch, and its a real thrill and a priviledge to see them underwater, in their own environment. It was pretty special. We also saw Barracuda (they bite also) and a sea snake (yes, they bite too and are highly poisonous). But apparently they have fangs really far back in their mouths so can only bite you in between your toes, your fingers or on your ears. It's not very easy to swim with these three areas covered up!

Scuba diving is great. I would recommend it to anyone - except Walker. Don't think perforated ear drums are great 20m below sea level.

(For those who have requested greater altitude data, you can consider that one a negative altitude, -20m. That's the lowest we've been on our trip. This equates to an overall altitude range of 5320m).

Anyway...yes, the Yasawas are very nice. The Fijian people are all incredibly friendly. Which is kind of strange as only a centuary or so ago the islands were known as the cannibal islands. So less than friendly in my opinion. But now they are wonderful people. The men wear skirts down to their shins and most of the women look like Joan Armatrading.

We met a guy called Jerry (see photo) in Wayalailai who could take the husk off a coconut with his teeth. I got to thinking that it was probably hereditary and I really wouldn't have liked to meet his grandfather's grandfather. Especially if you landed on the beach expecting grass skirts and coconuts!!

We got involved in two rather different versions of the local kava ceremony. Kava is a infusion made from the crushed up root of the pepper tree. The powder is put into what looks like the lining out of a very big pair of trousers and is brewed into a drink which looks like a muddy puddle, tastes fowl, but is mildly narcotic and makes your face numb starting with your top lip. Their is a lot of ceremony involved, shouting Bula, clapping and the like...or alternatively there is the locals version where you sit around drinking beer, drinking the kava and listening to music on the stereo. Both have their merits.

After completing our dive course and doing our first 'proper' open water dive, which ended rather remeniscient of the film Open Water - with Tom and I bobbing in the middle of the sea from 20mins waiting to be eaten by sharks, we headed to the Coral Coast. The Coral Coast is between Nadi and Suva on the Southern coast of Veti Levu (Fiji main island) where we stayed for three nights, did two really good dives on the outside wall of a fringe reef and headed back to Nadi and our flight to Sydney.

On our last night in Fiji the grass skirts and coconuts came out!....need I say more.